Captain America: The First Avenger
Rating: 7.5 out of 10
Review by: Joshua Starnes from ComingSoon.net
Cast:
Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America
Hugo Weaving as Johann Schmidt/The Red Skull
Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter
Tommy Lee Jones as Col. Chester Phillips
Toby Jones as Arnim Zola
Stanley Tucci as Dr. Abraham Erskine
Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes
Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark
Neal McDonough as Dum Dum Dugan
Derek Luke as Gabe Jones
Kenneth Choi as Jim Morita
J. J. Field as James Montgomery Falsworth
Richard Armitage as Heinz Kruger
Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury
Review:
During the height of World War II, a crazed mad man digging up secret treasures all over Europe has discovered a way to bring the entire world under his control, and the embattled forces of the Allies might not be able to stop him. They’re only hope is to fight fire with some mad science fire of their own by transforming one volunteer into the greatest soldier the world has ever seen: Captain America.
Johnson’s “Captain America” is something of a mixed affair, but if Marvel has proven anything over the last few years it’s their ability to produce quality entertainment even when they can’t get over all the flaws.
On the plus side, like the most successful recent Marvel films “Captain America” benefits from spot on casting and solid performances, keeping even the weaker moments from dragging the whole down.
Nominally the lead, Chris Evans’ makes the transition from the smart-alecky roles he has traditionally played into a straight-forward lead without giving up any natural screen charisma. Evans and the filmmakers have conceived of Captain America as a hero with all of the idealism and none of the cynicism or irony which is often used to make heroes palatable to modern audiences. Captain America is a Boy Scout in the best possible meaning of the phrase; a little naïve but also without ego and genuinely wanting to do the right thing, right from the beginning. It could very easily be arch and boring, but in Evans hands Cap is exactly what he’s supposed to be: heroic.
However, due to the strength of the cast surrounding him, Evans also isn’t the owner of his film. The result is something closer to an ensemble in execution though it doesn’t seem set up to be that. Evans is clearly supposed to be the lead, but he’s surrounded by scene stealers. Still, as problems go, that’s not a bad one to have.
The most notable is Hugo Weaving as Rogers’ counterpoint, the villainous Johann Schmidt. The only other living recipient of the Super Soldier formula, the Skull is everything Captain America is not – selfish, ostentatious, and murderous. Ostensibly a weapons scientist for the Nazis, Schmidt has cast his eyes further, building his own private army and preparing to conquer the world.
Standing against him is a group of secret soldiers run by Colonel Chester Phillips (Tommy Lee Jones) and Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper). Set in the past of the Marvel Universe, similar to the summer’s recent “X-Men,” the filmmakers take their own sweet stroll through nostalgia, showing off the world’s fair of “Iron Man 2,” the beginnings of Samuel L. Jackson’s secret spy agency, even making connections to the recent “Thor” film. It’s a smorgasbord of continuity.
How much that will work for more casual viewers is up for grabs, but the speedy pace of the first half irons out most of the kinks as Rogers tries to figure out the best way to help the war effort after the kindly Dr. Erskine (Stanley Tucci) transforms him from a 90 pound weakling into the spirit of physical perfection.
Johnston has done his best to combine Captain America’s comic book and pulp adventure roots with a desire to treat the characters as real people and approach their adventures as realistically as possible. That is a tall order, especially when you start dealing with men with melted away faces and their magic cubes of destruction, but for the most part the filmmakers pull it off, creating moments of genuine pulp excitement.
Unfortunately it’s a pace the film can’t quite keep up and the film begins to sag noticeably during the second act, tumbling into aching montage in a few sections. Worse, despite the noticeable chemistry between Evans and love-interest Hayley Atwell, the amount of time spent on the two of them never seems as well used as it could have, especially considering how packed the film is.
Still, it works more often than it doesn’t, taking advantage of its setting and milieu to create something different than the standard superhero fare. It helps that thanks to the timing and setting of the piece, “Captain America” has the opportunity to take advantage of real loss and bittersweet conclusions more audience friendly films don’t often attempt.
A bumpy middle section keeps “Captain America” from being as good as the best of Marvel’s recent films, but a sterling cast and an attempt to take the character on faithfully and without irony works more often than not. Sure there’s room for improvement, but the series is still of to a good start.
