Yes, yes, I know you’re all as excited as I am. Now, as I mentioned in my review of Iron Man 2 that I know you all read,
this week I was going to do my review
of the Thor film. I’ll still be getting to that, so don’t you
worry. However, because of the timing of
the film that is about to come out in a few days as of the time of this review
being launched, I pushed it back in order to tackle the solo film of not only
the First Avenger, but who I believe is the best
of the Avengers.
Say it with me, kids.
As the man himself once said, “Damn, right.”
Iron Man? Whatever.
Get that out of here.
Iron Man 2? In
your dreams.
Thor? Close, but
not quite there.
The Incredible Hulk?
No.
This film is literally perfect. Right down to even the fact that the last ten
minutes are essentially a glorified trailer for The Avengers…including the post credits scene, which literally
nothing but a glorified trailer for The
Avengers.
Beginning in 1942, we are introduced to the main villain
Johann Schmidt (Hugo Weaving) as he recovers a mysterious artifact known as the
Tesseract, a bright blue cube of unimaginable power that will be instantly
recognizable to anyone who has seen the post-credits scene of Thor.
On the other side of the globe, meek young Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is
attempting to enlist in the military once again only to be denied. Despite the insistence that he no longer
attempt by his friend James “Bucky” Buchanan Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Steve
attempts to enlist once more and, thanks to the wise German scientist Doctor
Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci), he becomes the American myth, man, and legend.
And that's not inaccurate. I think Cap has gotten a bad rap over the last few years especially, due to the government that his country has, but the fact is that Steve is not like you would expect. He's patriotic, but not to the point of douchebaggery. He's polite around women to the point of shyness. He wants to help everyone and do everything he can to do so. At one point he's asked if he wants to join the war effort to kill Nazis and he says no, he wants to fight because he doesn't like bullies. It's reinforced early on with Steve that he refuses to run away from a fight, despite the odds stacked against him, and Steve sees fighting the Nazis as no different. Really, to put it basically, this guy is Superman if he had no powers of his own. Just his own moral compass and determination...then you give him superhero steroids and...
And that's not inaccurate. I think Cap has gotten a bad rap over the last few years especially, due to the government that his country has, but the fact is that Steve is not like you would expect. He's patriotic, but not to the point of douchebaggery. He's polite around women to the point of shyness. He wants to help everyone and do everything he can to do so. At one point he's asked if he wants to join the war effort to kill Nazis and he says no, he wants to fight because he doesn't like bullies. It's reinforced early on with Steve that he refuses to run away from a fight, despite the odds stacked against him, and Steve sees fighting the Nazis as no different. Really, to put it basically, this guy is Superman if he had no powers of his own. Just his own moral compass and determination...then you give him superhero steroids and...
 |
| Good golly Miss...err...Agent Carter... |
...what does Captain America do with his newfound powers? Rather
hilariously, to start, he becomes a USO attraction. However, seeing what a symbol like Captain
America can be – and with a few well-chosen words from his love interest Agent
Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) – Steve decides to undertake a solo mission to
save a captured company of troops and quickly gains respect in the eyes of his
fellows soldiers. Afterwards, he spends
the rest of the movie taking part in the common American past time in the 1940s
– namely kicking ass and taking names.
Really, I don’t know what more I can say about this
movie. The story manages to be a
sweeping war epic that somehow doesn’t lose its focus on the titular character,
and provides enough of a floating timeline that other stories could potentially
be told within its framing (I’m not on the up and up on all of it, but Cap did
a lot during World War II…a lot).
It manages to have a well-developed and heartbreaking romance that fits
in with the plot and doesn’t draw all the focus away. Both the main hero and the villain are
absolutely perfect and the rest of the cast puts in excellent performances as
well, including Atwell and Stan, who are just fantastic in their respective
roles.
And the score by Alan Silvestri is just awesome. I’m not going to lie, there was a reason he was hired to score The Avengers. Not even counting his other contributions to
films throughout the years (Back to the
Future ring a bell for anyone?), if Captain
America: The First Avenger’s score
was all he had as a demo reel, that’d be enough.
I can’t say anything bad about the film, really. It’s perfect. If you haven’t seen it, go nuts. And go see Captain America: The Winter
Soldier when it comes out later this week.
I know I will.
…also, Marvel, if you want
to send me money to advertise, I’m not going
to say no…per se…
No? Eh...worth a shot...
Captain America: The First Avenger is now available from Marvel Studios and distributed by
Paramount Pictures, and is available wherever movies are sold.
For the latest from the MadCapMunchkin, follow him on Twitter @MadCapMunchkin
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