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Marvel has really
set the bar for
The
Avengers.
Not because of the
endless amount of
things that could
possibly go wrong
with the movie and
not because there
isn’t a plethora of
stories to be told
there. Marvel has
its work cut out for
it with
The
Avengers
because the summer
of 2011 was the best
yet for Marvel
movies with
Thor
and
Captain America: The
First Avenger.
For years, comic to movie fans
thought those two
characters would be
the hardest
characters to bring
to the big screen in
an enjoyable form.
But Kenneth Branagh
did it with
Thor
and Joe Johnston did
it with
Captain America: The
First Avenger.
Johnston’s work with
this movie is his
most enjoyable film
since
Jumanjii
and it says tons
about the producers
at Marvel, Johnston,
and the cast of the
movie for how good
this film is.
Captain America is
Steve Rodgers. Not
the other way
around. As cool as
the red white and
blue icon is, his
uniform and his
abilities can’t be
filled by a normal
guy. Steve Rodgers
is a hero for who he
is before he gets
his powers not
after. There’s a
difference between
with great power
comes great
responsibility and
wanting great
responsibility so
much that you have
to get the power to
earn it. Steve
Rodgers is a ninety
pound kid from
Brooklyn. He’s an
asthmatic with a
heart condition and
the build of a
Project Runway
dropout. He’s
scrawny and he’s
weak, but he has a
huge heart. That
heart is what makes
him never run away
from a fight and
gives him the desire
to repeatedly enlist
in the army. And
that's even
though he gets
turned down every
time based on his
size. During his
fifth time in a
recruiting center,
the big-hearted
Rodgers is spotted
by the brilliant
scientist
Dr. Abraham Erskine
(Stanley Tucci.)
Erskine has
developed a super
soldier serum, and in
a ballyhooed
experiment, Steve
Rodgers is injected
and given the serum.
After that, Rodgers
is introduced to the
evil that is Hydra,
he goes overseas and
has to prove his
mettle as more than
a publicity stunt
and yes eventually
he has to crush Red
Skull and Hydra.
The
overall production
on
Captain America: The
First Avenger
is masterful. The
character
development and
design and all of
the special effects
choices done and
arranged by director
Joe Johnston and all
of the producers
were all brilliant.
The different
tactics they used to
make the scrawny
Steve Rodgers are
seamless and perfect
and it remains
consistently fun to
watch in the first
half hour. The
choices for
developing the Red
Skull were terrific
too. The character
wasn’t over-the-top
scary; he was
menacing and bright
red… perfect. And
the casting choices
were all fantastic
too. Stanley Tucci
playing Abraham
Erskine was amazing.
Tommy Lee Jones
delivered some
awesome lines as
Colonel Phillips.
And Hugo Weaving was
creepy enough as Red
Skull (and as
himself in the bonus
features too.)
Hayley Atwell was
also extremely
likable as Peggy
Carter, and she did
a great job as
Captain America’s
romantic interest.
Chris Evans flat out
steals the show
here. His previous
outings in Marvel
movies as The Human
Torch were terrible
compared to the job
he did as Captain
America. He delivers
an amazing
performance that’s
enjoyable throughout
and should open up
several doors for
him in the future.
The
design of the movie
and the sets also
can’t be overlooked.
Hydra meets the 40’s
makes for this weird
but unique setting
where there’s
technology mixed in with old
school dials and
knobs. It’s hard to
understand but it
has to look out of
place without
looking totally out
of place and
Johnston and his
team did a great job
with that.
For
how great
Captain America: The
First Avenger
is, there are a few
short-comings. The
rush between the
second and third
acts of the film is
unfortunate. Instead
of getting a montage
of missions it would
have been nice to
maybe see one in
action. It was
necessary to leave
that out in a
theatrical cut but
it would be cool if
there was an
extended cut that
had one of those
scenes. The other
unfortunate thing
with
Captain America: The
First Avenger
is because of the
desire to set up
The
Avengers
there was a lot
skipped over with
this movie. We’re
never introduced to
Zemo. Zemo would
have been a tough
character to create
because he’s well…
purple… but he’s
sheer evil and the
perfect contrast to
Cap. It would have
been nice if they
could have figured
out a way to move
from Captain America
to the Avengers in a
different fashion so
more of Captain
America could be
explored in a 1940’s
World War II
setting.
The
Blu-ray for
Captain
America: The First
Avenger is rough to
warm up to in the
video department.
That’s more of a
stylistic thing than
anything else. This
movie was shot with
the intention of
having a classic
vibe to it and it
did that. On the
screen in a theatre
that really pops out
on film, but
digitally on blu-ray
a touch of that
magic is lost.
Honestly, the
opening ten minutes
of the film are
going to be rough
for digital video
buffs. After those
ten minutes, things
get better but
initially they’re
rough. The
bonus features on
the blu-ray are
highly enjoyable.
There are about six featurettes that are
fun to watch. Among
them a cool feature
that explains the
numerous ways they
made Evans a shadow
of himself to show
Captain America
before being
injected with the
Super Soldier serum.
There’s also a cool
Avengers piece too.
Marvel fans also
need to watch the
movie through the
credits on the Blu-ray
as well.
The
Avengers
set up has been
changed and updated
to look even more
awesome.
Captain America: The
First Avenger
was enjoyable. It’s
on par with
Thor
though I’d give
Thor
the slight nod as
the better film. I
wouldn’t do it by
much but I’d still
give that movie the
nod. This was a
brilliant production
with Chris Evans
delivering in the
starring role and
correct choice after
correct choice being
made by Johnston and
the production team
at Marvel. This is a
great movie and the
Marvel summer of
2011 really raised
the bar for 2012.
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