Marvel has had a pretty good batting average since taking their films in-house a few years ago beginning with the lauded Iron Man. Even though their latest films have not lived up to that high standard (in fairness, that's not an easy task), their output has been consistently on the good side with Thor and the latest Hulk movie both being quite enjoyable. Of course, the big draw is next year's Avengers, the super-superhero movie which will hopefully find a way to congeal all of these wildly different comic book protagonists in a cohesive sense. The last stop before Avengers though is the first Avenger: Captain America.
I should not need to preface this review by saying I know squat about the comic series; this should be assumed by now. Captain America was created in the early 1940s but rose in popularity during World War II for obvious reasons. The comic, as well as the film center around Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), a scrawny kid from Brooklyn, who desperately wants to join the military but is rejected due to his lack of physical prowess as well as a laundry list of other ailments. He sees yet another rubber stamp denying his entry into greatness but Rogers is undeterred and attempts enlisting again and again hoping for a different outcome. All seems bleak for the barely 100 pound runt until Dr. Erskine (Stanley Tucci), a brilliant German scientist approaches him with a solution. Rogers is taken to training under the watch of Colonel Phillips (Tommy Lee Jones) and Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) to determine if he is suitable for an experimental program.
When asked why he was chosen, Erskine tells Rogers that he was not chosen because of his physique but because of his character and his bravery. Rogers wants nothing more than to serve his country and fight in WWII and with the help of a serum developed Erskine and inventor Howard Stark, he becomes a super-soldier with abilities far exceeding his counterparts. He takes the name of Captain America and goes from hawking war bonds in stage shows to running down members of Hydra, a diabolical subsect of the Nazi party led by Johann Schmidt (Hugo Weaving). Schmidt, also known as Red Skull, previously underwent an early version of Erskine's compound which only enhanced his evilness and fueled a desire to destroy the established nations of the world.
Even compared to the previous Marvel films, Captain America is a more genuine tale seemingly plucked from a decade from long ago, and not just the because of the awesomely created 1940s set pieces. Erskine asks Rogers before enlistening if he wants to kill Nazis. He remarks that he does not want to kill anyone, but he hates bullies. We see a brief moment before the transformation of Rogers getting pummeled by a much larger man yet he refuses to run away. The main draw of the story is the notion that this underdog with a heart of gold is the key to defeating the evil in the world. All of the cast, mostly Evans, play their characters very straightforward without an underlying hint of facetiousness. While it makes the film not quite as fun as Iron Man, it gives it more credibility than just a jaunt in the shallow summer movie world.
This year was a risky proposition with a glut of superhero movies coming out almost seemingly back-to-back. Fortunately, as this is (as far as I can tell) the last comic book tale this year, it closes off with a bang. Director Joe Johnston took great care in assembling all the facets of the film from the excellent design of the 1940s Marvel universe, to the high-tech gadgets and weapons that no one seems really fazed by, but especially with the cast which is one of the best ensembles I have seen in this type of film. Especially noteworthy were Jones, who could probably play a grizzled old man in his sleep yet is more than enthusiastic, and Weaving who plays an awesome bad guy no matter what the film. Given the story and the time period, several moments could have easily veered into the overly patriotic or the overly fantastical, but Johnston keeps that reeled in.
We still have a few more big films to go this summer, but thus far Captain America is the one to beat. It hearkens back to a bygone era, not just of movie making but of fully developed and likable characters, rousing action pieces, and helmed by a director who isn't afraid to let you see what the hell is going on. It may not have as much emotional depth as I would have liked and it has a really odd structure to the story, but if those are the only things holding this back, you can tell we have a winner.
Comments
Post a Comment