Pictured: The Cap about to lay down a whuppin'
By Brian Long
...some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them. My ol' pall Billy Shakespeare once wrote that, and he's right. You could probably divide the entire pantheon of Marvel and DC superheroes into one of those three categories, but what makes Captain America as a character so amazing is that he fits into all three.
Director Joe Johnston (The Rocketeer) brings the Ratzi busting star-spangled avenger to blazing life in Captain America: The First Avenger. While the film is the final piece of Marvel's Avengers series, I think it is the film that stands the strongest on its own as an independent entity. It his a breathtaking adventure that harkens back to the Raiders of the Lost days of film making.
I'm going to avoid doing a plot summary for this film. The trailers for this movie achieved the rare task of not showing all of the goods before you got a chance to see the film. There's a lot of great comedy and action beats that succeed on their surprise, so here's the Cliffnotes: 90-pound weakling Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is a man who is truly born great, a man who wants nothing more than to protect his country-"I don't like bullies" he says in the movie "no matter where they're from" and with the help of an experiment that can only come from the four-color page, he becomes the Sentinel of Liberty: Captain America. His goal is to stop the nefarious Red Skull (Hugo Weaving) from fulling Der Fuher's ultimate dream.
The cast is nothing short of spectacular. Weaving is sinister and intimidating, though it's hard not to be when you're head aptly lives up to your name (serious props need to go to the make-up department). Tommy Lee Jones and Stanely Tucci prove the old saying that a "character actor is worth his weight in gold" by turning in small, but memorable performances as two of Captain America's confidants and the men who thrust greatness upon him. But my biggest praise must go to the main attractions, Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter (as a female character who ISN'T a damsel in distress-in fact she kicks almost as much ass as Cap) and Mr. Evans as the red, white, and blue lug. The two have a fantastic chemistry that is aided by a tight and well developed script. Unlike most comic book movie romances that feel shoehorned into the plot (Thor, I'm looking in your direction...) their relationship blossoms over the course of the movie and when it finally comes to its conclusion...well, I don't want to spoil the movie, but I will tell you that I found the finale of this movie to be absolutely heart-wrenching. Evans himself must be commended. I would liken his performance to that of Christopher Reeve in the original Superman films. It's not easy to play a character to is essentially perfect, but Evans has a charisma and total believability as the man who won't give up, won't run away. It's that performance that helps the film to achieve greatness.
My final praise must go to Johnston, the director. Johnston perfectly captures the Americana of the 40's. It's an ideal U.S.A., one that may not have existed, but the type that nostalgia has created over time. It's exactly the tone the film needs, pure patriotism without a hint of irony or snark. The film is also packed with action sequences and pure fun. Johnston makes the best of the film's run time and HOLY CRAP are those set pieces nail-bitingly exciting.
I have no hesitations calling this one of the finest efforts Marvel studios has put forth and probably the best way to spend your hard earned movie dollars: 4 out of 4 stars. I'll let Spence give it a less than perfect score. Also, stay to the end of the credits. You won't regret it.
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