Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action and intense sequences of sci-fi violence
Cast: Chris Evans, Hugo Weaving, Tommy Lee Jones, Sebastian Stan, Hayley Atwell, Dominic Cooper, Toby Jones
Director: Joe Johnston
This is filmmaking of a high technical order. "Captain America: The First Avenger" isn't at the top as far as comic-book-to-film adaptations go, but it's magnificently good-looking and has a sporty enough pace engineered to prevent boredom. The movie satisfies the expectations of summer popcorn entertainment. It doesn't exceed those expectations, but it meets them.
The reason the film doesn't resonate to the upper tier of comic book movies is because Captain America himself simply isn't as interesting as other superheroes. The most compelling heroes are complex, troubled, and conflicted. Steve Rogers (a.k.a. Captain America) is weak in musculature but strong in spirit. He's noble, pure, true, and appeals to our empathy for the underdog. Beyond that, he doesn't bring a whole lot of character gradation to the table.
And yet that's not a debilitating problem here, as the movie itself operates from a similar hub of innocence. It's the early 1940s. The streets are inundated with posters of Uncle Sam with a protuberant index finger beseeching all eligible passers-by to enlist and fight overseas. A strikingly diminutive kid from Brooklyn, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) would love nothing more than to enlist. His size, along with an unfortunate litany of medical issues have prevented him from doing so, despite his efforts at forging his application several times over. His determination catches the eye of Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci), a fringe scientist who helps him get his foot in the door. "So, you want to go overseas and kill Nazis?" the scientist inquires. "I don't want to kill anybody," Rogers responds. "I just don't like bullies... wherever they come from."
As part of his special entry into military service, Rogers is required to be a test subject for a special serum that greatly inflates muscle mass and boosts the body's metabolism. The experiment works, and the former pushover is now a thewy mass of fortitude. Colonel Chester Phillips (Tommy Lee Jones) still isn't convinced of his effectiveness in the battlefield, so Rogers is relegated to posing for ostentatiously staged promotions to sell war bonds. (This is where the moniker Captain America was picked up.) Rogers knows he can contribute in actual combat, and with the help of sympathetic field agent Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) and weapon creator Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper), Captain America hits the war zone itself, freeing a slew of POWs. His next mission is to bring down the insidious German commander Johann Schmidt... aka Red Skull (Hugo Weaving) who is in possession of a cube with otherworldly powers and intends to wipe out half of civilization.
The story arc is noticeably devoid of nuance. The movie seems more constructed like a carnival ride than a sinuously plotted landscape dotted with narrative twists. The marvelously nostalgic visual style is a staple mark of director Joe Johnston's work. (His previous efforts include "The Rocketeer," "Jumanji," "October Sky," "Hidalgo," and "The Wolfman.") There are plenty of special effects in use, but none that feel too terribly overblown. Indeed, the most prominent effect is morphing Chris Evans from a ninety-pound asthmatic weakling to a statue of muscularity. The effect is passable enough, though it will require a suspension of disbelief. I don't imagine this will pose too much of a problem for the target demographic.
Both Chris Evans and Hugo Weaving do what they can, but there isn't a lot of wiggle room for acting range here. (Weaving actually managed to bring more personality to the monotone Smith in the "Matrix" movies.) Tommy Lee Jones is in perfect Tommy-Lee-Jones-mode, playing a personality he can do in his sleep. Yet the hard-driving, fast-talking persona is still welcome. Stanley Tucci adds an understated warmth to the story; I wish he had more screen time. And I liked Hayley Atwell as an agent frustrated with the imposed limitations for women of the time, and finding unique ways to vent said frustrations. (After a bout of mild jealousy, she wastes no time in helping Rogers test his new shield by immediately firing a loaded gun at him. "Hmmm. Seems to work.")
I've already heard a couple complaints saying that the movie is nothing more than a lead-in to next year's "The Avengers." (A trailer for that film is tacked on to this one.) I don't really see it as such. If the movie seems oversimplified, that's probably because the story is set before gray areas permeated the collective American psyche... when good guys and bad guys can be so easily identified with the naked eye. The goal here is to entertain. You want popcorn entertainment? You got it.
* * * out of * * * * stars
The reason the film doesn't resonate to the upper tier of comic book movies is because Captain America himself simply isn't as interesting as other superheroes. The most compelling heroes are complex, troubled, and conflicted. Steve Rogers (a.k.a. Captain America) is weak in musculature but strong in spirit. He's noble, pure, true, and appeals to our empathy for the underdog. Beyond that, he doesn't bring a whole lot of character gradation to the table.
And yet that's not a debilitating problem here, as the movie itself operates from a similar hub of innocence. It's the early 1940s. The streets are inundated with posters of Uncle Sam with a protuberant index finger beseeching all eligible passers-by to enlist and fight overseas. A strikingly diminutive kid from Brooklyn, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) would love nothing more than to enlist. His size, along with an unfortunate litany of medical issues have prevented him from doing so, despite his efforts at forging his application several times over. His determination catches the eye of Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci), a fringe scientist who helps him get his foot in the door. "So, you want to go overseas and kill Nazis?" the scientist inquires. "I don't want to kill anybody," Rogers responds. "I just don't like bullies... wherever they come from."
As part of his special entry into military service, Rogers is required to be a test subject for a special serum that greatly inflates muscle mass and boosts the body's metabolism. The experiment works, and the former pushover is now a thewy mass of fortitude. Colonel Chester Phillips (Tommy Lee Jones) still isn't convinced of his effectiveness in the battlefield, so Rogers is relegated to posing for ostentatiously staged promotions to sell war bonds. (This is where the moniker Captain America was picked up.) Rogers knows he can contribute in actual combat, and with the help of sympathetic field agent Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) and weapon creator Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper), Captain America hits the war zone itself, freeing a slew of POWs. His next mission is to bring down the insidious German commander Johann Schmidt... aka Red Skull (Hugo Weaving) who is in possession of a cube with otherworldly powers and intends to wipe out half of civilization.
The story arc is noticeably devoid of nuance. The movie seems more constructed like a carnival ride than a sinuously plotted landscape dotted with narrative twists. The marvelously nostalgic visual style is a staple mark of director Joe Johnston's work. (His previous efforts include "The Rocketeer," "Jumanji," "October Sky," "Hidalgo," and "The Wolfman.") There are plenty of special effects in use, but none that feel too terribly overblown. Indeed, the most prominent effect is morphing Chris Evans from a ninety-pound asthmatic weakling to a statue of muscularity. The effect is passable enough, though it will require a suspension of disbelief. I don't imagine this will pose too much of a problem for the target demographic.
Both Chris Evans and Hugo Weaving do what they can, but there isn't a lot of wiggle room for acting range here. (Weaving actually managed to bring more personality to the monotone Smith in the "Matrix" movies.) Tommy Lee Jones is in perfect Tommy-Lee-Jones-mode, playing a personality he can do in his sleep. Yet the hard-driving, fast-talking persona is still welcome. Stanley Tucci adds an understated warmth to the story; I wish he had more screen time. And I liked Hayley Atwell as an agent frustrated with the imposed limitations for women of the time, and finding unique ways to vent said frustrations. (After a bout of mild jealousy, she wastes no time in helping Rogers test his new shield by immediately firing a loaded gun at him. "Hmmm. Seems to work.")
I've already heard a couple complaints saying that the movie is nothing more than a lead-in to next year's "The Avengers." (A trailer for that film is tacked on to this one.) I don't really see it as such. If the movie seems oversimplified, that's probably because the story is set before gray areas permeated the collective American psyche... when good guys and bad guys can be so easily identified with the naked eye. The goal here is to entertain. You want popcorn entertainment? You got it.
* * * out of * * * * stars
