Captain America: The First Avenger0

This year more and more superhero’s keep hitting the big screen and now the last of the Avengers setup movies has finally arrived. Since I reviewed Thor I better do the right thing and talk about the brand new war epic, Captain America: The First Avenger.

Now being someone who doesn’t live in the States, when I hear of a superhero called Captain America I can’t help but groan and think of that stereotypical fist pumping American patriotism that the rest of the world finds retarded. You know that type spewed from the mouths of gun wielding trailer trash with handlebar mustaches and intolerance of anything not USA. We all hate that image as it represents a lot of what’s wrong with the world in general and in particular the United States. Luckily for us Captain America is some one who wouldn’t like that image either. He isn’t a flag waving nut, (despite wearing one) he is just an average Joe who wants to do the right thing. In that sense, he is someone who you can put your faith in and respect no matter what country you’re from. In fact one of the best (and most quoted) lines in the movie is when he is asked if he wants to kill Nazis, he simply responds by saying “I don’t want to kill anyone, I just don’t like bullies”. Now that is a GOOD GUY. Captain America is more or less the moral center of the Marvel universe like Superman is to DC. Hence why he eventually becomes the leader of the Avengers.

So who is Captain America? Well his name is Steve Rodgers. You don’t get a name more white American then that unless his middle name is “apple-pie”. He is little more then a weedy kid from Brooklyn and when I say weedy I mean this guy looks like Mr Burns. He’s small, skinny and has loads of medical problems. But since this movie is set during World War II, Steve being the stand up guy he is, wants nothing more then to do his duty and join the fight. Even though he is certainly not the ideal soldier he has a lot of heart. But that means fuck all to the US military so he is constantly rejected. But along comes Stanley Tucci as a lovable German scientist who is working with the US government to develop a super-soldier serum. He sees the potential and moral good in Steve and helps him to get into the military… for the purpose of using Steve as a guinea-pig for the highly dangerous experiment. Okay maybe Tucci isn’t all that good. Low and behold Rodgers not only survives the experiment but triples in size, speed and strength, becoming Captain America. The rest of the movie plays out like a fantastically made comic-book film, set against the backdrop of the second world war. It follows Steve as he learns to embrace his new abilities to not only fight in the war but to become a symbol of inspiration for all to rally behind.

I enjoyed the hell out of this movie. Having the main character be such a genuinely decent guy is actually a refreshing change from all the emotionally scarred, self destructive, rage filled, arrogant and otherwise damaged heroes we have been getting of late. I mean this guy is so likable you really want to see him reach his full potential and Chris Evans plays the role brilliantly. The side characters are as good. I mentioned Stanley Tucci but there’s also Tommy Lee Jones as the gruff and comical Colonel Phillips and the stunningly beautiful Hayley Atwell as love interest Peggy Carter. But the most entertaining performance by far has to be Hugo Weaving (who is great in everything he’s done) as Johann Schmidt aka The Red Skull. This guy is such a typical evil comic book villain that he is a German officer, who dabbles with alien technology, then quits the Nazis because they don’t go far enough. Oh and he has a fucking red skull for a head. I mean there is no way that you would still be following this guy and think he was on the level. But Weaving plays him in a way that he is  actually believable. It’s amazing and I still don’t know how he did that.

The effects are great and the fight scenes are some of the best I’ve seen in ages. All in all it’s a damn good movie and fits right in with the Marvel movie continuity. Now we all have to look forward to The Avengers next May where Cap will join Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, Hawk-eye and Nick Fury in what is bound to be one big freakin’ movie. But that’s a discussion for another time. See you next week.

Rowan

Breadcrumbs.