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Director: Joe Johnston
Writers: Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely, Two Others
Stars: Chris Evans, Hugo Weaving, Tommy Lee Jones, Hayley Atwell
I really enjoyed Captain America. It’s a good superhero, popcorn, and summer movie. It is also very reminiscent of Raiders of the Lost Ark, which they reference when Johann Schmidt (Hugo Weaving) mentions that the Furor is looking for trinkets in the desert. Part of the fun of watching this film was catching all the references: the Wilhelm scream, the speeder bikes from Return of the Jedi sound effects during the motorcycle chase in the jungle, and others.
The story is straightforward and does a good job of helping you identify with Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), aka Captain America. The scenes in the beginning of the film when he is a ninety-eight pound weakling are surprisingly effective. If you are familiar with the comics, then you’ll recognize the origin story is fairly accurate, with some add-ons from the pre-Samuel L. Jackson influenced Nick Fury character. You also feel for the character when he realizes that he is wasting his potential on the USO tour to promote war-bonds instead of fighting the enemy. Chris Evans is decent; Tommy Lee Jones steals every scene he is in; and both Hugo Weaving and Hayley Atwell are really good. Credit must also be given to the writers for how the movie begins; the Titanic style present-day shots caught me by surprise. The direction was good, and the look of the film was great. Though I will say that I do not like it when cutting-edge technology of the past looks a little too similar to cutting-edge technology of today–the pod in which the Captain is created and the controls of the enemy flying wing, for example. But those are minor quibbles. This is a good movie for the whole family on a Saturday afternoon.
Grade: B
P.S. Captain America tangent: though I only purchased a few issues of Captain America when I actively read and collected comics, for some reason the character resonates with me. It really affected me a few years ago when Marvel killed the character at the end of their Civil War story line. I also like how they depict him in the Ultimates Universe. I don’t know. Maybe it’s a yearning for a simpler more good vs. evil time that he represents, but I really like the Captain America character. I’m happy the filmmakers did a good job with this film, and we will see him again in the upcoming Avengers movie. Thank you for giving Cap his due.
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