Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

As I remembered the versions of 1979 (TV movies with Reb Brown) or the lame version of 1991 with Matt Salinger, I was just hoping this time, this movie will do good with Captain America as the main subject.

And what a ride it was. I know that Captain America (Steve Rogers) was a soldier, so expecting some war movie along with the superhero fare. Joe Johnston not only caught the essence of the American Hero, but this time, no bulked up effects nor fake violence. This is really the Marvel hero and first Avenger who we are seeing here...

All the actors were good in it. Very surprised to see Hugo Weaving doing a believable Red Skull (I remember the one in 1991 was horrible...) and when you see Tommy Lee Jones doing army stuff, we gotta believe it, he gives depth...

Chris Evans gives Steve Rogers/Captain America a brand new perspective, far from Reb Brown's botched up costume or Matt Salinger's bland personification. Hope he keeps the momentum in "The Avengers"...

And of course, the "Stan Lee" moment is not to be missed with a quip from the creator himself...

Fmovies: Captain America is a very very good film. I firmly believe that this character is the very toughest to bring to life in the Marvel stable simply because of his complexity. They did a fairly nice job keeping it simple but remembering to do so with heart. The film features a nice pace, the perfect cast and wonderful throwback action sequences. It does have its flaws but not enough to sink the film by any means. Overall, it's a fun ride that respectfully delivers a movie worthy of the legend and sets up for what could be amazing sequels and what will be an awesome Avengers film.

The Good

The cast is remarkable and every single character played to perfection.

Tommy Lee Jones simply stole every scene he was in and his character had the audience in the palm of his hand. Best audience reactions throughout the entire film.

Cap's wartime real costume, look and shield work is amazing. It's right out of the books. The same can be said of the Red Skull's look.

The brutality was not only welcome but needed. It grounded the film and made everything play out in a more real world tone with real consequences. The body count in this film is surprisingly high.

The film had true heart because they made Steve relatable and you instantly rooted for him and wanted to follow his path to glory. The pre-serum 98lb weakling Steve is not only an amazing CGI feat but perfectly hooks the audience.

A story featuring a true hero is so refreshing at this point. No dark brooding and moody anti-hero hereÂ…

The story itself is told with a very nice pace and in a crisp manner. Nothing drags at all.

The dialogue is witty and the humor works its way seamlessly in to the natural order of the story.

The tone and period work is dead on perfect. I loved the flavor of this film when the focus was not on anything Hydra.

The Bad

I really wish they had stayed entirely Nazi and left the Hydra element out, laser guns and all.

Having no "learning curve" hurt the overall film as well. What always works in origin films is having the hero learn and come to grips with his new powers or abilities. Iron Man and Spider-Man are prime perfect examples. I enjoyed Steve's initial use of powers because circumstances demanded it but they never showed him training or learning combat techniques at all. That's a terrible oversight, especially since the character is known as the world's greatest hand to hand fighter in terms of the Marvel Universe.

I would've liked to have seen more background on Steve as a character... growing up without a father and mother during the Depression era and the building of his ethical and moral code.

Overall: A great film that is one of the year's best and oh so close to being perfection. Wonderful job by all involved.

Captain America: The First Avenger is a pretty decent film by its own merits. Showing the good old retro style and production design, since this film is directed by Joe Johnson who is capable of portraying the old times perfectly. Chris Evans did a great job as Captain America. Some of the action scenes are disappointingly unexciting but at least the CGI effects are eye candy. The movie ends with true patriotic heroism and full of heart. Definitely not new but it's still enjoyable.

The trope of Captain America: The First Avenger has been reused by so many superhero movies. A good guy who is a weakling became powerful then eventually saves the day. It's definitely not innovating even for the people who've never read the comics but it's a relic. Well made production design & the old fashion score. Most battle scenes are montages. The action scenes are large. It can be watchable but some of them are pretty bland and poorly directed.

The joys and the thrills mostly goes to the performances. Nothing goes wrong with Chris Evans. He did a decent job as Steve Rogers/Captain America. Hugo Weaving is fun to watch by his campiness and menace for the Red Skull. Tommy Lee Jones is the comic relief here. The special effects are everywhere. Skinny Chris Evans and the background of the 1940s. Well, they are good enough for this film.

Plenty of things worked in the end. Captain America: The First Avenger is a relic in its old fashion style but a little messy when it comes to the editing of the action scenes, but it's still enjoyable. Patriotic heroism, full of heart, Chris Evans, and decent production design. Marvel Studios and Joe Johnston really beats the awful 1990s version. The action could have been better but their flaws can be ignored. It's fun enough as a superhero movie.

Captain America: The First Avenger fmovies. With the imminent "Avengers" movie coming next year, only one hero's origin story remains untoldÂ…until now. Falling in line with "Thor," "Iron Man," and "The Incredible Hulk," "Captain America" showcases the rise of Steve Rogers as the title character. Unlike the other films, which take place in modern times, this one goes way back to WWII, showing the Captain kicking Nazi butt! With a lot of "Wolfenstein" style occult mystique and a slight "Indiana Jones" sense of adventure, this movie has a number of solid action sequences, and plenty of imaginative special effects and setpieces. With its references to various characters and concepts of other Mavel movies, it fits into the franchise really well. It might take some stretch of the imagination to believe that Nazis could be this futuristic, but for a superhero movie, it's all good fun.

The story in this case is pretty solid. The main character shows strong development, and for most of the movie, you really root for him. There's nothing more thrilling than watching the underdog getting the upper hand. As it goes on, much of the character drama and story development gets pushed aside by the action, but it still works. By the end, voila, we have the lead-in for the "Avengers" film.

If there's any complaint for this film, it's that there could have been more. Whether it needs a stronger action setpiece or a more invoking sense of drama, I'm not sure, but something seems missing, and nothing really makes this film stand over any of the other superhero films that have come out so far.

The film is competently made, with decent (but never exceptional) photography. Editing is good for the most part, but I am not a fan of the montage in the middle of the film that makes the entire war campaign whiz by. A couple of action scenes seemed a little sloppily-edited, but it's hardly noticeable. Acting is swell; Chris Evans is surprisingly strong as the main character, and I enjoyed Hayley Atwell, Sebastian Stan, Tommy Lee Jones, Stanley Tucci, and Hugo Weaving in their roles. Writing seems pretty good. Production value is high, featuring lots of good (if not overly-slick) sets, props, costumes and special effects. Music is appropriately upbeat and adventurous. In the end, I'd say the film met my expectations, but never fully exceeded them. But it, along with an all-too-short sneak preview after the credits, provide the necessary bridge to the "Avengers" film.

Recommended.

4/5 (entertainment: 4/5, story: 4/5, film: 4/5)

Joe Johnston has done it again, managing to take what SHOULD be great action flick material and managed to make it, well, boring.

Don't get me wrong, the film started out quite well. The change from puny wimp to super hero was well done, as was the intro sequence with red skull. The whole nazi-mysticism mystique was done very well. But it seemed that after Joe Johnston filmed these two or three well thought out portions, the rest of the film was just filler.

I caught myself looking at my watch a few times, just sort of wanting the movie to end - and this was at the 1/2 point of the film. The action sequences are fairly average for the most part and I really never got that "edge of my seat" feeling as the characters faced peril.

All in all, an above-average film which could have been great if someone with better directing chops had been chosen.

6/10

People suck, that's the only reason this movie is rated to low! I love this movie!