Review of Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) by Richard L — 12 Sep 2014

There was perhaps no better choice for director than Joe Johnston. The director of "The Rocketeer" and "October Sky" has a gift for nostalgia, innocence, and patriotism in his movies, without generally slipping into sentimentality, and no where is this more evident than the first hour of "Captain America." From Captain America's beginning as a courageous and tiny man hoping to join the Army to help fight World War II to his mutation into the First Avenger, Johnston makes sure that the character is someone even a cynical modern crowd will root for.

It helps, of course, that Steve Rogers is played by Chris Evans. Steve Rogers is more charming and much less arrogant than the character Johnny Storm in "The Fantastic Four" movies, and the movie as a whole works much better than those movies. Evans has some iconic scenes straight from the comic book.

He's backed up by a rich assemble of other characters, including the brilliant Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter. She is the reason why she wil soon be starring in a television series based on the same charcter. Although a love interest for Captain America, Atwell's Carter is a powerful agent of her own destiny, called on upon to both inspire and challenge Rogers.

Tommy Lee Jones is hilarious and perfect as the Colonel. Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark perfectly shows where his son Tony got much of his personality. Sebastian Stan is an impressive Bucky Barnes, though it is not clear just how important the character is in the Marvel Cinematic Universe until "Captain America: The Winter Soldier." It is interesting now to go back to the first movie and see how many hints there were surrounding Barnes.

Less successful is Hugo Weaving as Red Skull, who demonstrates too well the continuing problem of villains in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (except for Loki.) His motives are not complex and he is there simply to move the plot along when needed. Toby Jones' Dr. Zola is much more successful as a villain simply because he is given opportunities to do more than just chew scenes.

As for the storyline, I especially love the first hour, and Captain America's origin story. There is so much heart and intelligence in this part of the movie. It continues somewhat into a more pedestrian second half, as all the pieces are put into place to set up Captain America for his next adventure, with the Avengers. After a noble act of sacrifice, the movie in the final few minutes jumps into high gear with hints about what will be coming next.

Overall, the movie succeeds especially in its first hour as a standalone adventure, and if it becomes more concerned about setting up the future in the second half, it does so almost painful, and is especially strong after all of the pieces are finally in place and it becomes clear what will happen next. The richness of the characters allows "Captain America" not only to serve an integral role in the entire Cinematic Unvierse, but to be at the center of its own corner of that universe, in the sequel and the television series "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D" and "Agent Carter.".