Review of Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) by Timothy T — 17 Aug 2014

Update:

I saw "Captain America" again for the third time. This time projected from a 35mm print and, while there are a few brief moments which were designed for 3D that aren't quite as cool in 2D, overall it is a much more rewarding experience than the underlit 3D presentations I saw. This is really a bright, colorful film with lots of detail in the action, sets, backgrounds, and facial expressions which are lost in the dimness of digital presentation. Well worth a second viewing if you can find someplace running it on film.

Original post:

Saw it twice already. Both times in 3D (which ain't too shabby). Liked it the first time. Liked a lot better the second time - for a couple of reasons.

The first is that I wasn't distracted reconciling the movie with the comics. The movie is very, very good but, like "Thor", it has the job of filling in all of the back story needed for The Avengers in 2012 and there's a LOT more back story. Captain America really deserved Iron Man's two film lead in. And, as much as the movie does an impressive job adapting decades of story into two hours there are inevitable differences some of which were a bit jarring to me. On second viewing I could appreciate the movie for itself because I already knew where it differed from the stories I was familiar with.

The second viewing, I saw the movie with my teenage daughter who knows almost nothing about the character and I was curious how she would respond to it. We, of course, stayed through the credits for the anticipated after credit scene and then this occurred:

The movie ends. Daughter turns to me.

Daughter: "Really?".

We stand and walk to the end of the row.

Daughter: "Really?".

We walk up the aisle a bit.

Daughter: "An ad?".

And a bit farther.

Daughter: "That's stupid.".

A bit farther.

Daughter: "As if the people who stay through the credits aren't already waiting to see 'The Avengers'?".

We exit the theater and in the lobby are four of her friends. They greet and hug and ask "what are you seeing? and "what did you see?".

Friend: "We're going to see Harry Potter again.".

Daughter: "Captain America".

Friend: "Cool. How is it?".

Daughter: "Ummm...".

Friend: "Oh. That good?".

Daughter: "Well ...".

Friend: "What would you rate it?".

Daughter: "Mmmm...three stars.".

Friend: "Oh.".

The friends obviously have no interest in seeing Captain America now.

Daughter: "But stay 'til the end".

Daughter: "It's disappointing, but stay 'til the end.".

The friends obviously now have less than no interest in seeing Captain America.

We leave the theater, walking to the car.

Daughter: "That free-fall fight was cool!".

Me: "Yeah. I liked that a lot, too.".

Daughter: "I'd have probably given it four stars but that ad at the end was a dumb move.".

Me: "I liked the movie a lot more this time. I think because I knew what to expect and wasn't trying to reconcile the movie with the comics and I knew when the movie really ended and when to stop expecting more. I think the ad at the end colored my feelings about the movie, too.".

Daughter: "Yeah. When we sat through the credits and it said 'Captain America returns in The Avengers' I though 'We stayed for that?'. But then the tag and the ad played and I thought 'ending with 'Captain America returns in The Avengers' would have been better. Or ending after the little punching bag scene. It wouldn't have been GOOD, but it would have been BETTER.".

The moral: Marvel Studios, which had been doing a great job building anticipation for The Avengers with the tag scenes after the credits which teased and enticed, went for the hard sell. I doubt that that hard sell is building audience because, as daughter said, "As if the people who stay through the credits aren't already waiting to see 'The Avengers'?" But the hard sell almost certainly lost the sale of four tickets to Captain America which daughter's friends had been interested in (and had both time and disposable income to spend for) because the Avengers ad disappointed her and unfavorably influenced her immediate response to the movie.

Y'know, for good word of mouth you want to send people out on a high note, not feeling like they've been subject to a bait and switch; expecting the tradition of a cool teaser tag to continue in this movie but being delivered a tiny anemic tag followed by a routine and traditional ad.