Review of Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) by Travis H — 30 Apr 2014

I thought this film was just about perfect. It was a faithful adaptation of the Captain America mythos, it had an authentic 40s feel to it, from the sets to the score, and it seemed to have a good feel for what Captain America can and cannot do.

He was just as "super" as he should have been. Chris Evans was a great choice for Steve Rogers/Cap, delivering certain lines with the assurance and sincerity needed to keep them from coming across as egotistical or jingoistic.

Also, I don't know what other films she's done, but Hayley Atwell's turn as Peggy Carter made a fan out of me. Tommy Lee Jones was fun to watch as well. Perhaps most importantly, they did not screw up the Red Skull! He's one of Marvel's scariest, best villains, and I would not have dealt with it well if they would have ruined him the way the Fantastic Four movies ruined Dr.

Doom. Overall, I felt this was an elegant, original movie that had something going for it that's a little different than what other superhero movies have so far done, and that it manages to stand on its own, even though it signifies another stop on our journey towards next year's "Avengers" epic.

Here's hoping Marvel has learned from the mistakes of the past, and that all their movies in the future will be as solid as the ones they've released this year.