Review of Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) by Smith T — 21 Mar 2018

While not quite as entertaining as the film which came after it, The First Avenger is still a solid movie, but mostly in the popcorn sense. The central premise of the little guy getting a chance to do what the big guy is doing is pretty flimsy when you consider that, in order for this film's little guy to do any good, he needs to be miraculously transformed into a big guy.

And all the fun the movie has mocking the stereotypes surrounding short, physically weak men are essentially reinforced Steve Rogers' subsequent adventures. But if you don't think too hard about the shaky story logic and only focus on the thrills, you won't be disappointed.

It does have a tendency to cut its action too choppily and reduce important set pieces, including the climatic battle, to brief montages. Also, the blatant attempts at setting up Avengers Assemble are hard to ignore, regardless how hard you are looking or how much you care.

I wouldn't watch it again in a hurry as much as I would its sequel, but it was still great to see the movie which came before possibly the best superhero ensemble film of our time.