CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER - A Retro Review

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is kicking off their third phase of films next month with 'Captain America: Civil War'. Because of that, the multitudes here at Park Row Comics have begged me without dignity to explore the films leading up to this battle of heroes.

So with that in mind, I bring you my response to the introduction of Steve Rogers, also known as 'Captain America: The First Avenger'

Spoiler Warning: Guys, do we really need to do this again? Fine. Whatever. There are spoilers in this review. You're warned.

Before it was released in the summer of 2011, if i remember correctly, there was an air of doubt surrounding 'Captain America'. Cap was an old-fashioned hero, and this was a period picture. A lot was at stake with 'The Avengers' on the horizon, 'Thor' had been released to a positive critical and commercial response, and now Marvel was bringing one of their original superheroes to the big screen. But of course, everything turned out fine, the critical response was positive, and the movie did well enough at the box office to leave Marvel in a comfortable position before the next summer's assembly. 

Director Joe Johnston, who helmed the art-deco and appallingly overlooked masterpiece 'The Rocketeer', brought those swashbuckling sensibilities to the WWII-era action piece. Chris Evans stars as Steve Rogers, a painfully thin young man with the heart of a soldier, who volunteers to be injected with a serum that will turn him into the world's first Super Soldier. Evans, who already had a background in superheroics, seemed to be made to play Cap. As was veteran bad guy Hugo Weaving, who took the role of the Red Skull, Cap's archenemy. Hayley Atwell stole many scenes playing british agent Peggy Carter, the opposite of a damsel in distress, and Steve's love interest. The amazing composer Alan Silvestri brought his A-game, the story was solid, and the rest supporting cast, including Tommy Lee Jones, Stanley Tucci, Dominic Cooper, and Sebastian Stan, were all outstanding. 

And yet, in the end, 'Captain America' is just OK.

Perhaps it is Steve's unflappable goodness that is just kinda...dull. He's not so "golly gee willikers!" good in the sequel, so perhaps it's the fault of the director, who presents him as possessing an almost unbelievable earnestness. With his laundry list of health issues, Steve should not be surprised (disappointed, i'm sure, as many real men were when they were categorized as 4F) to be rejected for the armed services repeatedly. It's not as if he's not hiding his age - he's hiding several debilitating problems that would not only endanger his life, but potentially the lives of any soldiers around him. So that unquenchable eagerness to leap into battle is foolhardy at best. But of course, it makes him perfect for an experimental program to create the super soldier. 

But despite this nearly distracting goodness, Evans sells it well. He does make Steve's earnestness endearing enough for us to like him. Which creates another problem - he may care about him, but we never fear for his safety.

At this point, I'm going to blame Marvel's habit of announcing all the movies in their respective phases ahead of time. Before 'The Avengers' came out, we already knew of Iron Man 3, so Stark's mission to stop the nuke was moot. Before 'Age of Ultron' came out, we already knew we were getting 'Civil War' with Iron Man, Black Widow, and Hawkeye. as well as another Thor. The Hulk literally cannot die, so before the Four Days Age of Ultron even began, we know the Avengers were all safe. Likewise, here, with 'The First Avenger' we knew Steve Rogers was alive and well, and ready to fight Loki the following summer. 

In fact, considering the common knowledge that Bucky Barnes would rise from the grave to become the Winter Soldier, the biggest stakes played for in this movie are "will Steve and Peggy Carter get to go on their date?" No, they won't. And yes, that's sad, but really... a movie should have bigger stakes than this. 

Atwell's performance as Carter is wonderful, and I'm glad it's led to her becoming a recurring fixture in the Marvel Universe. But if their romance is the heart of this story, then Steve's assumed death at the end should be shown to have more of an impact than it does.

Which brings up another issue - what IS the heart of the story? Steve does not have a character arc, because his character does not change. His body and his abilities do, but he is essentially the same man in the end as he was in the beginning? 

Is it Captain America vs. Hydra and the Red Skull? Maybe. But from the moment Cap actually enters the war, Hydra's defeat is all but certain. He is totally successful in every attack against them. So there is really no drama to it. Nor do we get any prolonged scenes of attacking the Hydra bases.

Yet, it's exciting to see Steve's new powers. It's a cool effect to see Chris Evans face on an drastically unhealthy body. It's a lot of fun to see Cap and his nearly invincible Howling Commandos whoop up on some Hydra Nazis. But you rarely ever feel like they're in any danger. It's entertaining to watch Hugo Weaving ham it up as the Red Skull, and see how villainous he can be, but he never really feels dangerous. Not to Cap, or to America. I will get to this when I review 'The Winter Soldier' but Cap is on his heels throughout the majority of that movie. He's up against an enemy that he doesn't understand or know how to defeat. And I think that's a large part of why it succeeds. And a large part of why this movie doesn't fully reach it's potential. Cap is a little too infallible.

I read once that Christopher Nolan never worried about what was going to be leftover for the sequel when he was making 'Batman Begins' and 'The Dark Knight'. That he wanted to put every good idea he had into this movie so that it would be the best movie he could make. And I think about this because 'Captain America: The First Avenger' is more or less entertaining, but never really serves to do anything besides set up the macguffin of 'The Avengers' and give you some background information on their leader. If that was all Marvel Studios wanted to accomplish, then they succeeded. But if anyone wanted to make more out of it, then, in that respect, they were kinda damned from the start. Which is a shame, because making a WWII superhero story is a pretty unique idea. It's just too bad that they confined this story to such a constricted space. 

FINAL SCORE 6.0/10

Cap is obviously back next month in 'Civil War'. I'm pretty GD excited for it, to be honest! I hope the Russo Brothers go the Nolan route and put every good idea, no matter how explosive to the future, on the screen.