Captain America

"Captain America" (1990) was just added to IMDB's infamous Bottom 100 List....the one hundred worst rated major release films of all time. This is unusual, as this film did not (until now) have enough votes to make it elegible to join the ranks of awfulness. However, with the release of the latest Captain America film ("Avengers: Endgame"), apparently increased attention has been on this poor movie...hence it's inclusion. However, there is one huge problem with this....while "Captain America" is clearly a bad film, it is ridiculous to consider it's among the 100 worst ever. I wouldn't even place it in the bottom 1000....let alone 100.

The first portion of the movie is actually pretty good. You get the creation of the Captain as well as Red Skull....and up until Captain goes into suspended animation in the ice of Alaska, I thought I'd probably give the film a 4 or 5...maybe even a 6. But the final portion was just terrible. First, the Captain was saddled with a stupid sidekick who looked like an extra from the film "Valley Girl". She was weak and silly...and totally out of place. Second, the climactic final battle was terrible. If Captain America is a superhero....why was he so wimpy...not only in the final battle but all the ones leading up to it?! Third, while he tried hard, Matt Salinger was a dull Captain America...very dull. Add to this, fourth, a weak script with weak dialog. Overall, one of the worst superhero films I've seen...but nothing like truly godawful films like "Plan 9 From Outer Space" or "Robot Monster" (which, oddly, didn't even make the list).

So would I recommend this movie? Probably not...unless you are intensely curious or like seeing all of the Bottom100 films.

I saw this movie when I was maybe 15 or so and didn't like it too much but for some reason after getting the X-Men dvd I wanted to see it again. Well I found a used copy for 9 bucks and decided what the hell. The character of Capt. America has never been a fave of mine he was just cheesy and the costume was really corny.....I just found him boring, I have always however liked the Red Skull he's a good villian. The movie was directed by Albert Pyun (who can sometimes make a visually interesting movie but is still somewhat a hack) and produced by Menahem Golan (the guy half responsible for all those terrible Cannon movies...all except Lifeforce really) so the movie already has the odds against it. But it was entertaining most of the time but a lot of that is because I have a fondness for low budget films. I think the heart was in the right place but the script was not. Actually parts of the movie work well and others don't, the acting from Matt Salinger as pretty good as was Scott Paulin (even though I think his voice sounded like Dexter's from Dexter's Laboratory) and with the exception of when the missle passes by the kid the visual effects were cool in a low tech way. The big problem with the movie other than changing characters back story was changing Red Skull (looking cool at the beginning) into some mafioso with makeup that looks at best o.k. in some scenes. Actually the whole movie is laughable (especially Caps' old girlfriends husband who sits around looking really stupid & confused) but the heart was in the right place & there is a likeable quality to it....even though the environmental stuff was irritating and preachy. It was good late night viewing.

And Red Skull looked cool when he was Red Skull.

Unfortunately, this is not the Marvel movie that will endear you to comic book movie adaptations. However, I think Salinger gives an honest performance as the title character, even if he spends more time out of costume than in. For whatever reason, the Red Skull is made Italian, rather than German, but it didn't bother me as much as it did some other viewers. For being a B-movie, Captain America is tolerable. Watch it first, before you make any judgements. You might be able to suspend your disbelief long enough to enjoy it.

I love this movie! Captain America and the Red Skull are both in it and both look as they should. The origin is true to the comics and Captain America's costume looks very cool. He does throw the shield and knock down the Red Skull a few times in the movie. It's more of an origin movie but it's a very exciting one. Definitely watch it!

Superhero movies are again a hot property thanks to the big screen adaptations of Spider-Man, X-Men and Superman. As such, many film buffs who know little or nothing about Captain America have no doubt been picking this one up at the video store. Too bad nothing but pure crapulescence awaits them.

Where to begin? The movie has a dim look to it; the acting is second-rate; and the action and battle scenes are few and far between. It will disappoint most die-hard comic book fans, perhaps as much as those silly 1970s Cap films were. On a positive note, the action scenes aren't awful when the viewer finally gets to them. As well, the characters stay pretty true to their illustrated roots, and kids aren't going to be nearly as fussy as adult moviegoers about this one.