Captain America: First Avenger

All too infrequently, a much hyped blockbuster hits the mark right on the spot. Captain America First Avenger is such a movie. It's the best big budget movie that I've seen this year. It hits a high standard of excellence by combining a cool plot, breathtaking action sequences, a heavy dose of self discovery and realization, charisma, a dash of patriotism, love and puts it all together in one amazing package. This movie will surprise a lot of people with its heart while sacrificing none of the fun. The inner turmoil worked well, the beautiful thing is that we can relate to each character, especially that of underdog Steve Rogers. His never say die attitude and heart of a champion makes this hero more interesting then most. Captain America delivers on every level and does so with great emotional moments and it's a movie that lives up to all the hype it has generated.

Everything has converged perfectly, delivering what is now the best summer movie season in recent memory. It's certainly the best overall summer for superheroes. The cast is obviously stellar but that doesn't always mean greatness. (American Gangster, Wanted, Sphere, etc.) I'm happy to say this amazing cast delivers in every way. Believe it or not, Chris Evans himself delivers one of the greatest performances in a comic adaptation film EVER. Maybe it's because the character itself is one of the most complex and intriguing that any genre has to offer but that doesn't diminish just what a home run Evans has hit. They took the character seriously but still remembered to include fun and humor. I almost can't convey how much I enjoyed this film.

This is the film where the MCU started building its tone and story. It's a great origin story as it takes us back to the 40's to meet the first Avenger which keeps you engaged in a theme of love for others and America! The cast and acting is great along with great dialogue of happiness and sadness. The cinematography makes the movie feel more in place with the rest of the MCU. The editing is perfect and makes slower scenes not feel to slow and keeps pushing the story. The effects still hold to today with great sound, especially for the shield. The music and theme is perfect because it fits the American patriot tone and is even used many times in later MCU movies. Joe Johnston did a great job introducing Cap to the MCU. I wouldn't say this sticks out but is the perfect movie to make before the Avengers! 9.0/10. A-.

I've never followed Captain America in comics though I do know a little bit of the origin. So I'm one of the people who could sit back and enjoy the movie for what it was rather than nitpick on gaps in the CA lore.

The best thing about the movie is what's not in it- and that's cheap advertising gimmicks, such as a character opening a laptop to show an Apple or Sony logo, or car symbols or Coke, Pepsi or any fast food restaurant. It, however, would have been interesting to see if they could tie CA into their food products by having Marvel burgers or the American Superburger...I dislike cheap advertising tricks and thankfully this was completely avoided. Gone also was any chance of using high tech gadgets much like what was shown in Iron Man 2.

I found the plot interesting- the buildup to Steve Rogers becoming Captain American was done well and very interesting. The downside would be the action sequences which I thought would be more realistic or appropriate to the time setting. Instead several sequences were more reminiscent of what Iron Man 2 felt like.

As I'm not a CA follower some of the historical nods to certain symbols or the side characters themselves were lost to me but I did enjoy that Howard Stark's character was in the movie as it introduced the origin of Stark Industries and it's technologies of the future.

Actingwise Chris Evans did a surprisingly good job. In Fantastic Four he was OTT and hammed a lot and was generally quite annoying. Here he's more serious, focused and determined. There were a lot less quips, something I really detest in American made super hero movies. The cheesy quips might work in graphic novels or comics but in movies it comes off as plain lame. Hugo Weaving was quite good though too- he's becoming quite popular in characters taken from literature, comics or cartoons.

This is a movie for pretty much every age gap. There are no swear words (I don't even think the word damn makes it into the movie!) and no sex scenes so kids are perfectly fine to watch it. It's definitely the best superhero movie of the year and one of the better ones made entirely. I doubt that any sequel will be as good in terms of plot and story setting but in the meantime enjoy this summer gem.

I separate this movie into to parts, the first and second half. The first being my personal favourite of the two with the most character development, main plot of the story and best dialogue. The second half being straight and fun action. The character that is Steve Rogers is by far the highlight of the movie, he is so courageous despite all his many flaws and continues to overcome his seemingly limitless barriers. It is wonderful to watch how he uses his new strength to fight his enemies and help his allies. Speaking of his enemies, red skull isn't portrayed extremely well, his is shown as a crazed man with a god complex, no other development or back story is given to the character, you could argue that it isn't really needed though. The introduction to Bucky Barnes's character is quite small but obviously leads to more later in his character arc. Besides this I don't have much else to say besides the action towards the end is quite good, a little drawn out a little silly and over the top but intense and enjoyable to watch. Also the soundtrack is incredible, it fits extremely nicely and is very uplifting. Also Also the comedy in the movie, which there is few, is far better than I remember and isn't just thrown in at the most random places. Overall a good origin story 7/10!

Like many comic-book fans I was expecting the worst from this movie. This is not because the character has any less depth than other super-heroes, but I knew that it would be extremely difficult to transition Steve Rogers to film in a serviceable way. The guy is called "Captain America" for heaven's sake.

Any comic-book reader would probably appreciate the ironies and idiosyncrasies behind such ostentatiously patriotic code-name, mostly because in print Cap has challenged the assumptions behind his symbolism, becoming a more conflicted and universal figure.

But its hard to translate any of this idiosyncrasy successfully in 2 hours. Fortunately the film, instead of getting to political, is more old-fashioned pulp like Indy or "Sky Captain," which thankfully never takes itself too seriously (which was one of the flaws of "Thor").

I had my doubts that Chris Evans could pull off the modesty and heart needed for the role, but I was wrong. As the Red Skull, Hugo Weaving was wonderfully evil in a nostalgic, serial-villain kind of way. Haley Atwell is a sidekick/love-interest with the rare quality of not being incredibly annoying, and Tommy Lee Jones is perfectly cast as Tommy Lee Jones.

The reason I found this to be a good movie was because I enjoyed it, plain and simple. It's well-photographed and well-acted. Like its titular hero, it modestly embraced its silliness, creating a charming B-movie experience.