Midnight Movie Review: Captain America – The First Avenger

I love movies. More importantly, I love seeing movies before almost everyone else. Certain movies will get me to the theater at midnight, so I figured I’d see them first and write a review the next day so you can get a real review from someone that isn’t a Hollywood hack.

In this installment… Captain America – The First Avenger.

Well everyone, my summer movie season is drawing to a close. Captain America – The First Avenger is the last one on my list until next May or so, and let me just say, it was a great way to go out.

For those of you unfamiliar with the story behind Captain America, it follows a man, Steve Rogers, who wants to serve his country (America, for those of you that didn’t get it) but is rejected from the Army in World War II for being too small, frail, and weak.

A German scientist working for the Allies’ Strategic Science Regiment, Abraham Erskine, has developed a serum that can transform an ordinary man into a Super Soldier, with a body that operates at the peak of human efficiency. Erskine, wanting a candidate strong not necessarily in body, but in spirit, chooses Rogers. Rogers undergoes the process and is transformed from a 90-pound weakling into the first Super Soldier, Captain America.

The first thing I want to discuss is the cast. Out of all the Marvel Studios movies so far, Captain America – The First Avenger has, in my opinion, the best cast yet. I’ll admit I had my doubts as to whether Chris Evans could bring the seriousness that the role requires, and embody both the weak man who wants to serve his country, and the Super Soldier who gets to. Fortunately, through some very well done CGI, he does. Stanley Tucci’s Abraham Erskine is phenomenal, and really helps establish the reasoning for choosing Steve. Haley Atwell’s Peggy Carter wouldn’t be out of place in a movie set in modern times, as she’s a strong, no-nonsense woman, who demands respect from her male peers. Dominic Cooper’s Howard Stark (Tony’s father) has the requisite genius and playfulness that we’ve come to expect from a Stark, while still being deadly serious about his work. Toby Jones did a great job with Arnim Zola as a counter to Weaving’s Red Skull, demonstrating that evil can be weak and cowardly, along with being strong and powerful.

There are a few performances I want to call out specifically: Hugo Weaving as Johann Schmidt/Red Skull, Tommy Lee Jones and Colonel Chester Philips, and Sebastian Stan as James “Bucky” Barnes.

Weaving played Red Skull perfectly. He is absolutely, certifiably insane, but his drive and focus is such that he remakes his reality, bending the world to his will. Also, the prosthetics, makeup, and CGI that give him the name of Red Skull are phenomenal and seamless.

Tommy Lee Jones’ Chester Philips steals every scene he’s in. I think they got just the right amount of him without overdoing it, and he gets in plenty of great lines.

Finally, Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes. For those of you familiar with the comics, the movie version of Bucky is very, very different. Rather than being a sidekick or mascot, he’s Steve’s best friend, his protector, before Steve becomes Captain America. After his transformation, Bucky has to transition from being Steve’s protector to being Steve’s subordinate. He has some particularly emotional scenes, one in particular that comic book fans will recognize.

One last thing: Neal McDonough is such a dead ringer for Dum Dum Dugan, it’s scary.

I found director Joe Johnston’s take on the material to be much different than I anticipated. It feels like a very 40’s pulp kind of film; less “Saving Private Ryan” and more “The Rocketeer”, also directed by Johnston. It’s a very interesting contrast to Iron Man‘s modern slickness, directed by Jon Favreau, and Thor‘s Shakespearian gravitas, directed by Kenneth Branaugh. For those of you expecting lots of Nazis, you’re going to be disappointed. The main villains for this movie are HYDRA, the Nazi science division. However, it works.

On a technical level, there really isn’t a whole lot to talk about. Coming off Transformers – Dark of the Moon, which is probably the best visual effects and 3D I’ve ever seen, Captain America – The First Avenger feels kind of blah. However, that’s not a bad thing, as Captain America‘s story is stronger and deserves more development that CGI might have overshadowed. There are a few cool scenes where Cap throws his shield, but all in all you’re not missing anything if you see it in 2D.

All in all, if you’re remotely interested in Captain America, Marvel comics, or next summer’s The Avengers, go see Captain America – The First Avenger. I give this one four stars.