Captain America: The First Avenger (12A)
Released in the UK 29th July 2011. Running Time: 124 mins.
Directed by Joe Johnston, written by Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely
(based on the comics by Joe Simon & Jack Kirby)
Starring: Chris Evans, Hugo Weaving, Hayley Atwell, Tommy Lee Jones, Toby Jones, Dominic Cooper & Stanley Tucci
This is a solid and entertaining attempt at bringing another classic Marvel comics character to the big screen, following in the success of Thor and the Iron Man movies. And quite a big improvement on the last Captain America movie from 1990…
The plot is quite straightforward and adheres to the superhero origin story template. At the height of WW2, Steve Rogers, a wee twig of a man (a lollipop’d headed CGI’d Chris Evans) is determined to sign up to fight the Nazis, despite his physical limitations. After numerous failed attempts, Stanley Tucci’s mysterious Dr. Abraham Erskine sees Steve’s potential, selecting him on his moral character for his top-secret project: the super soldier program, Project Rebirth, co-created with Dominic Cooper’s entrepreneur, Howard Stark (yup, father of Tony, the Iron Man).
After lots of flashes of lightning and many levers being pulled, we have a big n’ beefy Steve Rogers (a pumped-up Chris Evans). Throw in a Nazi spy (Richard Armitage – soon to be seen leading a band of dwarves as Thorin Oakenshield in The Hobbit movies), some timed explosives, and we get to see Steve in action.
(And, by the way, poison gas teeth are a gimmick most welcome on screen. They tend to make for very amusing death scenes!)
So, Captain America is born.
This is a lavish film that straddles two genres – superhero movie and war movie – equally well. It is a busy film and packs a lot into its two hours running time, sometimes at the expense of character development. This is to be expected, as the cast is pretty huge.
In this latter regard, Cap’s sidekick, Bucky Barnes, is reasonably well fleshed out (by Sebastian Stan), but the Howling Commandos (never actually named in the film) are recognisable; Neal McDonough’s Dum Dum Dugan is a wasted opportunity but grabs his scenes with relish.
Hugo Weaving fares better, as Cap’s nemesis, Dr. Johan Schmidt (aka The Red Skull), head of the Nazi’s science division, Hydra. In the crucial opening scene, Weaving’s mad doc discovers an ancient Asgardian artefact (linking nicely into Thor, for those paying attention) that offers the Nazis a potent source of power.
It’s interesting to note that Weaving and his Hydra cronies wear no Nazi iconography at all, which seems quite unusual. It’s a style choice that works, but at times it is easy to forget that the Cap is actually smashing Nazis.
The rest of the cast shine in perfectly shaped supporting roles; Tommy Lee Jones as Colonel Chester Phillips gets some great lines and grizzles his way through the movie in reliable fashion; Hayley Atwell dazzles as Agent Peggy Carter; Dominic Cooper, despite murdering an American accent, exploits the most out of his role as Howard Stark; and Toby Jones as Weaving’s sidekick, Dr. Arnim Zola, plays the fine line between duped accomplice and slimy stooge.
But the strength of Captain America is also its chief flaw: Steve Rogers himself. Chris Evans was an unusual choice, given his prior dabbling in the Marvel waters with his role in the two Fantastic Four movies. Surprise casting, yes, and Evans leads the line well. Whilst his Rogers is instantly likeable and engaging, he is the epitome of honourable idealism. And he kind of stays that way through the entire movie. Next to Downey’s Tony Stark, and even Hemsworth’s Thor, Cap seems a little, well… like a typical superhero. There just isn’t the complex layering of character that Favreau’s Iron Man, for example, possesses.
Captain America is a great looking movie, with lush and evocative period production design and lighting. Director Joe Johnston handles the action & story with gusto; there is at no point a let up. It is a very solidly structured movie.
The ending creaks a little but nicely pays homage to the comic-book source material (spoiler alert: involving ice). The final scenes do smack of being tagged on, and are inevitable given that this film ultimately serves a purpose as a semi-prequel to the forthcoming Avengers movie, due next year. Stick around after the credits for a teaser trailer for that movie, revealing approximately squat about its plot, but enough to promise that it should be fun. How Joss Whedon goes about balancing all those characters in one movie is anyone’s guess. Good luck to him.
In conclusion: A cracking adventure movie that successfully splices WW2 adventure with superhero dramatics. A fun night out.
Andy Jamieson, Editor
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