Film Review: Captain America - The First Avenger

Captain America certainly succeeds in introducing its title character to the world on the way to The Avengers, a film Marvel is obviously banking heavily on.

Captain America is an unashamedly old-fashioned film. Marvel’s latest effort is a charming but at times gut-wrenchingly cheesy reminder of the All-American patriotic war films of the past, but something befitting a relic of the era like Captain America himself.

Cap’s director Joe Johnston is no stranger to the gents and dames of a World War 2 period setting having adapted The Rocketeer in the early 90’s. Johnston’s experience proves to be the perfect fit for capturing the All American Steve Rogers, a great Chris Evans as he journeys from never back down pipsqueak to super soldier in a 40’s New York. Johnston and his main man shine in the early parts of the film. Johnston recreates the wartime patriotism and sense of duty on the streets of New York while Evans, after being knocked back from duty does his gosh-darndest to join his friends and countrymen on the front lines.

The early scenes in Captain America are all old-fashioned charm and cheese. Tommy Lee Jones is able to dish out tacky but welcomed patriotic one-liners as Col. Chester, Hayley Atwell is your typical tough independent dame as Cap’s love interest Peggy Carter and Evans really is endearing and charismatic as the gentleman Rogers. These great characters and Johnston’s great feel for the period set the First Avenger off to a great start with great momentum building to Steve Rogers first foray into the war zone as the beefed up Captain America. Unfortunately it is at this stage the fun ride derails and what started off slow and purposeful is set into warp drive with too many forgettable characters shoved into rushed and poorly managed action sequences and B-grade Tele-movie set pieces. Cap goes from sincere and endearing to boring and amateurish within a few minutes. Which is a shame, especially with Hugo Weaving doing his scene stealing best as the film’s villain, the Red Skull, who Johnston handles very well throughout the film.

Captain America certainly succeeds in introducing its title character to the world on the way to The Avengers, a film Marvel is obviously banking heavily on. While Captain America succeeds in getting the audience excited about Marvel’s upcoming 2012 blockbuster, as a stand alone film it’s found wanting. Johnston’s old fashioned approach is commendable in today’s age of realism and cynicism but fails to maintain the heart or spirit it begins with. Characters come and go with little impact or feeling, the finale misses the mark and Tommy Lee Jones’s one-liners over stay their welcome all leading to a lackluster ending that was ill-conceived and takes away from the entire film.

Verdict: Worth Seeing.

The film could have been called Captain America: First Step To The Avengers because at some points it feels like a long trailer to that film rather than the endearing and old-fashioned story it started out as. There is a lot to like about Cap’s revival especially for those not put off by unapologetic cheese but there are not enough good aspects to outweigh the rushed and mishandled second half.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER
Directed by: Joe Johnston
Cast: Chris Evans, Tommy Lee Jones, Hugo Weaving, Hayley Atwell
Running Time: 124 minutes