By With big bad Nazis, subtle romance, witty one-liners, light action sequences and a clear message, “Captain America: The First Avenger” reminds us what a classic superhero summer flick is all about.
At the beginning of the film, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is a scrawny man who wants to join the Army. His chiseled face is digitally tacked onto a smaller actor’s body and he has many health problems, which constantly caused him to be rejected from recruiting centers. A trip to the World Fair changes all that when he decides to test fate one more time. His attempts pay off when Dr. Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci) witnesses his determination and genuine motivation. Steve is then offered a chance to partake in the Super Soldier Project, an experiment that would transform him into something that was always within: a naturally built and toned body.
Steve’s arch enemy is Johann Schmidt (Hugo Weaving), leader of the hardcore post-Nazi group HYDRA. An earlier version of Erskine’s experiment was used on Schmidt and failed, leaving the latter with a face that could possibly be the love child of Voldemort and Hell Boy. Renamed Red Skull and equipped with an energy source called a “jewel from Odin’s treasure room” (a nod-off to “Thor”), Johann is confident to take over the world as any classical supervillain so desires.
Steve eventually becomes Captain America, a war mascot that replaces Uncle Sam, kicks Nazi butt and has difficulties dealing with women.
The Captain is jam-packed with American ideals and motivating messages. After all, with a name like Captain America, it’d almost be illegal to not include such notions. Eerily similar to Spiderman’s message of “with great power comes great responsibility,” one of the Captain’s images is that he’s “not a perfect soldier, but a good man.”
Red Skull is also nothing new, and definitely not as intimidating as the comics make him out to be. At most, he’s a stereotypical baddie who has old school motives for world domination, but this works well with the film as it shows us that flashy explosions and half-naked women aren’t required to make a successful action flick. This is reinforced with Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), an officer from the Strategic Scientific Reserve, as well as Rogers’ love interest. She punches out a soldier who underestimates her and is not hesitant to pull out her gun when necessary.
The movie also provides a few laughs — mostly thanks to the quips of Tommy Lee Jones as Colonel Chester Phillips — and acknowledgements that the war wasn’t welcomed by everyone. At first, viewers see a montage of scenes where Steve dressed up in a traditional Captain America costume and visits various cities selling war bonds. There are comics made from his character and Captain America posters soon replace Uncle Sam’s. He then visits troops in Italy to boost morale, but he gets jeered and pushed off stage when they call for the dancing women.
With the help of costuming and set designing that emphasizes the fashion and realistic backdrops of a historical New York, the movie is visually appealing. Unfortunately, when partnered with such a generic soundtrack that could be utilized in any other action film, these aspects lose its shine. If “Captain America” used a unique score, such as its fellow Marvel film “X-Men: First Class,” action scenes would have been more emotionally-riveting.
The movie succeeds to stick close to the Captain’s origins with most of the two hours taking place during the 1940s. Besides the nod to “Thor” with Red Skull’s power source, the movie also introduces a younger Howard Stark, founder of Stark Industries and father of Tony Stark, otherwise known as Iron Man.
At the end of the film, a flashy teaser trailer ties in other Marvel superheroes such as Iron Man, Thor and the Hulk together in “The Avengers,” one of Marvel’s upcoming flicks. It doesn’t give any plot points away, but hypes up audiences for next year. “Captain America” is great on its own, but not complete without the trailer.
