Chris Evans, Hugo Weaving, Hayley Atwell, Tommy Lee Jones, Dominic Cooper, Stanley Tucci, Toby Jones
Dir. Joe Johnston
Scr. Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely (based on the Marvel comic books)
You’ll be forgiven for thinking comic books are taking over the world of cinema. Largely, this trend has had some very fine consequences (X Men, recent Batman, Iron Man). And sometimes, the result has been mixed, even downright awful (Green Lantern, early Hulk). Captain America can be placed squarely in the first category – fun and visually exciting, utterly retro, staying true to its comic book sensibility. I had a ball watching this movie.
Set in 1942, when the US has entered WWII, a very determined but highly unsuitable Steve Rogers (Evans) tries and fails repeatedly to enlist. He’s too short, too sickly and has no hope of doing his duty in the army. Noticed by scientist Erskine (Tucci), Rogers proves his courage and worth and is chosen as the subject for an experiment in which his body is transformed to fulfil its ultimate human potential. He becomes super soldier, Captain America. Much to his disappointment, the powers-that-be use him largely as a marketing tool, raising much needed funds for the war effort. It’s not long, however, before he gets to see real action and with a team of men, he is tasked with bringing down Hydra, the German research department headed by Johann Schmidt (Weaving) who is hell-bent on, you guessed it, world domination. Cue fight scenes, many explosions, some cheesy and very funny dialogue, a smattering of romance, and you’ve got yourself a very entertaining couple of hours.
What makes Captain America work is not its script (we’ve witnessed this scenario countless times before) or its cast (although, there are many worth watching here), but its innocence – the time is captured so well and the story never loses its core premise of rooting for the enthusiastic little guy with a heart of gold. Also, the effects here are top-notch. Even though I had a hard time reconciling Evans’ head with pre-Captain American Steve Rogers. A little creepy.
The cast on offer in Captain America is extremely good and, with the exception of the token female, I would have a hard finding fault with any of them. While I wouldn’t rush to see him in anything else, Evans is clearly born to play this role. He captures the innocence of Rogers brilliantly and has the perfect all-American look. Weaving is stellar, again relishing the bad guy role. Jones, as hardass Colonel Chester Phillips, is wonderful, with some of the funniest lines in the film. Tucci, as always, is a joy to watch. And Cooper plays a very convincing father to Iron Man’s Downey Jnr, as Howard Stark. The weak link for me is Atwell, as love interest Peggy Carter. I found her wooden and slightly annoying.
While some will miss the angst and brooding we have come to associate with many superheroes, I have to say that Captain America is an extremely good addition to the genre. If you’re a fan of these sorts of films, you should definitely see it. If you’re not, well, why not chance your arm and give it a go? I guarantee you’ll have fun.
And for the love of all things cinematically holy, do not leave before the end of the credits. You’ll miss an awesome little treat.
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Dr Abraham Erskine: The serum amplifies the inner qualities of its taker, as well as their physical attributes. Good becomes great... bad becomes worse.
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