Captain America: The First Avenger
From Paramount Pictures and Marvel Studios
Starring Chris Evans, Hugo Weaving and Tommy Lee Jones
Genre: Superhero-style action
Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action
Captain America is one of my favorite superheroes; simply patriotic, determined and very able to get the job done. But as we see in this excellent lead-in to the upcoming Avengers movie (for which there’s a teaser after the credits; stick around!), he wasn’t always the latter.
During World War II, Steve Rogers (Evans) is a pale, sickly young man who REALLY wants to serve his country in the Army, and tries to enlist every chance he gets. Well, one night at the World’s Fair, his fervor reaches the ears of a Dr. Erskine (Stanley Tucci), who offers him the chance to become more than he is, physically, as long as he never forgets who he is inside; not necessarily the perfect soldier, but a good man.
After Erskine and Rogers’ commanding officer (Tommy Lee Jones) witness a selfless act which proves he’s willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good, Rogers is taken into a device which completely encloses him, is injected with a Super-Soldier Serum that augments his muscles, and is bombarded with “Vita-Rays,” a not-completely-explained form of radiation that activates the serum, making him much taller, more muscular and incredibly strong.
Unfortunately, poor Dr. Erskine is assassinated by a henchman of the villain of the film (and indeed one of Cap’s recurring villains), Red Skull (aka Johann Schmidt; Hugo Weaving), setting off Rogers’ desire to dismantle Red Skull’s organization, HYDRA. After several months on USO tours, solidifying his place in the hearts of soldiers worldwide as “Captain America,” he’s given his chance; armed with a Vibranium shield (given by Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper), the father of Tony, who would grow up to be Iron Man!) that absorbs all impact (and serves as a very powerful boomerang-style weapon!), he infiltrates many of HYDRA’s operations seeking more information.
Will Cap find Red Skull before he accomplishes his aims with the mystical Cosmic Cube, or “Tesseract”? Will he win the love of his life, Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), whom he was trying to woo even before he was “enhanced”? And, though readers of the comic will know already, how does he get from the World War II era to the present day?
What an awesome movie! From scrawny Steve’s beatings (he recounts a time that he was beaten four times across one city block in one night!) to his friendship with Bucky, to Steve’s enhancement into the super-soldier we all know and love, to his patriotic tours to the complete demolition of all the enemies he faces, this film covers it all. By the end, you’ll be absolutely yearning, as I was, for next summer’s Avengers movie, which will star Cap, Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Iron Man (Tony Stark: Robert Downey, Jr.), The Incredible Hulk (Bruce Banner: played now by Mark Ruffalo, taking over from Edward Norton), and more, being neatly tied together by the legendary Samuel L. Jackson as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Nick Fury!
An excellent movie; check it out! Five out of five!