‘Cap’ Leaves Fans with High Hopes for Summer 2012
“Captain America: The First Avenger”
Banko’s Grade: C (70% out of 100)
(Editor’s Note: I’m trying out a new grading system. Through 50+ posts I’ve decided that the stars is too overdone; and I really think that this new system will give me more options. Let me know what you think!)
Marvel Studios has given themselves a tall task. Never before has either of the two big comic companies (DC & Marvel) released a film featuring their benchmark teams. For DC, that’s the Justice League of America, a super team that features Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and the Flash. As for Marvel, their Avengers lineup features the company’s “big three” Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor. While setting up the 2012 Avengers feature film, Marvel has been releasing origin movies one by one, starting with the first “Iron Man” and ending this summer with the release of “Captain America: The First Avenger”. It isn’t like Marvel had much to lose. This would be their third attempt to get a franchise started featuring arguably their company’s most recognizable character. Marvel’s “Superman” has never had a successful film. The company had tried once in 1979 and then again with another sub par release in 1990. In addition to kick-starting a possible movie franchise of solo-films for Cap, Marvel Studios also needed to get fans excited to see him return next summer to lead the Avengers squad against as yet determined (though it appears to be Loki) common threat.
Though it has a corny name, “Captain America: The First Avenger” thankfully does not fall into the category of films that try to do too many things. For one, the film is finely cast, featuring appearances from names like Stanley Tucci, Tommy Lee Jones and Hugo Weaving. Since A-List celebrities Robert Downey Jr. and Christian Bale decided to headline “Iron Man” and the “Batman” franchises, it seems like Hollywood has a new opinion on comic book films. More big names, like Tommy Lee Jones and Natalie Portman (“Thor”) now want to be involved and next summer Martin Sheen plays Uncle Ben in “The Amazing Spider-Man”. However, most of the big name celebrities in “Captain America” own supporting roles, the most important job was casting the first Avenger himself. The film crew decided upon casting actor Chris Evans. Their primary concerns were that Evans had been featured mostly in comedic roles, also a problem for Marvel? Evans was already recognizable from another one of their properties; he played Johnny Storm, the Human Torch in both of their “Fantastic Four” films.
Chris Evans was apprehensive at first, and for good reason. “Captain America” was arguably Marvel’s biggest gamble. Should the movie turn out bad; the hopes of the Avengers movie paying dividends for the company would diminish, and they would still be known as a company that could not get one of its most popular characters off the ground with a movie franchise. Whatever actor stepped into the role would have giant shoes to fill. Chris Evans had a difficult choice. He could headline a franchise that had hopes of making as many films so long as they kept making money, and would forever find himself employed, or he could be the face of the biggest movie mistake ever. No pressure.
Thankfully, Evans made the right choice. Against the backdrop of World War II, he plays the small and scrawny Steve Rogers, trying his best to lie on applications to enlist in the army like his good friend James “Bucky” Barnes. Rogers has always had the dream of being a hero; but because of his size and list of health ailments he keeps getting turned away. Finally, a doctor named Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci) sees the good in Rogers and helps him enlist into the army’s top-secret super soldier program. Rogers joins a troop of other soldiers also in consideration for the experiment which is headed by Erskine and should help to turn the tide of the war against Hitler by creating soldiers with super strength, healing abilities and agility. Colonel Chester Phillips (Tommy Lee Jones, looking as worn leathery an old baseball mitt) has no faith in the pint-sized and stick-thin Rogers, but Erskine pleads with the Colonel to keep his faith.
Private Rogers earns his stripes during an exercise where Phillips throws a grenade at his troops. Everybody ducks for cover except for Rogers, who instead jumps onto the bomb itself. Finally Phillips and Erskine agree, Rogers is their man. Doctor Erskine enlists the help of Howard Stark, Tony’s (Robert Downey Jr) father. Under the watchful eye of Colonel Phillips as well as other top men from the government, Steve Rogers transforms before their very eyes. The experiment is a success. Once Doctor Erskine’s serum proves itself to work, a German spy amongst them jumps into action to steal some of the remaining serum to bring back to his scientists. Rogers gets to see if his new body works as he is the only one capable of chasing the spy once the German sets a bomb off in the experiment room’s main chamber.
Rogers chases the man down and tries to interrogate him. The man slips a cyanide tablet hidden in a false tooth. Before he dies he mutters two classic words that Marvel comics fans especially should recognize, “hail Hydra”. Once everything gets cleaned up, Rogers learns that Hyrda is one of Hitler’s cells that have been developing weapons for the Nazi regime and hope to turn the war in their favor. Hydra is led by Johan Schmidt (Hugo Weaving); the very man who was Doctor Erskine’s first test subject. Schmidt was also granted super strength and ability, but the serum transformed him by changing his human face into a menacing red skull. To make matters worse, Schmidt has been harnessing the power of the cosmic cube, the blue cube fans saw featured after the credits in “Thor”. Using the properties of the cube, Schmidt’s Hydra cell has been developing weapons that can vaporize enemies. They have been making guns, tanks, explosives and all kinds of weapons with the cube.
His mission is clear, Rogers must stop Schmidt and Hydra at all costs. For Colonel Phillips, the mission is not so clear. Rogers is an expensive experiment, there’s no way he’s allowing him on the front line. If Rogers wants to help his country he’ll do so where he can be kept an eye on. Thus, Captain America is born, as a mascot to sell war bonds. Rogers is a soldier first and ultimately does as he’s told. However, when his friend Bucky as well other soldiers end up missing once they’re sent to infiltrate a Hydra base, Captain America can wait on the sidelines no longer. He enlists the help of Howard Stark and also Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) who’s a spit-fire army gal herself that doesn’t like sitting on the sidelines just because she’s a woman. The three of them enter the lion’s den to save the soldiers that have gone missing.
Peggy and Stark return to base once Captain America disappears from contact. Colonel Phillips is anything but happy. However, before Carter can receive her reprimand, Rogers turns up with a host of the missing soldiers following him. Captain America has looked into the eye of the enemy and managed to save the day. Although the men return safely, the Red Skull and the cosmic cube have escaped. Captain America cannot let the enemy have such power at their disposal. His primary objective is to sever the head of Hydra at all costs. Colonel Phillips allows Rogers to handpick his own group to take on mission to capture Johan Schmidt and the retrieve the cube. Thus, the Howling Commandoes are born.
The rest of the film is pretty obvious. Lots of stuff blows up and Captain America has a ton of action scenes and a couple where he gets to throw his trademark shield. All of it leading up to the final showdown between Captain America and the Red Skull. For what it is, the movie is good enough. It just doesn’t have the same appeal or feel as better movies that have come before it, like the first “Iron Man” or “The Dark Knight”. The film is the type where you never feel any sense of suspense. From start to finish you feel exactly the same as you did when you first sat down. There’s a sense that you’ve watched a movie, but you could have spent the time better doing something else.
It’s a good stepping stone for “Captain America” and it certainly leaves the door open for many adventures to come. The film offers nothing by way of anything new to the action genre and the talents of supporting actors like Tommy Lee Jones seem a bit wasted on some of the movie’s bad one-liners. Maybe its just that Captain America and Thor aren’t as interesting as the X-Men or Spider-Man. However, Iron Man doesn’t seem like a character that would be particularly interesting, yet Marvel hit a home run with him. It all seems to be more calm before the big storm next summer as The Avengers, a movie we got to see a preview for after the credits rolled in “Captain America”. All I can do is pray that a movie with so much anticipation and such a stellar cast does not suck. You could do far worse at the movies this summer (see: “The Smurfs”) and you certainly do not need to see this film in 3-D, unless you want to spend about $4 extra to see him throw his shield at the screen (one time). “Captain America” is worth it to pump yourself up for next summer’s big budget Avengers flick, and also if you’re the type who wants to see all of the Marvel movies on the big screen. Otherwise, the best movie Marvel released this summer might already be in second-run, those lovely mutants from Xavier’s School in “X-Men: First Class”.
“Captain America: The First Avenger” is rated PG-13 for action violence and some adult themes.
