Marvel Studios has a grand scheme in mind.
Following 2008’s Incredible Hulk and Iron Man, 2010’s Iron Man 2 and this year’s Thor, Marvel had one more trick up their sleeve before the release of The Avengers next year. That trick was Captain America: The First Avenger. I was fortunate enough to get to see it on opening night and I left the theater feeling very satisfied.
No comic book adaptation is 100% true to its source material and Captain America: The First Avenger is no different. Despite the differences an addicted Captain America comic reader like myself might find in the film, it doesn’t hold it back from being a great comic book movie.
Captain America is the story of Steve Rogers, a scrawny young man whose desire to enlist in the military is thwarted by his physical appearance. After being denied enlistment, Steve is approached by Dr. Erskine (played superbly by Stanley Tucci) to be a part of Project Rebirth, a program designed to transform scrawny men like himself into American fighting machines.
After undergoing the procedure, we see as events unfold for the better and worse in Steve’s life. With a character like Captain America, it would be easy just to show his most proud moments of heroic valor, but the film makes sure to include misfortunes and moments of despair which helped forge the complex man he is. He is not a one-layered super hero and the film does a great job at getting that point across.
When I first heard that Chris Evans was going to play Captain America, I was let-down with Marvel‘s casting department. Chris Evans had already been in several comic book or graphic novel-based films in the past including both Fantastic Four films, The Losers, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and the off-brand super hero movie Push (imagine a bad episode of Heroes), so I was hoping that Marvel would have chosen someone new to the genre.
To my surprise, Chris Evans didn’t just pull it off, he excelled. Chris Evans gave a remarkable performance of Steve Rogers, echoing every facet of his personality. Hugo Weaving as the nefarious Red Skull was cast perfectly and Sebastian Stan (a relatively unknown actor at least to me) was great in the role of Bucky Barnes (another favorite of mine in the comics).
I highly recommend you give Captain America: The First Avenger a look as soon as possible. My only disclaimer is that the 3-D was rather bland, so if you can, I suggest seeing it in good old fashioned 2-D. Tell ‘em Cash Money Cravens sent ya!
It’s grade: A (Get it? Because I like it a lot AND because Cap wears an A on his mask?!?!)