Captain America - The First Avenger

Joelist

What ship is this?
Staff member
As part of the EPIX Marvel weekend I took advantage of, I also got to see Captain America. And it was really good!

The whole movie plot was close to the original comics in that it both had the origin of Captain America (result of a secret super soldier experiment during WW2) and of his nemesis Red Skull (another super soldier but one whose process was not done correctly) and the Hydra organization he headed. The plot was both fairly simple but also had enough moving parts to keep it interesting. The end also shows us how the Captain comes to be in our time (for the Avengers movie).

The movie has a really good "retro" sort of feel that gives it a bit of the vibe of "Raiders of the Lost Ark". It works very well at drawing you in and keeping you interested the whole time. The other part of the way it is constructed that works well is that it shows the birth of Hydra and the war against Hydra - in this respect it feels a little like an alt history film. The other film I think Captain America owes a tiny heritage to is "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow". It is, however, a better film than Sky Captain.

The acting is mostly good. Chris Evans plays Captain America just right - he is a straight arrow hero here and it works for the role. This would not be the place for the typical modern melancholy angst hero. Hugo Weaving is fantastic as Schmidt/Red Skull, giving the part a proper sense of maniacal genius. Tommy Lee Jones chews up the scenery well in his supporting role, and Hayley Atwell does a good job as the "love interest".

I admit to being surprised that I liked this film - in my comic book years I never liked Captain America. I think the difference is the movie takes the "goofiness" off a bit and is more like a war story. and to me it worked.
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
As part of the EPIX Marvel weekend I took advantage of, I also got to see Captain America. And it was really good!

The whole movie plot was close to the original comics in that it both had the origin of Captain America (result of a secret super soldier experiment during WW2) and of his nemesis Red Skull (another super soldier but one whose process was not done correctly) and the Hydra organization he headed. The plot was both fairly simple but also had enough moving parts to keep it interesting. The end also shows us how the Captain comes to be in our time (for the Avengers movie).

The movie has a really good "retro" sort of feel that gives it a bit of the vibe of "Raiders of the Lost Ark". It works very well at drawing you in and keeping you interested the whole time. The other part of the way it is constructed that works well is that it shows the birth of Hydra and the war against Hydra - in this respect it feels a little like an alt history film. The other film I think Captain America owes a tiny heritage to is "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow". It is, however, a better film than Sky Captain.

The acting is mostly good. Chris Evans plays Captain America just right - he is a straight arrow hero here and it works for the role. This would not be the place for the typical modern melancholy angst hero. Hugo Weaving is fantastic as Schmidt/Red Skull, giving the part a proper sense of maniacal genius. Tommy Lee Jones chews up the scenery well in his supporting role, and Hayley Atwell does a good job as the "love interest".

I admit to being surprised that I liked this film - in my comic book years I never liked Captain America. I think the difference is the movie takes the "goofiness" off a bit and is more like a war story. and to me it worked.

I wanna see this. :) I just hope it is not slathered up with political propaganda, even if heavily concealed. You did not mention that bit, but it was very pervasive in the comic book series.
 

Joelist

What ship is this?
Staff member
I wanna see this. :) I just hope it is not slathered up with political propaganda, even if heavily concealed. You did not mention that bit, but it was very pervasive in the comic book series.

It really isn't. In fact the political angles really never come up. This is much more about how he comes to be, how Hydra came to be and so on. Politically speaking it really does not talk to politics at all.
 

Bluce Ree

Tech Admin / Council Member
Does he actually "avenge" anyone? Do any of the "Avengers"?
 
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Graybrew1

Guest
I agree. I really liked this movie. I was completely taken by surprise by the movie's twist. :)
 

Bluce Ree

Tech Admin / Council Member
That would be a spoiler question. It is better to watch it, I would suggest. ;)

Not until I know if he actually "avenges" anyone. I don't need details. I just need to know that the word "Avengers" has some meaning besides "oh! it's such a cool name!", like "X-Men" which, to my surprise, has no bearing on x-rays or x-wives/husbands/boyfriends/girlfriends.
 

Gatefan1976

Well Known GateFan
Welllll
Technically he is not an Avenger in the movie, not yet, it's more backstory than anything else.
I thought it as pretty cool for a Comic book movie.

And X-men does actually mean something, they are Professer X's team, X's Men (and women)
 
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Graybrew1

Guest
Yes he is.









Try to remember at one point there is a death, after that he avenging that person's demise.
 

Gatefan1976

Well Known GateFan
Yes he is.









Try to remember at one point there is a death, after that he avenging that person's demise.

I remember, but I meant purely about being a member of the "Avenger team".
 
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Graybrew1

Guest
I remember, but I meant purely about being a member of the "Avenger team".
Ah, well. I would think the "avenging" aspect of the movie "The Avengers" would be answered in that movie. You could say they each have a reason to avenge from their own movies and so they are a group of avengers. They all do. That is just how hollywood works. Their is always a catalyst in the movie. Whether it is an event or a person to avenge.
 

Gatefan1976

Well Known GateFan
Thor doesn't really have a reason to "avenge" anyone............
 
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Graybrew1

Guest
Well he was getting ready to ascend to the throne of Asgard when the Frost Giants tried to retrieve the Casket. He lost his birthright as a result of the events that happened as a result of that, yes part of it was his fault, but it never would have happened if they had not done that before he took his throne. Loss of throne sounds like a good reason to avenge to me. :P
 

Gatefan1976

Well Known GateFan
Well he was getting ready to ascend to the throne of Asgard when the Frost Giants tried to retrieve the Casket. He lost his birthright as a result of the events that happened as a result of that, yes part of it was his fault, but it never would have happened if they had not done that before he took his throne. Loss of throne sounds like a good reason to avenge to me. :P

Thor does not deserve the throne, something Odin was trying to teach him by kicking him out in the first place.
 

Gatefan1976

Well Known GateFan
He only did that because against Odin's wishes he went after the Frost Giants.

Agree to disagree, There is FAR more to it than that, but to go into it would go outside the realm of the movie. :)
 

mzzz

Well Known GateFan
I thought Captain America was good the first half when he was all heart. But I didn't like how everything seemed to just be handed to him after, respect, sorta, and women. Nice twist at the end though, set up the coming movie.
 
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