| Captain America: The First Avenger Posted: A good bit of this film is a superhero-origins story, in which we follow Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), a plain-featured young man of about 20 years old who is a classic "90-pound weakling," as he tries five times to enlist in the Army during the early part of World War II. He is consistently rated as "4F" because of his size and various health issues, including asthma. Inside that small, frail body, however, resides outsized courage, honor, loyalty and persistence. During Steve's fifth trip to the Army recruiters, those virtues in Steve draw the attention of Dr. Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci), a German scientist who escaped the Nazis and is working on a top-secret program to develop super soldiers. Colonel Chester Phillips (Tommy Lee Jones), who is in charge of the program, wants to use a soldier who is bigger, stronger and has more training for the first human experiment with the Dr. Erskine's super-soldier formula, but the doctor strongly disagrees. He says the other soldier is a bully, but Steve is a good man. It is crucial that anyone receiving the formula be of good character, because the formula enhances the existing personality traits of whoever receives it. Steve would become even more of a good person, but a bully could become a villain.
The experiment is a success, but immediately after Steve is transformed into a handsome, ripped, perfect specimen of manhood, a Nazi spy assassinates Dr. Erskine and steals the formula. Though Steve manages to stop the assassin from escaping, in his first act of heroism as a newly minted superhero, the flask breaks in the process. Without a sample of the formula, it cannot be replicated because the doctor never wrote down the whole formula. Steve is now one of a kind. Unfortunately, the military can't think of anything to do with him other than turn him into a US-flag-wrapped peddler of war bonds appearing in USO shows with chorus girls, until Steve is sent abroad. He finds himself entertaining the recently decimated troops of Col. Phillips and is horrified to discover that his best friend James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes (Sebastian Stan) has been captured with 400 other Allied soldiers and is being held prisoner in a massively defended fortress deep in enemy lines. Col. Phillips insists he would lose far more men than he could save going after his captured men, and refuses to do anything. But the colonel's assistant, a female military officer, Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), encourages Steve to fulfill his destiny as the super-soldier Dr. Erskine created him to be by staging a one-man rescue raid.
On every level this film is outstanding. It is directed by the talented Joe Johnston (Jurassic Park III, Jumanji ). The screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely (the writing team best known for the three Chronicles of Narnia films) is an excellent adaptation, staying true in every important way to the world of a comic-book icon with a 70-year history of stories in Marvel Comics since the Captain's first appearance in 1941.
All of the actors are terrific, but the star, Chris Evans (who played the comic-book superhero, Johnny Storm, the Human Torch, in the two Fantastic Four films), is superb. Evans gives a depth and breadth to his performance that is remarkable for any genre, but especially for a superhero film. In his capable hands, Steve is endearingly humble, yet enduringly determined to have a chance to contribute to the worldwide struggle against the Nazis in the beginning, origins part of the film. And after the transformation, he compellingly presents Steve as a fascinating contradiction of a relentless, manly warrior who is still emotionally innocent and naïve.
Steve's relationship with Peggy, as his romantic interest in the film, has significant barriers to their connection that makes it both amusing and exciting to watch. She is his superior officer and, for a young man who has barely even had a conversation with a woman before her, it takes more bravery than going to war for him to aspire to a relationship with a woman like Peggy. She is not only gorgeous, but a formidable warrior in her own right. What I found as intriguing as the romantic potential between these two, however, is the fact that they bring out the best in each other. Peggy gives Steve the inspiration to seize his destiny as a super-warrior when the colonel and other leaders have ordered him to sit out the war, and Steve's innate sensitivity and goodness soften the shell of cynicism Peggy has developed around her heart in the harsh, man's world of the Army.
The incredibly versatile Stanley Tucci (The Devil Wears Prada, The Lovely Bones) is terrific as Dr. Erskine. Hugo Weaving (who played V in V for Vendetta and Agent Smith in The Matrix movies) is his usual brilliant self as the villain Red Skull. Anytime he appears in anything it is a gift, but he is particularly skilled as a comic-book super villain. As for Tommy Lee Jones, he was simply made for the part of Colonel Chester Phillips. Sebastian Stan (Carter Baizen on Gossip Girl) is a convincing choice as Bucky. He and Chris Evans have excellent buddy chemistry as best friends since childhood. All of the other supporting actors are great, too, including Neal McDonough (Traitor) as Timothy 'Dum Dum' Dugan, Derek Luke (Antwone Fisher) as Gabe Jones, Kenneth Choi (Street Kings) as Jim Morita, and JJ Feild (Northanger Abbey) as James Montgomery Falsworth.
Finally, the special effects in the action scenes, aided by computer-generated imagery (CGI), are absolutely breathtaking, making this movie a must-see on the big screen. There is also one other CGI effect that I found awe-inspiring. The real, buffed Chris Evans is trimmed down via CGI to the pre-formula Steve. "It's pretty amazing," Evans told Reuters. "They took shape out of my jaw line, they shrunk my skeleton, and they made my shoulders less broad." They certainly did. The skinny Steve has the body of a prepubescent boy. As for the actual physique of Chris Evans--he went through a specialized training program to put on 15 pounds of muscle on a physique that was already quite ripped.
Among the multiple feature films already done on the Captain, this should delight fans as a standout contribution. |
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