Captain America: The First Avenger Reviews

I love superhero movies when they are done right, and Captain America is one of the better ones I've seen recently and a big improvement over the 1990 film. Is it perfect? No. Entertaining? Yes, I think so. It is a very well made and efficiently directed film, with wonderful costumes, effects and settings and the cinematography and editing also impress. The music is rousing, and I just love Star Spangled Man, one of Alan Menken's best songs in my opinion. The script is witty and smart. Cheesy also? Perhaps but in an endearing sort of way. The story has a strong start, but loses its way to sluggish pacing and clichés in the final act. The characters are clichéd too in a sense but like the actors are engaging. Chris Evans is perfect in the title role, and he is joined by sassy Hayley Atwell and a wonderfully gruff Tommy Lee Jones. Hugo Weaving wasn't quite there for me, he is a great actor and he is charismatic and menacing, but his accent is inconsistent and the character could have been delved into more. Overall though, a lot of fun. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Though perhaps the term is slightly overused, there is no getting around it: Captain America: The First Avenger is a formula film. And I don't mean that it hits all the notes you would expect it to (though it does). Nor do I mean that it doesn't really make any attempt to surprise you (though it does not). Rather, I am directing your attention to the abundance of tired cliches that Super Hero movies (and even film in general) have exhausted. If not for the cast, this would have been a long two hours indeed.

Steve Rodgers aspired to be a soldier, but was deemed too small and wimpy to take on such a job. But because of his kind heart, Dr. Abraham Erskine decides that he wants to perform one of his scientific examples on the man. And he does so, which results in Steve Rodgers becoming the ultimate hero as all of his athletic abilities are dramatically enhanced. He is dubbed, Captain America. But what's a super hero film with a super villain? We get our antagonist in the form of Red Skull, commander of the Hydra (a terrorist organization) that is bent on world domination (aren't they all, these days?).

As each character is introduced, you can already predict their character arc, if they die, and what purpose they will serve to the story. There are no surprises.

Steve Rodgers (later Captain America) is terribly bland, as a result of him being the perfect person. He's sickeningly nice and good-natured, which makes him hard to identify with. A good protagonist needs to have flaws, and Steve Rodgers lacks these. Peggy Carter is Rodger's love interest, and the romance between the two unfolds in a tediously predictable fashion.

The villain himself, Red Skull, is also terribly dull. What separates him from any of the other power-hungry villains in cinema? His defining feature is that he looks like a rejected Voldemort design.

The action sequences are fairly unimpressive from almost any standpoint. The visuals are not strong enough to suggest awe or create a spectacle. And the characters are too bland to have a significant connection with any of them during these scenes, thus eliminating tension. And the sequences lack innovation. None of them are significantly different from any other action sequence in similar films. They are entirely unmemorable.

The first 30 minutes are the strongest in the entire picture. They are the most story-driven (the following 90 minutes have little story at all to speak of), as well as the most character-driven. This is before any of the action sequences, and focuses purely on Steve Rodger's origins as Captain America. There are fun bits here, and it moves along at a brisk pace. The talky 30 minutes of the beginning are far more enjoyable than the action-packed 90 minutes that follows.

The most problematic part of this film is the ending (specifically the last 15 minutes). A lot of it doesn't work for various reasons (difficult to discuss in a spoiler-free review). Without giving anything away, there are obvious things that are overlooked by the characters, a "cheat" that allows the impact of something serious to occur without actual consequence, and a very anti-climatic fight at the end. It's a mess.

Thankfully, the cast keeps things interesting. Chris Evans is solid in the lead, perfectly pulling of the nice-guy persona, even if that's the only thing his role requires. Hugo Weaving makes Red Skull less of a bore than he might have otherwise been. Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter continues the Marvel tradition of having weak female characters and weak female performances (though she is an improvement in both respects over Iron Man's Pepper Potts).

The acting stand-outs all come from supporting cast members. Stanley Tucci as Dr. Abraham Erskine is delightful (as always). And Tommy Lee Jones, while portraying the gruff, sarcastic character we've seen dozens of times, is still quite memorable. And Toby Jones is also enjoyable to watch as Arnim Zola, a Nazi Biochemist.

Alan Silvestri's score actually makes very few notable appearances in this film. There's nothing in the music that's especially memorable, perhaps less a problem with the score itself than with how it's presented in the film. Alan Menken contributes a song (lyrics by David Zippel) that's pleasant and retro, though unmemorable.

While not as enormously dull as many of the other Marvel films, Captain America: The First Avenger is too formulaic, too bland, and too uninspired to make a significant impact. A stray witty line now and then, and some fine performances keep the film from becoming too boring, but there isn't enough here that's new or interesting too remain in the memory for long.

Quite good. I like watching Captain America as a little guy XD But I do want to know how S.H.E.I.L.D found Captain America

Fun Facts:
• Captain America: The First Avenger focuses on the early days of the Marvel universe that was later inhabited by heroes like Iron Man, Hulk and Thor.
• Captain America first appeared in a comic book in March 1941, eight months before the United States entered World War II.
The magazine cover was the young hero with the American flag on his chest jaw hitting Adolf Hitler. This picture created problems for their creators Joe Simon and Jack Kirby.
In 1941 the creators of the comic book worked backwards, starting with the villain and inventing a hero in response when the hero is usually first.
• Simon and Kirby designed several versions of Captain America finally choosing one you liked Marvel founder Martin Goodman in 1939.
 In 1963 Marvel Comics published The Avengers, a group of four Marvel superheroes: Iron Man, Thor, Hulk and Captain America.
• Captain America was created two decades earlier than the other three super heroes who were created in the 1960s.
Since its debut has sold over 210 million copies of comic books Captain America in over 70 countries.
 Marvel Studios presents by reason of its 70th anniversary the story of how Steve Rogers became the first Avenger, Captain America.
• The screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely have written scripts for 15 years, including three films from The Chronicles of Narnia and were selected to write this film.
Joe Johnson who shared an Oscar for best visual effects for Raiders of the Lost Ark, using the technical aspects for this movie.
• The writers read all the comic books published by Marvel Captain America appears to write the story.
hris Evans focused on how the comic was the transformation of Captain America to interpret.
• For the role of Dum Dum Dugan, Neal McDonough actor had to gain weight for the role of the obese character, had to eat lots of chocolate cakes.
• The designer Ryan Meinerding and costume designer Anna B.Shepperd, taking as reference the 70 years of comic books to find a balance that would satisfy fans.
• Anna B Sheppard has credits on films like Schindler's List, The Informant, The Pianist, Inglourious Basterds.
Chris Evans had to train physically for weeks to achieve physical perfection.
• To characterize the actor Hugo Weaving as Red Skull, had to create a mold of his face to make a prosthesis in order to get the look without appearing bone Johann had burned.
• It took about 3 ½ hours a day to put the prosthesis for interpretation Hugo Weaving as Red Skull. Computer graphics images were used to apply the final details and remove the nose of Weaving. Seven pieces used silicone covers that applied to your skin, and then aggregated painting and makeup.
Hugo Weaving worked between 14 and 15 hours a day with prosthetics on his face.
• The fabric for the costume of Captain America was ballistic nylon, a nylon fabric reinforced rubber covered durable, strong and capable of containing saturated colors and ease of movement
The shield is a creative design and illustrator Joe Simon, and is built with vibranium (a metal fictional Marvel universe) that is stronger than steel but much lighter. The material has the ability to absorb all the vibrations around them, so when it hits the shield, there are no repercussions.
• Four different shields are manufactured and used during shooting, the original or hero, one light, one of rubber and another rubber thin soft and all were used in different ways. Chris used the original for close-ups and alternated between the other three shields, depending on what is needed at the scene.
• Captain America: The First Avenger was filmed largely in the UK, at Shepperton Studios in Surrey and on location in Manchestar and Liverpool, Caerwent in Wales, Aldershot, Black Park in Buckinghamshire and studies in London and Hackney Empire Pinewood in Buckinghamshire.
 Production designer Rick Heinrichs, who also work in The Wolfman, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and At World's End, and awarded the Oscar for The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, adapted to the British foreign places often do Americans, using alterations and additions practices and scans.
Anna Sheppard designed the costumes for the entire cast and more than 300 extras in some scenes.
• The military adviser Billy Budd, with over 15 years experience in the Royal Navy helped all players teaching them how to use weapons and military equipment.
The filmmakers also joined military personnel in high-action scenes.
• They got weapons of World War II.
• The stunt coordinator Steve Den helped sequences security and helped create the exploits of Captain America, including foot chase at high speed after processing.
• The special effects supervisor Christopher Townsend created the look of Steve Rogers before his transformation into a skinny man, slimming from his face, head, using a thinner body double.
Hayley Atwell (Peggy Carter) is also an ex-husband rigorously trained to shoot a gun as credibly as a machine gun.
It has a library of over 8,000 characters.
Since 1988 Marvel's films have grossed over $ 6.5 billion.
• Marvel Entertainment is currently working on The Avengers, Iron Man 3, Spider-Man 4, Deadpool and Ant-Man.

I've enjoyed some of the Marvel comics franchises, and I was really getting into this when it seemed to take an "ordinary" or "mediocre" turn. Not sure exactly where I felt it, but the film never really made me care. Kudos to Hugo Weaving for being his usual bad self, but I thought his character here was fairly lacking. Hayley Atwell is beautiful but her actions were "comically" predictable. Kudos for the graphics guys that transformed Chris Evans, but I never came to identify with him. Once he was the Captain, there seemed to be no angst, and that made his transformation less interesting and compelling. If you generally like the Marvel stuff, I'm sure you'll like this one. However, it felt like a cheat in order to bring "The Avengers" to the screen with some pre-establishment background. My favorite in the Marvel franchise is still X-Men 2, but I must say I haven't seen all of them.

Since I was in the mood for something light and fresh, Captain America proved to be a good surprise. It gave exactly what I wanted but frankly speaking, could've done much, much better. The thing about Marvel movies are that they're hardly violent, dark or gritty and are all about one-liners, colourful display and a wide array of characters. The three very ingredients this film is made up of. Since I got nothing much to write on this film, I'll skip to the best part: performances!

Chris Evans is one of the top 10 best actors to ever portray a superhero (seriously, Human Torch was pretty decent) and Captain America is probably his second-best effort to date, performance-wise, the first being Sunshine. Uptill to the point where he gets injected by the Super Soldier Serum, he pretty much had his character in check but kinda lost focus after the injection. He became the script, not the character but I really enjoyed it. A new surprise was Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter. She reminded me some of the female cast from Schindler's List. Very eye-friendly and a great performance. After what seemed like a long time, Tommy Lee Jones and Stanley Tucci were very interesting to watch and very likable in their performances and their characters and they both shared good chemistry. Full of interesting small scenes here and there, I still like watching the whole scene where Colonel Chester Philips (Lee Jones) is introduced. Great line delivery. Then we have Hugo Weaving who, in my opinion, ruled the film by his mastery. He is flawlessly talented and has a knack for playing great, almost classic, characters and Red Skull is his latest, and one of his damn greatest, effort to date. He held the film in his shoulders to the point where he and Captain America first meet near the end of the film. After that it was like he lost interest in his character but managed to pack solid punches. If there's just one reason to watch this film, then it has to be Hugo Weaving!

So basically I wanted a light, cartoonish film and this really is one. I wasn't expecting much but it had nice surprises here and there. So, overall, my verdict: A pretty good film, could've done better, suitable for watching it one time only!

6.5/10

well, I don't know... I think maybe Chris Evans was not the best choice for this character, but, it's a nice movie anyway. Marvel rocks! I can't wait to see The Avengers! Joss Whedon rules my life!

This is probably the best film that could have been made out of the jingoistic comics, and thankfully it doesn’t take itself seriously. The title alone, an epic clunker of Marvel Films groupthink synergy, clues you in to the vibe of the whole film. It’s a very long prequel to The Avengers, which I am both terrifically excited about and thankful that the build-up is finally over so these heroes can finally get movies that aren’t overlong commercials for that gang’s-all-here-explodathon, but it also has the balls to try and be a real movie. It puts Thor and Iron Man 2 to shame simply for that fact. It also doesn’t hurt that the film sees itself as the modern day product of a comic book-meets-1940’s serial.

Thankfully, everyone involved knew that the only way to truly make a Captain America movie work is by setting the story in WWII. And perhaps that has something to do with what makes Captain America: The First Avenger work so well: we’re used to seeing our heroes take place in a very current timeline, this offers up nostalgia, innocence, and fun, something which has slowly been sapped out of comic book-based entertainments since Christopher Nolan revolutionized the genre with his astounding Batman films. The lessons to learn? What worked for Nolan’s Batman films – grit, noir-esque visuals and dialog, a more realistic take on the material – can work for several heroes, but, much like what Nolan did with Batman, you have to approach the material on the hero’s terms and create the best world and storyline around him. Imagining a dark, broody Steve Rogers in WWII is a terrible thought. Captain America is there to show that even in the darkest of hours, goodness, strength, courage, and heart can triumph over the greatest of obstacles.

And, poor Steve Rogers, aside from Clark Kent has any other hero of Americana been subjected to more proclamations of how dull, square, and boring he is? Sure, Rogers (and Kent) lack the fallible, everyman charm of Spider-Man, and the brooding, tortured loner status of Wolverine or Batman, but underneath the giant Boy Scout exterior is an interior of sadness and isolation. Through scenes of both humor and stubbornness we come to care about Steve Rogers. He remains the good-hearted, courageous kid from Brooklyn who just wanted a chance to prove himself even after he’s been blessed with genetics that turn him into an impossibly good-looking, muscular Adonis who’s near indestructible. He wants to be all that he can be. Chris Evans’ earnest performance put any doubt (and I had a lot of them since he’s mostly made his career playing wiseasses) I had about his being cast in the role to rest. Evans is as great in the role as RDJ is as Iron Man.

The CGI used to shrink and thin out Chris Evans is a marvel (no pun intended). It reminds me of seeing Benjamin Button, and that is no small praise. And the supporting cast – particularly a droll Tommy Lee Jones, a scene-stealing Stanley Tucci, and Hugo Weaving as Red Skull – is nicely rounded out by a great group of character actors. Before we get to the final act, which has to see our hero stop the villain and the save the world, the film has a lot of fun harking back to Flash Gordon-style serial in tone, spirit and aesthetics. And, before the obligatory “Just kidding!” real ending kicks in, the bleak flirtation with an actual tragedy and emotional gravity of a situation is a welcome addition to the genre.

I found this film to be quite excellent and well made. The acting was above average and with little flaw. Concerning the accuracy to the comics, it was pretty solid and accurate. I liked the action simulations and appreciated them. Chris Evans is the ideal Captain America and the idiocy of saying he can only play as The Human Torch is not necessary and childish. He pulls off a very believable Steve Rogers and I was well pleased with the fighting and of course Hugo Weaving as the Red Skull is righteous and I just wish there was more fighting but hey, the character development was solid and I'm really stoked to buy this on dvd. Along with that, I really want to see The Avengers movie now!

Rating: (8.9/10)