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There's a part of me that is VERY curious as to what will be said about the year 2011 if, a few years from now, someone makes an analysis of the summer movie seasons of each particular year. It's easy to feel excited about it RIGHT NOW because it's the year that's currently underway, but I wouldn't be surprised if the 2011 summer movie season ended up being referred to as a mere prologue to more important things. The summer of 2012 looks terrifically bloated with potentially incredible blockbusters, while summer 2011 films like Thor and now Captain America: The First Avenger have been more about prefacing, which is an interesting way of building up expectations of a seemingly impossible magnitude. We'll have to wait a year. For now, evaluating it as a stand-alone film, I can report that Captain America: The First Avenger is a reasonably entertaining and involving superhero film, though at times too old-fashioned and generic for its own good.
When comparing the quality of this film to that of the other superhero movies of the summer, it falls squarely between Thor and X-Men: First Class. It has the same sense of fun boasted by Thor, but doesn't quite achieve the perfect blend of action, comedy and human drama attained by that film. At the same time, though, while it deals with the issue of being an underdog, which was also treated in X-Men: First Class, its treatment of that issue is tremendously effective, and certainly not as forced and offensive as it was in X-Men: First Class (which is what ultimately made it impossible for me to recommend that film). Captain America: The First Avenger starts out by introducing us to a character that anyone who has ever felt not wanted or rejected will instantly relate to, and this aspect of the plot never feels simplistic or like it's being jammed down our throats.
World War II is nearing its apogee, and Steve Rogers (Chris Evans, digitally modified in these early scenes to look short, limp and skinny) very badly wants to join the U.S. army in order to go and fight the Nazis. It's too bad that he's in terrible physical shape and keeps getting dismissed by officers who have no interest in exploring the other qualities he has to offer: they just see him as an asthmatic weakling, and nothing more. Steve has been bullied his entire life, but instead of running away from bullies, he's decided to constantly face them head-on. It becomes obvious very quickly that this is one smart and determined firecracker. A group of soldiers is given the task of lowering a flag that no one has ever been able to lower, and they all fail, but Steve comes up with a crafty, alternate way of doing it. And when a grenade is thrown to the group, all the other soldiers flee, while Steve would rather hog the grenade in order to sacrifice himself for his peers. Of course, the grenade is fake, but this event gives people the impression that Steve just might have more brains and guts than what all the other soldiers have in brawn. This leads him to be selected for an experiment in which a serum will be used to create "super soldiers." Steve becomes much taller and stronger as a result of it. Unfortunately, because the serum is stolen immediately after Steve is transformed, it seems like he's the only weapon to be counted on. But now that a good dose of brawn has been added to our protagonist, he becomes virtually unstoppable.
There's something utterly beautiful about the way those first scenes are handled and about the message that is delivered during them. As a character says, "a weak man knows the value of strength and compassion." Steve's experience as someone who has been on the losing side most of his life gives him more fortitude than any of the physical strength he may have received from the serum. But don't be dismayed - the movie isn't as perpetually solemn and serious as I'm making it out to be. There's plenty of humor, not least of which is found in Steve's absolute ineptitude at speaking to women. After the experiment, there are a couple of riotous moments during the first scenes in which Steve dons the Captain America uniform, and there's an uproarious, blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment in which Uncle Sam's face has been replaced with Steve's face in the "I Want You!" recruitment poster. Absolute brilliance.
There are positives and negatives to be said about the action sequences. On the one hand, there's not a single instance in which there's any sense of annoyance or repetitiveness that we get in so many superhero and war/action movies in which shooting goes on for 10 minutes (which is, of course, enjoyable for those who like that sort of thing, but headache-inducing for those who don't). There's a particularly suspenseful sequence on a train in a mountainous area. The sequence has an unexpectedly tragic ending that is handled extremely well, and not as over-the-top and dramatic as many other films would've chosen to handle it. On the other hand, there's nothing particularly original about any of the action sequences. Aside from how cool it is that the shield is used for things other than self-defense, there simply aren't any "Wow!" moments here, and superhero movies (or any action movie, for that matter) need those moments if they wish to be extraordinary.
The more problematic issue with the movie is that, as soon as the experiment is conducted and Steve becomes the full-bodied Captain America, the film concerns itself largely with said ordinary action sequences, thus causing the disappearance of the great emotional core we had gotten during the film's first act, when Steve was struggling with his physical disadvantages. Oh, and there's a romantic subplot, but it's VERY much a subplot, and not something the film seems to be terribly interested in (though that may have something to do with the movie's ending).
Chris Evans may not boast the irreverence of Robert Downey, Jr. or the gruff ruggedness of Chris Hemsworth, but what he does exude is a lot of humanity, which I think is ultimately more important. I seem to recall a comment about how ridiculous it seemed that, in 2012's The Avengers, Chris Evans would actually be giving ORDERS to Robert Downey, Jr. Obviously, it depends on how they decide to go about it, but I see no reason to be dismayed about it, because, if anything, it'll make room for a lot of comedic moments. Tony Stark probably wouldn't mind cheating to get something done, whereas Steve Rogers seems more like the type of guy who'd prefer to do the right thing - you've got the seed for humorous conflict right there, and conflict is, after all, a crucial ingredient in films. Evans combines virility and vulnerability better than I ever expected him to, and I think it'll be awesome to see him lead the pack next year.
The supporting cast is also solid. Stanley Tucci shows up during the first act and displays even further thespian skills than we've seen before - his accent is fantastic. Hayley Atwell makes the right choice not to overplay the stern nature of her character in early scenes, yet during later scenes, she also avoids descending into the "weak girl" cliche that so often plagues superhero films. Not surprisingly, the supporting player who deserves most credit is Tommy Lee Jones, who can play serious moments while delivering deadpan humor better than almost any actor I've seen.
As the movie draws to a close, there's a fade-out moment, and as soon as it's over, a new scene begins and basically sets everything up for next year's The Avengers. I won't spoil anything about it, but I will say that the sequence is intense and ends the film on a very strong note. Now, don't let that make you get up from your seat immediately! Despite the fact that that final scene feels like the only epilogue we need, there is, as usual, another sequence after the credits, so be sure to wait for it. There's little reason not to have high hopes for what'll be accomplished by The Avengers. Part of me fears that character development may suffer because of the large amount of people populating the film. Of course, those of you who could care less about character development won't mind it, but if you're one of those people, you probably haven't read this far into this review anyway. :) Still, I think it's completely possible to make an organic and masterful ensemble piece with all these characters, and if anything, I think all the right people for the job have been cast, so that's good reason to be optimistic.
I do have to admit that I'm a little bit sorry that I have to rate Captain America: The First Avenger a notch lower than I did Thor and the Iron Man films. There's just a certain spice that the other films had to them that I feel is lacking in this one, despite its many virtues. It's still solid summer entertainment. Marvel hasn't produced a masterful film since 2004's Spider-Man 2, which featured a dizzyingly astounding balance between humanity, action, romance, comedy, tragedy, and well, just about everything. While none of the preludes to The Avengers have quite reached that zenith of perfection, there are still plenty of reasons to expect that something terrific may be produced once all of its storylines converge in just under 12 months.
6/10
