Captain America: The First Avenger

I went into Captain America thinking of it as just another episode in the Avengers series along with other films like Thor, Iron Man, and Hulk. Each of these films has its own style and high points. I know very little about the comic book character. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Captain America cartoon, comic, or movie. Captain America’s shield has shown up in Iron Man and Hulk movies as teasers for this movie. There’s also some cross pollination from the Thor movie which gives us the genesis of this movie’s bad guy, Red Skull (not to be confused with Grey Skull). Red Skull is played by Hugo Weaving who is known for his portrayal of Agent Smith in the Matrix. In this movie he plays a completely different character named General Schmidt. During the movie we get to see Agent Schmidt kung fu fight Neo, I mean Captain America.

Before that fight we start out with Steve Rogers as a 90-point 4F weakling. We follow Rogers through the sepia toned past as he finally gets into the army and is eventually chosen to be a guinea pig for a new super soldier program. We know it’s the past because everything is sepia brown and because Iron Man’s father plays Igor to this movie’s Frankenstein (complete with German accent). The coloration effect gets really old after a while. Eventually the science experiment is a success and Rogers joins a chorus line to help sell war bonds. Later we find Rogers in costume and finally carrying a gun.

The movie is full of good action and carries itself well enough. The 3-D was done well and did not get in the way of the story to the point where you forget about it. The movie will survive as not the worst of the series but also not a star. Rogers personifies the stone faced soldier who just wants to fight for good old USA. We never really get to see any other dimensions to him. Stick around for the teaser after the credits which sets up the next episode in the series for next summer. You get to see Tony Stark commenting on Roger’s muscles.