Captain America, the patriotic, science created superhero who first appeared during WWII. Captain America was one of the first comic book heroes and as such had a huge fan following over the years. I didn't read comic books, so I only knew of the character as the dude who wore red white and blue and carried a shield. Having that in mind, I don't know how well the movie keeps to the Captain America comics, but I'm told it does a fairly good job. Anyway...
The USA is deeply embroiled in WWII, with nearly every able bodies male heading to the local recruiters office and shipping off to war. When the small, puny, picked on Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) tries to enlist he is rejected “4F” and sent packing. My step-grandfather was rejected 4F back in WWII and went into a depressed slump for quite a while. Not so with Rogers. He just makes up a new name and keeps trying at different recruiting centers, hoping to finally make it through. What Rogers lacks in strength and size, he makes up for in humility, and perseverance. Rogers catches the attention of a defected German scientist working with the US Government to make a super soldier. By the miracle of modern (1940's modern that is) science and a performance enhancing serum Rogers is turned into Captain America. Had he been made today he would certainly fit right in with half of Major League Baseball. Rogers eventually heads to Europe to help battle the Nazi menace.
Throughout the movie Rogers maintains the same confident, but humble attitude. This stands in stark contrast to all the other super hero movies made in recent memory. Iron Man, Green Lantern, Thor, Wolverine, etc. They are all cocky, arrogant and rude. One of the best lines in the movie is when Rogers asks why him, the doctor responds “A strong man who has known power all his life will lose respect for that power. A weak man knows the value of strength, knows the value of power and knows compassion [paraphrase].” This line applies to of all the other super heroes in the aforementioned movies.
The acting is okay, but not superb. Special effects aren't bad. I especially liked the feel of the integration of futuristic technology with actual period accurate technology/designs. In some aspects the futuristic stuff was taken a bit too far in my opinion, but overall it worked.
The film is rated PG-13 which I think is an accurate rating. The movie is fun and has a protagonist who actually sends a positive message. Well worth seeing. I'm expecting Captain America will be knocking on my door dozens of times this Halloween. I give it a 9 / 10.
No comments:
Post a Comment