Captain America was a part of the golden age superheroes, who
mainly served as a cheerleader for the United States during the Second World War.
And I mean that in the best way possible; Cap promoted fighting the war, and the
ideal of fighting fascism, to kids who read his comics, which once famously
showed him knocking out Hitler. Captain America was the perfect hero for the
1940s, an era that was blessedly without irony, back when the United States was
essentially struggling for its very survival. Joe Johnston, the director of
Captain America: The First Avenger, understands this perfectly. Once Cap is
born--when puny Steve Rodgers becomes a hulking super soldier, thanks to an
experiment--he’s put to work promoting the war on the USO tour.
But Steve wants to do more than just promote war bonds, and when his USO tour
hits the frontlines, he takes matters into his own hands and single-handedly
rescues a large group of Allied prisoners behind enemy lines. It’s here that he
meets up with his most cunning adversary, the Red Skull (played to perfection by
Hugo Weaving). The Red Skull was the leader of a super secret Nazi scientific
research unit, before he goes rouge and decides to grab world dominance for
himself. Thanks to his scientific achievements, the Red Skull is armed with
impossibly advanced weaponry like lasers and a flying wing that’s jet-powered.
Captain America is a splendid re-imaging of the Second World War era that
presents plenty of fascinating what-if scenarios, as well as being just plain
fun to watch.
Captain America works so well because it never forgets its humble roots: a fantasy that's
based on a comic book. It embraces the legend
of its mythic character while tweaking it just enough for modern audiences. And Johnston has done
a marvelous job at creating an alternate universe World War II that’s just as
romantic as it’s exciting to experience, thanks to a well-thought out production design.
Chris Evans is a perfect choice as Cap; he has a much better screen
presence here than he did as the Torch in the goofy Fantastic Four films. Stanley
Tucci makes the most of his father-figure role as the scientist who creates Cap's
powers, and Tommy Lee Jones is very good as Cap's gruff commanding officer.
I’ve always felt that Captain America--much like Wonder Woman--worked best as a
World War Two era hero. His two-fisted exploits invoked the romanticism and
innocence of the era. Yet this romantic romp through the glorious days of
yesteryear comes to a screeching halt, when Johnston is
required to set up Cap as a member in the upcoming Avengers film. As a result,
we’re robbed of a proper ending for the film. At least Thor was
allowed to have his own adventure before joining the Avengers--while, in contrast,
Cap’s rousing first adventure is marred by a ham-handed ending that wraps
everything up way too quickly, all so we can watch a glorified trailer for The
Avengers. The Avengers movie had better be well worth all this fuss.
--SF
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