Sunday, July 24, 2011

Captain America: The First Avenger

This movie was actually really good, a hell of a lot better than I ever expected. It may well be my favorite of the Avengers series, it's definitely up there with Iron Man. Honestly, everything about this movie just clicks. It's well humored, well acted, the action is entertaining, and the plot, while silly at times, never comes across as overly cheesy, which it very easily could have.

Despite being an origins story, this movie doesn't feel like an origins story. We don't have to go through the whole process of seeing Steve Rogers getting used to his new powers, because really, he's the exact same guy he's always been. The only difference is that, after gaining his powers, he now has a physical outlet in which to do the things he's always mentally stood for in the first place. And since origins stories are so overdone these days, it was refreshing to be able to pretty much gloss over that whole aspect.

Chris Evans does a great job as Captain America. And, well, honestly, everyone does a great job in their roles. Tommy Lee Jones especially stood out. I was pleased to see he was included in so much of the film, as he has a tendency to steal scenes, and puts in his contribution for funniest line of the year.

There's several scenes that pretty much poke fun at certain tropes that other movies go for, making you groan as you initially think the film's headed for one direction, only to steer back on course in satisfying fashion. The romance plot is especially handled well in this regard. It really could have gone so horribly wrong, but it's never forced and they managed to pull it off quite well.

And they also managed to pull off skinny Rogers, who always stood out as awkward and misplaced in the trailers. I was really not looking forward to these earlier scenes going in because they looked so bad, but they seriously fixed him up for the final film. He looks completely natural here.

By far my favorite part of the movie was the USO sequence, a montage which in itself sold me on this movie. Just everything about it was so lovely, Cap's obviously goofy suit, the bright colors, the patriotic music, Cap punching out Hitler. Really, this scene, as well as another montage later on of Cap and the boys in action, really drive home the propaganda elements that this movie is going for and cement it in the time period it takes place in.

If there's one thing this movie didn't do right, though, it was the ending sequence, where they essentially moved the after credits scene to before the credits, forcing in the Avengers tie-in. I would have preferred if this could work more as a stand alone and they left it after the credits where it could be more easily ignored, but the last line in the movie is almost enough to save this scene, so it's not that big of a hindrance.

I really enjoyed this movie, which was such a pleasant surprise. I've been left somewhat disappointed by so many comic book movies lately that it was a real treat to finally come across one that truly nailed it. Captain America - FUCK YEAH!

No comments:

Post a Comment