Review

Review Date: 23-July-11
Spoiler Rating: Medium
Juju Judgment: Juicy

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

It's becoming harder to stand out in the superhero crowd these days, with launches, sequels, and reboots coming down the pike at alarming speed. Captain America: The First Avenger is the fifth superhero movie this summer, if you count Transformers, which is almost enough to weary a fan of tights-wearing he-men like myself. (That is to say, I'm a fan, not a he-man.) Nevertheless, Captain America carves out a place of distinction with its setting, its stars, and the hero's trademark decency.

The story takes place during World War II, giving the production and costume designers a great palette with which to work. All the characters are smartly dressed with clean lines and a touch of ornamentation, and the buildings, cars, and even aircraft have a classy look. At the center of the stylish surroundings is an unassuming, courageous fella from Brooklyn whose pipsqueak physique prevents him from enlisting. He is played by Chris Evans, who has excelled in devil-may-care roles (Fantastic Four, The Losers) but is just as convincing and likeable when sarcasm-free. Thanks to the wonders of technology and weightlifting, Evans plays both the scrawny Steve Rogers who begins the film, desperate to fight injustice overseas, and the muscular "Captain America" Rogers who emerges from a government experiment aimed at creating super-soldiers. Due to enemy infiltration he ends up being the only one of his kind, so after a gruff colonel (Tommy Lee Jones) dismisses him as a lab rat or propaganda gimmick, he sets out on a rescue mission to prove his worth. Thus a hero is born, one who doesn't let the bigness of his biceps go to his head.

Along with a nifty red, white, and blue shield which serves for both offense and defense, Captain America has a backup unit comprised of volunteers who represent the melting pot of the U.S.A. He also has a smart and independent sweetheart (Hayley Atwell). In this he resembles every other superhero, except that his romance is unusually engaging. For once the lady seems like a real person instead of an appendage (she's a British soldier assigned to the Yanks), and Evans and Atwell have genuine chemistry. They also share a satisfyingly tragic sense of loss, since the hero makes an unplanned trip forward in time to be part of next year's Avengers movie with Iron Man, Thor, etc.

Given that the 1940s wartime setting is one of Captain America's assets, it's odd that the villain (Hugo Weaving) isn't a Nazi. Sure, he started out on Hitler's team when he was an occult-loving scientist, but after becoming the hideous monster Red Skull he decided he didn't want to share power with anyone else. This leaves him in a nebulous position as just another madman out for world domination (which, if Wikipedia is right, doesn't adhere to the Captain America comic books). However, he looks fabulous, scary and well tailored, so he doesn't detract significantly from the movie's appeal.

Copyright © 2011 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.