Running Time: 2 hours, 4 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Director: Joe Johnston
Disclaimer:
I have never read any Captain America comics.
Quick Impressions:
I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this movie. Having recently made The Wolfman, director Joe Johnston does not exactly have a glowing track record, but so far, all the movies made by Marvel Studios have been a cut above the rest of the comic book fare (excluding Christopher Nolan’s Batman movies). Captain America proved to be a worthy addition to that growing catalogue and laid intriguing and essential groundwork for the much anticipated Avengers movie.
The Good and The Very Good:
The movie’s plot had a few weak points (see my forthcoming rant about Bucky), but in terms of dialogue, the script shone. A number of talented actors turned out for this movie, and (as rarely happens in a summer blockbuster), they actually had something interesting to say. Stanley Tucci and Toby Jones in particular were given great lines and only improved them with their superb delivery.
I also thought the movie used 3D in some clever ways (although it almost pushed it too far and became gimmicky at some points). Though occasionally over-the-top (as in when Rogers jumps away from a seemingly nine-thousand foot tank flanked by burgeoning explosions), the CGI looked pretty decent for the most part, and after his transformation into Captain America, Chris Evans looked pretty decent, too.
Thanks to an excellent performance by Tommy Lee Jones, the movie also had a fair amount of truly funny moments. And Peggy Carter was a refreshingly developed love interest (just as well developed physically as the girl in Transformers but with actual character development thrown in as a bonus.)
Even the initially annoying “Captain America” song eventually became kind of catchy. (I was surprised to see that it was written by Alan Menken until I remembered that Disney owns Marvel now.)
Perhaps my favorite thing that the movie did was to delay the revelation of The Red Skull in all his horrifyingly grotesque splendor. I loved the scene where Toby Jones’s Dr. Zola had to critique a portrait in progress, a portrait we never saw. The theatrical delay seemed quite fitting for a comic book adaptation.
Best Action Sequence:
Action abounds, and if you love explosions and speeding vehicles zooming out toward the audience in 3D, then this is the movie for you. To someone more interested in human faces than impressive pyrotechnics, the scene where The Red Skull’s agent infiltrates the secret area, causes mayhem, and attempts to escape really stands out. I loved Steve’s quick response and growing realization of his new abilities, Carter’s immediate pursuit with a gun, and the pluck and charm of the kid taken as a hostage.
Best Joke:
Just about everything Tommy Lee Jones says is pretty funny. He has some great moments during basic training and line much funnier than it should be toward the end of the movie when the Captain is trying to catch The Red Skull’s ship.
Best Scene:
For me, the best moment in the movie came when Dr. Erskine sat down to have a drink with Steve the night before the procedure. I loved his speech about the Nazis occupying Germany first. Everything about the poignant scene was beautifully played. (If only Bucky had been that captivating!)
Best Surprise:
You have to be pretty patient to wait until the close of the seemingly endless credits, but when you do, you will finally be rewarded with an Avengers teaser. I call this a surprise because while you’re pretty sure it’s coming, the credits last so long that you begin to doubt your instincts and lose hope.
Best Scene Visually:
I can’t really decide if the scene where they attempt to extract Dr. Zola from the train is the best or the worst scene visually. In 3D, you really do get quite a show, but some might find it a bit forced. I also enjoyed seeing blood spatter onto the skull on the insignia. Fans of Chris Evans might find his initial transformation after the experiment to be quite a visual feast.
The Negatives:
I’m not a fan of the misty, amber, this-is-the-past visual style used in this movie and countless others, but during production Marvel Studios did not ask me for my opinion, so there’s no point in complaining now that the movie is finished. I was able to overlook this pet peeve because the movie delivered in other ways, and I can’t expect all filmmakers to accommodate my every whimsical prejudice.
By far, the movie’s biggest problem was that it seemed to lack gusto. The visual style favored a nostalgic, soft focus, and the story seemed to be in soft focus, too. All of the elements of a gripping story were there, but a sense of urgency, heart, real significance was mysteriously missing. The hero was likeable, chosen by a noble man of science for his fine qualities. The villain was menacing. The love interest was feisty. The love they shared was pure. The fighting was meant to uphold truth, justice, and the American way. But somehow, by the end, I didn’t really care, or, more accurately, I didn’t care enough.
The film’s soft, weak ending didn’t really work. Of course, to set up the upcoming Avengers movie, Captain America has to wind up the way he does, but the whole thing still felt pretty anticlimactic. How sad that Steve didn’t make it to the dance hall on time! (Yet it wasn’t really sad enough. Instead of weeping for the tragedy, we feel frustrated at the lack of closure.) Plus, he saved the world! We’re expecting the movie to go out with a bang, but all we get is a whimper.
Another more easily identified weakness in the film is the character of Steve’s best friend, Bucky Barnes. Easily the weakest member of the cast, Sebastian Stan turns in a generic, forgettable performance as Bucky, a character who might have worked better if played by a stronger actor. Maybe. Even the most seasoned, charismatic performer, however, could not have prevented the staggering lack of significance of his character’s ultimate fate.
Yes, Bucky is helpful early on as a foil for Steve, and he’s nearly essential later on as the plot device that encourages Captain America to take his act to the battlefield, but when the loyal sidekick unexpectedly gets off the train before his stop, we don’t really miss him.
(Even when he’s there, he only seems important because the protagonist keeps saying that he is.) Steve reacts to Bucky’s departure, of course, but not enough. All that we learn is that Captain America can’t get drunk. This would be useful if he mistakenly intercepted some Nazis searching for the Ark of the Covenant and happened to run afoul of Marion Ravenwood. But instead of an (increasingly intriguing) Indiana Jones cross-over, the movie takes the more predictable route of having the Captain leap from a moving car onto an escaping plane to do battle with the villain who has already been introduced.
I suppose in the very end, Steve recalls that Bucky made a choice and makes a choice of his own, but if Bucky had been left out of the movie, that line could have been, too. Granted, we do learn about Steve’s super-fast metabolism because of his failed drunken binge, but did we really need an entire character just to illustrate that Captain America has amazing regenerative powers? Even before becoming Captain America, Steve was an interesting guy. But he had a very, very boring best friend. Bucky was a human plot device; he could and should have been more.
The Performances:
Tommy Lee Jones was magnificent as Colonel Chester Philips. Granted Philips is quite difficult to distinguish from Sam Gerard in The Fugitive. (Helpful hint: Philips wears a military uniform.) But that’s the kind of character Jones plays best, and he does it better than anyone else, with such panache. Watching Captain America became a truly pleasurable experience when the Jones showed up and brought with him a winning dose of humanity and humor.
Stanley Tucci was also outstanding as Dr. Abraham Erskine. He was perhaps my favorite character in the movie. Thanks to a good script, he had some wonderful things to say that became wonderfully touching as well as delivered by such a gifted actor.
As Johann Schmidt, Hugo Weaving did a great job of increasing his menace through subtlety. In every early scene, he used his entire face to capture the emotions of the character, so that in later scenes, when he was forced to perform without certain features, his chilling expressions remained embedded in the minds of the audience.
Another standout was Toby Jones as Dr. Zola. He, too, had great lines and delivered them with impeccable timing. The way he told Schmidt that he thought Erskine would never succeed…again was simply fantastic.
I was also happy to see Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark, a character obviously modeled on Howard Hughes. I liked Cooper in Mamma Mia! and enjoyed seeing him play a completely different kind of character here. His portrayal was kind of hammy, but it worked.
Natalie Dormer only had a small part as Private Lorraine, but I spent a large portion of the movie wracking my brains, trying to place her strikingly familiar face. It was also nice to see Derek Luke among the Captain’s band of trusted men, but I wish we’d seen a little more of him.
I’ve always liked Chris “the only reason The Fantastic Four movies were watchable as far as I’m concerned” Evans. I thought he performed well as a very sympathetic character, though I did find myself wishing that Captain America displayed half the complexity that the still wimpy Steve Rogers showed the potential for in early scenes.
I loved the character of Peggy Carter and spent most of the movie on the fence about how I felt about Hayley Atwell. Overall, I found her winning and quite lovely with her round, honest features, and I think she played the character well. My interest in her character increased as the movie progressed, and by the end, I found her far more relatable than Captain America himself.
Overall:
I enjoyed the movie and would watch it again. I’m sure I’ll own it eventually. It stacks up against the other comic-based movies this summer rather well. Any comparison to Green Lantern is just laughable since this movie was better in every possible way. In terms of special effects, Captain America is much better than Thor (though I, personally, preferred the shorter running time and more effective character interactions in that movie). Younger fans may find the opening scenes a bit frustratingly slow paced, but there is action aplenty, a number of great characters, and some really excellent dialogue.