[rating:4.5]
Captain America was probably the best of the comic movies so far. More then a comic movie it touched on some of the modern themes but kept true to the Captain America’s roots. This was one of those rare times that you do not have to be a comic book junky to enjoy a film. I say this because this critique is not only based on my reaction to the film but those that were in the drive in movie theater with us. One of the advantages of being in such an atmosphere you can gage the reactions of the people better because on a good night everyone is out of their cars and in full view just sitting in lounge chairs. In this case those in the theater reacted with overwhelming applause at the conclusion to the film , laughed when the comedic lite touches were applied to the film and clenched in anticipation when the action was in full swing. The movie was smart with one exception. And that was when Mr Stark (Tony Starks dad ) was at the NY world fair which happen to be at the time of WW II. The NY Worlds fair picture here happen to be the 1964 fairs set up which is located in Queens by Citi Feild and the one prior to that was in 1939. A small non relavant but historically wrong feature. But something that was I guess important to the plot.
The running theme of the movie was an inspiring one that with the right determination, courage and goodness of heart you can achieve many things even the imposible . As in this case when a young skinny and small Steve Rogers never say die attitude wins him a chance to take part of the super soldier program. Chris Evens played Captain America better then any of the actors that had attempted in the past. Then again most of those films were campy and dated.Tommy Lee Jones brought his dry humor and acting brilliance to help balance out the films tone .
One of the highlights of the film for my was at the very end after the credits rolled. You got a taste of the Avenger movie when the audience was treated to a teaser trailer of the film . The trailer featured Nick Fury , Thor , Captain America, Iron Man , and glimpses of what I am guessing was Hawkeye and the Bruce Banner . I say that because the trailer concentrated on the more recognizable characters front eh previous marvel film for example it had Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man / Tony Stark) patting Chris Hemsworth (Thor) on the shoulder and commenting what nice swing he had there.
All in all good family movie. The girls would like it the kids and guys will love it. And best of all it kept with the Marvel tradition of the character. I think what I liked best about it was that it was not over the top like Transformers was . It was just right.
Plot from wikipedia (Warning Spoilers)
In the present day, scientists in the Arctic uncover a mysterious object with a red, white and blue motif. In March 1942, Nazi officer Johann Schmidt (Hugo Weaving) and his men invade a castle in Tønsberg, Norway, to steal a mysterious tesseract which Schmidt calls “the jewel of Odin’s treasure room.” In New York City, Brooklyn native Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is rejected for World War II military duty as 4F for the fifth time. Rogers’ friend, Sgt. James “Bucky” Barnes (Sebastian Stan), takes Rogers to the Modern Marvels of Tomorrow exhibition, where Rogers slips into a recruitment center for another attempt at enlisting. When Barnes attempts to dissuade him, Rogers’ fervent conviction about serving his country catches the ear of expatriate Bavarian scientist Dr. Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci), who is with the U.S. government’s Strategic Scientific Reserve. He recruits Rogers to a squad of soldiers at Camp Lehigh in New York state. There, under Colonel Chester Phillips (Tommy Lee Jones) and SSR officer Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), one will be chosen as the first in a “super-soldier” experiment. Phillips suggests Gilmore Hodge (Lex Shrapnel), but an act of self-sacrificing bravery by Rogers convinces Erskine to use Rogers. In Europe, Schmidt and scientist Arnim Zola (Toby Jones) attempt to harness the power of the cube-like tesseract. Schmidt then kills a few Nazi officials when they learn Schmidt and his private group HYDRA are planning to take over every country in the world, including Nazi Germany.
Erskine tells Rogers about the super soldier serum he will be using, explaining that he used to work with Schmidt and he tested an original formula on Schmidt. However, as the serum had not been perfected, Schmidt experienced physical side effects. Also, the serum enhanced Schmidt’s sinister nature and intentions, causing Erskine to flee to the United States. Erskine, having now perfected the serum, tells Rogers he was chosen because his weak physical nature has given him humility. In a secret lab behind a Brooklyn antique store, Erskine and others gather with military inventor Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper), Senator Brandt (Michael Brandon) and U.S. State Department employee Fred Clemson as Rogers is given micro-injections of serum and then doused with what Erskine calls “vita-rays”. Rogers emerges from a chamber tall and muscular — and his abilities are put to the test immediately when Clemson is exposed as assassin Heinz Kruger(Richard Armitage) who kills Erskine. Rogers pursues Kruger in his car, but the spy flees to his submarine after Carter kills the driver. Rogers captures Kruger, but the spy commits suicide with a cyanide capsule.
With the experiment dead, Brandt has Rogers don a colorful costume for a gaudy War Bonds promotional stage show that leads to one unimpressed soldier audience in Italy, November 1943, jeering Rogers. When he hears Barnes is among a number of soldiers captured by Schmidt, Rogers convinces Carter and Stark to fly him behind enemy lines for a solo rescue mission. Breaking into what turns out to be a HYDRA base, he frees Barnes and the others, memorizes a map of HYDRA bases, and briefly confronts Schmidt, who reveals his true altered physical nature as the Red Skull. The Skull and Zola retreat, and Rogers returns the men to base, along with high-tech guns that use tesseract energy.
To destroy HYDRA’s bases, Rogers recruits a team consisting of Barnes, Timothy “Dum Dum” Dugan (Neal McDonough), and (unnamed except in the end-credits) Gabe Jones (Derek Luke), Jim Morita (Kenneth Choi), James Montgomery Falsworth (J. J. Feild), and Jacques Dernier (Bruno Ricci). Adopting a circular shield made of a substance Stark calls vibranium, which absorbs vibrations, Rogers and his squad take out all but one base. Finally, Rogers and Barnes ziplineonto a train transporting Zola; during the ensuing battle, Barnes falls to his death in a gorge.
Rogers, using information Phillips has gleaned from Zola, leads the commandos to the Skull’s final redoubt. Rogers scrambles onto the Skull’s jet as it takes off on a mission to obliterate the U.S. using the tesseract energy, and eventually confronts the Skull. The Skull attempts to use the tesseract but instead disintegrates into light that shoots into space. The tesseract melts through the plane and falls to Earth. Rogers, as Carter listens on radio, crashes the plane into the ocean to prevent it from reaching the United States. Shortly after, the Allies celebrate V-E Day. Carter, Stark, and Phillips manage to recover the tesseract, but are unable to locate Rogers.
In the present-day, Rogers awakens in a room designed to appear as if he were still in the early 1940s. Deducing the truth and escaping to Times Square, Rogers learns from S.H.I.E.L.D. leader Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) that he has been asleep for nearly 70 years, and they had wanted to acclimate his reentry into modern times. Rogers’ only response is that he is late for a dance he had promised to Carter 70 years ago.