Captain America: The First Avenger: Movie Review

"Captain America: The First Avenger" is the last key figure in the plan to make an uber-film compilation of Marvel superheroes from the past half-decade or so (said film is of course, "The Avengers"). The Marvel Cinematic Universe movies always scored well in our books and "Captain America: The First Avenger" gave us the same sentiments as the others. Did they save the best for last? Well, the answer is a definite no but the film almost got the top spot. Read on for the full blown review of "Captain America: The First Avenger" after the jump.

It is 1942 and the U.S. it at the war with the Nazis. Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) desperately wants to enlist for military duty. Unfortunately, he is sickly, thin and little and gets rejected for the fourth time. Steve tries to enlist again and while talking with his friend Bucky (Sebastian Stan) about his patriotism, a certain scientist hears his frustrations and sentiments. The man decides that Steve is the perfect applicant for the government's top secret super soldier program. The scientist also reveals that the serum he has made will not only make a man stronger but will also show a man's inner being. The once scrawny man becomes Captain America after the experiment proves to be successful but being a true war hero is not an easy road as Captain America must battle his way not only against Red Skull (Hugo Weaving), an enemy who matches his powers, but he also has to contend with his own American peers.

"Captain America: The First Avenger" decides to be a simple, no-holds barred, guns-a-blazing origin film (and it does prove to be a successful formula) but the best thing about the movie is the 1940s setting which is a complete refresher and a breather from the other films. They could have easily decided to make the setting modern to make continuity with the other films easier but we are glad they didn't. This simple decision not only makes it stand out by having a unique design and feel but it also helps to make the origin story deeper, broader and ultimately, more interesting than it should be. Of course, the film has its own negatives from minor quibbles like Captain America's supreme invincibility from anything and everything or more major annoyances like scene transitions that actually affect and hinder how scenes are properly concluded but you will be having so much fun that you just forgive and forget. "Captain America: The First Avenger" scores points by being straight-forward, fun and a deep origin story to boot. It's not the best attempt at a superhero film but it still does a damn good job.

Rating: 5 reels





Why you should watch it:
- this is a fun film to watch
- an origin story that's deeper and broader than the usual
- the 40s setting is a complete refresher

Why you shouldn't watch it:
- numerous scene transitions seems to make the film skip conclusions on said scenes
- Captain America's invincibility and superpowers are unbelievable at times - even for a superhero!