Captain America: The First Avenger Movie Review
Captain America: The First Avenger, the fifth installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, opened July 19, 2011 and may just be the best out of the whole bunch.
Captain America: The First Avenger
“Captain America: The First Avenger” just may be the best Marvel movie of all time. And yes, that means it’s better than “The Incredible Hulk”, “Iron Man”, and even “Thor”, another good one. From start to finish, I was enthralled.
The opening scene catapalts us into the Marvel world, with a rescue crew discovering the Shield buried in ice. We don’t know how it got there, but suffice it to say that, by the end of the movie, there will be no doubt. Once the opening scenes are over, we cut to 1942, where our first reference to the Marvel Universe at large takes place, the Asgardian World Tree carved into the wall of a church in Norway. This movie has more references to the larger Marvel Universe than any other movie thus far, and it’s obvious it’s because they want to prep audiences for “The Avengers” next year. That’s not a bad thing.
The production design is the most interesting I’ve ever seen for a comic book film. It has a modern look and feel, even if it is set in the 1940s. It’s noirish and sleek, without being embellished. The characters are modern people, with motivations we can relate to. We get a whole slew of comic book goodness, as well. Hugo Weaving as the Red Skull is one of the best casting decisions in all of comic book movies. When he appears as the Red Skull, he has a commanding presence, but takes up just enough space so that we don’t get sick of him. We get Bucky Barnes, Sharon Carter, Howard Stark, and even Dum Dum Dugan. Yes, that’s digging deep, but comic book fans will be delighted.
The plot isn’t the most original. The Red Skull is seeking the “power of the gods.” Basically, it’s a cube with Asgardian power, which was locked away in a church in Norway, which Red Skull retrieved at the beginning of the film. The power becomes his undoing, when in the final showdown between the Star-Spangled Avenger and the Red Skull, it transports him to another dimension. Captain America believes that he’s killed, but because we’ve seen “Thor”, we know better.
The last scenes show Rogers waking up in the future, with Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury greeting him. This is the only part of the film that seemed forced, but it’s necessary to tie this movie in with “The Avengers” coming out next year.
Stick around for the end of the credits. You won’t regret it.
A COMIC BOOK BLOG RATING
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| The best Marvel ever | Ican’t think of any |
| Rating |
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1 Comment
Wholly agree. This was an amazing movie, a text book example of how to do a comic book movie.