
Captain America: The First Avenger is the story of Steve Rogers, a frail young man from Brooklyn, New York, who after being continually denied access into the military, finally gets his opportunity after a chance meeting with a military scientist for an experimental program.
The movie takes place at the height of World War II and focuses on the creation and the early years of Captain America. Steve Rogers, a.k.a. Captain America, is played by Chris Evans with Hugo Weaving as The Red Skull(literally, of course).
Rogers is given an experimental drug which, for their lack of creativity in the 40’s, is called the Super Soldier Serum. This serum takes him to the height of physical perfection. Simply put, he is bigger, faster and stronger than any man on Earth. Upon receipt of his upgrade, the scientist who blessed him with this gift is assassinated by a member of a criminal organization known as HYDRA. The group is lead by Red Skull(Weaving) who, like any other leader of a criminal organization, is hell-bent on world domination. However, all this is put on hold when Captain America steps in(insert theme music). That is pretty much the skeleton in the closet of any super hero movie. This is Marvel’s final movie before they release ‘Avengers’ in 2013(can’t wait!).
Those fans of the Captain America comic book, like myself, should truly enjoy this movie. It has a great cast, though I was a little apprehensive about Evans playing the Captain, I was pleasantly surprised by his performance. I kept waiting… and waiting for the wisecrack, sexual innuendo or “Flame On” anytime he wasn’t planted on the ground and… it never came(aww). Instead what I got was a solid performance, and you can’t ask for anymore than that. Most of the comedy was served up a la Tommy Lee Jones as Colonel Chester Phillips. Directed by Joe Johnston(Wolfman, Jurassic Park III) the film is an origin story(which I love) and with so much to tell he does a good job of consolidating it without the film getting bogged down………it kept moving. The action sequences were well done, with subtle digital effects here and there, “subtlety” being the key word as nothing felt out of place here.
So, if you were on the fence and skeptical, like me, about seeing this movie, then let me put your skepticism to rest and say “definitely, go check out this comic book depiction!
Deleon’s Final Dish: Great acting, great action, great summer fun for you and the family.