Captain America

Released: 19th July 2011

Director:Joe Johnson

Stars:Chris Evans, Stanley Tucci, Hayley Atwell

Certificate: 12

Reviewer: Luke Walkley

Marvel Studios brings us the latest and arguably the most anticipated in the run up to The Avengers due to be released in May 2012. Captain America: The First Avengers follows the Hulk, Iron Man double and Thor movies in terms of release, the film meanwhile, is set during the Second World War and subsequently before all the previous releases.

Chris Evans(Fantastic Four, Sunshine) stars as Steve Rogers, deemed unfit for military service after five attempts to enlist, his determination draws the attention of Dr Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci) who offers him a chance to join the army by taking part in a top secret experiment. The project transforms him into the ultimate super soldier- Captain America. With his

new identity, Captain America seeks the chance to prove himself and help the military in their fight against Hydra- A sub-science division of the German army led by Johann Schmidt (Hugo Weaving) who is searching for the ultimate weapon in order to help him control the world.

There has been a lot of anticipation surrounding Captain America, the trailers showing Chris Evans as a weak and weedy man and then a transformation into the super soldier that is Captain America. The excitement was justified, as the CGI is fantastic, the ability to make Steve Rogers (Evans) look so different in comparison to Evans actual form is jaw dropping and pretty much flawless. Continuing with the appearance of characters- Hugo Weavings Schmidt and Red Skull are fantastically menacing. Weaving has the ability to create memorable characters- Agent Smith from The Matrix and ‘V’ from V For Vendetta to name but to. His performance as Schmidt is no exception. Giving the best performance of the film and in doing so, he ultimately becomes the best marvel villain to date. The supporting cast give some balance to the film, Tommy Lee Jones as Colonel Phillips offers some of the comedic moments that have become common place in Marvel’s outputs. Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter is Roger’s love interest and puts in a decent performance, however we never learn anything about her character so its slightly disappointing as she ends up effectively just becoming the only girl in the shot, for the sake of just being there.

The back story for Rogers, however is crafted much more effectively. Joining him as he is refused entry to the military for the fifth time, we see that his determination and inability to give up are the traits that allow him to become the perfect superhero. There are numerous references to the person he will ultimately become- picking up a dustbin lid as a shield in the trailer as well as carrying a car door with a star emblazoned on the front. Two references would have been sufficient, but I became aggravated as the makers continued to slip in these references. However It can be forgotten as the overall style of the film was sufficient to keep the viewer interested.

As with all Superhero films there is always a lot of focus on the action scenes and Captain America lives up to its predecessors high standards- in several brilliant scenes we see the Captain come up against some of Hydras guards and creations and the action doesn’t stop. I always enjoy the mix of action with innovative weapons and villains- the high point of Sucker Punch in my opinion. I felt that Captain America had more to stand on than Thor however in terms of dialogue and plot I felt that X-Men: First Class had a definite edge over Captain America. Less character development than X-Men means the difference in the overall aim of the films is clear. Captain America does little in the way of introducing us to anymore of the Avengers whereas Thor had references to Nighthawk and Iron Man to Black Widow.

Captain America is a genuinely entertaining film and one that action fans will certainly enjoy. The film takes a step away from the overall story to focus on the introduction of Captain America and this isn’t a completely bad concept. With several films released with a few months of each other the build up to The Avengers has gained more pace with each Marvel Release. Captain America is in your face patriotic but you can’t help but love it- even as a Brit. A fantastic performance from Weaving is the stand out moment of the film while Evans delivers the superhero persona perfectly and delivers an even better performance as pre-Captain Steve Rogers.

Captain America is fun, fast paced and doesn’t let up on the action front. That is exactly how it should be. God Bless The USA.