lll 1/2
Starring Chris Evans, Tommy Lee Jones, Hugo Weaving, Hayley Atwell, Stanley Tucci, Sebastian Stan, Dominic Cooper, Toby Jones, Neal McDonough, Derek Luke and Natalie Dormer. Directed by Joe Johnston.
I don't want to overhype this, because it doesn't transcend the superhero genre, but it does beautifully exactly what it's supposed to do. Marvel movies have really stepped up their game.
When I was a kid, I considered the Captain in the big three with Spiderman and Hulk as far as Marvel characters went. Sure, there was X-Men and Iron Man and Daredevil and Fantastic Four and Thor, but really, Spidey, Hulk and the Cap were the Superman and Batman of Marvel.
Glad to see the Captain finally get his due and have it done right. It keeps to the character's WWII roots, and if X-Men: First Class was a throwback to 1960's James Bond movies, then Captain America at times feels like an Indiana Jones sequel.
Chris Evans hits all the right notes as Steve Rogers, a little guy who really wants to fight for his country. His size and health problems prevent him from enlisting, but he catches the eye of a scientist looking for the perfect candidate for an experiment. Not sure how they did the effects of Evans being so small, but I didn't see the seams.
Rogers gets injected with special serum that makes him bigger, stronger, faster, the perfect fighting machine. Now he's ready to take on the Hitler and the Nazis, til he and the US army discover they're up against an even bigger threat - Johan Schmidt and the Hydra.
Johnston directed The Rocketeer, and the same old-school magic comes through here. Supporting cast makes the most of their roles, from the dry wit of Tommy Lee Jones to the beats Stanley Tucci takes with his lines. Hugo Weaving could play Schmidt in his sleep, but he doesn't. He makes Red Skull/Schmidt a worthy, scary opponent.
Stay til the end of the credits.
1 comment:
This is on our list to see this week. I'm glad to hear it's worth it, and thanks for the heads up about the credits.
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