Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) Review

 

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

Captain America: The First Avenger follows Steve Rodgers who, after a government experiment, is turned into the super soldier Captain America, where he must now lead the charge against Nazi Germany and HYDRA. 

While the first Captain America movie is relatively generic, I think it speaks levels to the character and how well he was set up in his origin story. So much of his character rides on the war effort in the 1940s and so I’m glad they not only made this a WW2 period piece but also use the climate of the time to mold and shape the kind of man Steve is. Like any positive figure, he was turned into a propaganda tool, which stands against so much of why he wanted to join the war—with everyone laying down their lives, why couldn’t he? 

And so the reason behind Steve being chosen for the program is the heart of what makes this such an admirable film. He isn’t big or strong or fast; he was a socially awkward, weak, and unremarkable man, but he is a good man above all else. Even with the fame, success, and power he had, that never changed. Something that makes his sacrifice at the end so powerful because it shows the even in the face of death, he is still Steve Rodgers, the scrawny kid from Brooklyn who didn’t know how to run from a fight. 

I think the biggest fault this movie faces though is it’s stakes, or lack thereof. Red Skull is certainly a compelling and menacing villain, but we don’t get much of him and even with his harnessing of the Tesseract, he never seems to pose much of a threat, always being on the defensive. Him and Cap barely even face off either, which, for a superhero movie, you kind of need to happen. 

I absolutely love the cast here however, featuring Hugo Weaving, Tommy Lee Jones, Sebastian Stan, Hayley Atwell, Stanley Tucci, Dominic Cooper, and Chris Evans. Evans perfectly captures the essence of the “Star-Spangled Man with a Plan” and elevates every scene he’s in. His relationship opposite Atwell is also done so well and I really wish we got more of them together. 

The First Avenger, directed by Joe Johnston, cranks up the American nationalism and war pride of the 1940s, creating an icon in Captain America that really encapsulates Cap as a character, not being a perfect hero but a good man, something that will define him in his first solo outing and beyond. 

8/10