Captain America: The First Avenger Review

A few weeks ago my Marketing class went on a field trip to see the newest release from Marvel Studios. Since it was the second time I saw it in theaters, I was watching for parts I did not notice the first time around and marketing aspects I read about online. I could talk about why I liked Winter Soldier, but I think I need to give some background on the franchise to show why it was a step up from the last movie. Thus, it’s time to talk about why Captain America: The First Avenger is the moving picture that cemented Marvel Studio’s push for an integrated cinematic universe.

Captain America: The First Avenger is a good movie because it resists the urge to directly tie into the following Marvel movies and generally stands on its own. A decade or two ago, a Captain America movie was made, but it was not very good. I think one reason was that the movie started out in the World War II era and then moved to modern day, so after super soldier Steve Rogers fights the Nazi officer the Red Skull in the beginning, you get to see Captain America repeatedly and absurdly jack cars from oblivious companions. The First Avenger does not try to show the Captain fighting the same villain across the timeline; the main conflict of the movie is set during WWII. Thus you see Steve Rogers go from a wimp with a heart of gold to a courageous super soldier, and you can leave the comic book derived suspended animation to the very end of the movie as the dénouement that leads into the first Avengers movie.

The movie is predictable and campy but still a solid effort with no glaring flaws like other Marvel-branded cinematic products in past years. Chris Evans does well as Steve Rogers, though he cannot compete with Downey Jr. for performances because Captain America is not a very dynamic character. Rounding out the cast we have Hayley Atwell as Agent Peggy Carter, Sebastian Stan as Rogers’ best friend and war comrade Bucky, and Hugo Weaving as the somewhat intimidating Johann Schmidt or, as he is better known, the Red Skull. At its heart this is a war movie, so we start with antique urban life and transition into war reels, action montages, and explosions. The antagonists, the Nazi elite soldier faction HYDRA, are physically imposing with deadly weaponry to match, and it’s fun to watch Captain America and his commandos overcome them. The movie needs to hold back because this is an origin story that needs to follow key comic book film tropes, so nothing was too surprising, but it does not need to be more than a period piece.

Captain America: The First Avenger may be an advertisement for the movie to follow, but it has enough value to stand alone as a good movie. Check it out if you’re interested to see how Marvel has been building the cinematic universe based on reverence to the source material and devotion to technical and directorial quality. You do not need to see it before watching the Avengers or Winter Soldier movie, but if you’re interested in a comic book movie set during the Second World War, this might be the ticket. It’s certainly better than the last Captain America movie, and it’s better than the last Indiana Jones movie too for that matter.