And now marking the fifth installment in the Avengers pre-series, “Captain America: The First Avenger,” has finally graced the screen in all its patriotic, Nazi-ass-kicking glory. Nazis. When it comes to cinematic villains, they're at the top of the list. (Or is it the bottom?)
Captain America adalah lakonan Chris Evans, Tommy Lee Jones, Stanley Tucci, Hugo Weaving, Hayley Atwell, Sebastian Stan and Dominic Cooper. It's 1942 and World War II is well underway. For the frail, asthmatic and symptom-prone Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) all he wants to do is join the fight, but he's been denied at every turn. Yet, he has heart and determination, and won't take "no" for an answer. This determination earns him a spot in the Army after being recognized by Dr. Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci) as a perfect candidate for a super soldier serum he's devising.
The central battle at the film's core is not against Hitler, instead the villain here is Johann Schmidt (Hugo Weaving), a commander in the German army responsible for weapons development and one so scary he even makes the Nazis nervous. Schmidt has been using his post as an opportunity to search for the ultimate power, a rumored power cube from the gods. This cube glows blue and is apparently pretty powerful stuff, but the audience is never given much information on it outside of a bunch of unintelligible mumbo-jumbo that I couldn't make heads or tails of.
But within this fiction you can find some resonant themes. We learn that everything that really made Steve heroic was already inside him before they pumped him full of experimental serum. He stands up to bullies. He throws himself on (what he thinks is) a live grenade to save his fellow soldiers. He's polite and generous and self-effacing and … well, just the sort of guy you'd like to represent your country in times of trouble.
Additionally wooden is Hayley Atwell (The Duchess) as the film's love interest Peggy Carter.And as appealing as she may look, her character is dull as a board, often accompanied by a blank stare.The numerous and obligatory action sequences are made up mostly of slow-motion shots of Evans jumping either on or off of moving vehicles. There are explosions and anachronisms aplenty but overall, the plot is fairly basic, delivering only the bare necessities in terms of storyline.
It’s been a hit or miss summer, but Captain America is a huge hit. This is what a summer movie should be, filled with good performances and fun adventure and brisk storytelling. All of a sudden I’m excited for The Avengers again.
I comment this movie (4) ★★★★only.
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