This is Marvel’s third movie of the year. Not content with Thor and X-Men, the comic book giants released one of their personal favourites, Captain America in the later Summer months. Did they save the best until last? In a word: yes.
Captain America is one of the best movies Marvel have ever made. Now, I know that isn’t really saying much, it’s a bit like saying one sewer smells less than another with their movies, but this one is actually a good film!
To be fair to Marvel, some of their recent additions have been good. Ironman was great, Thor was a decent flick and X-Men: First Class was surprisingly good. So perhaps there’s a trend here.
I might go out on a limb and say that Captain America is the best movie Marvel have made. Not the best superhero movie of all time, Batman gets those honours, but still a really good film.
Set in World War II, the movie stars a young kid, Steve Rogers, who wants to fight for his country. Unfortunately he’s a bit on the weedy side so gets refused on several occasions. Lucky for him though Stanley Tucci hears about his plight and offers him the chance to join a program set to create the world’s first super-soldier. Of course he takes him up on the offer and is selected to become Captain America!
Rogers is played by Chris Evans who has shaken off the shackles of the Human Torch and donned the all-American apparel in order to kick some Nazi asses! I’m not overly sure how they filmed it as in the earlier scenes he’s short and very skinny. I know Chris Evans is a method actor (that coffee in Scott Pilgrim was real hot coffee!) so maybe he filmed the two periods separately, bulking up for his post-transformation phase. Either way he plays the character well, which is good to see, Evans is coming into his own these days.
As for the villain, well it’s not Hitler as you might think, instead it’s Red Skull who’s played by Hugo Weaving. He’s a decent villain who‘s messed around with experimental serums and such and has now ended up with his face being partly melted leaving behind a glowing red skin tone (hence the name Red Skull) which yes, makes him look like a red version of Stanley Ipkiss from the The Mask. Essentially he’s a character interested in world domination, working within the Nazi Party searching out ancient relics that will make him a God. Of course he finds such a thing that enables him to develop weaponry that basically evaporates people from existence. Nice.
The Americans obviously want to put a stop to that and so they stick young Rogers into a machine to bulk him up and give him super-strength. As the directors watch on with interest from the gallows one of them walks off leaving what appears to be a 3DS on his seat. Once the transformation is complete and everyone applauds with glee, the 3DS (which turns out to be a cigarette case) explodes leaving the executive to grab a vial of the formula and leg it out of the building.
This is the cue for Cap’n America to put his new abilities to good use as he chases after him, through the streets, into a docking area, and even under-water. What a hero! Only thing is America put him to use as a cheerleader. Pretty lame. But that doesn’t last for long as he takes it upon himself to go into battle with the evil Red Skull!
Red Skull was a good villain but there was one little thing that let him down. The character is this big intimidating war-lord, commanding his own division of the Nazi party called Hydra. As the movie goes on, Red Skull manages to utilize the power of an old relic he’s collected and decides he’s outgrown the Nazi Party and seperates himself taking all those who’ll follow him (those who won’t are evaporated) under his command.
These followers and of course Red Skull himself have a new salute. And what do they do? They take a look at Hitler’s one armed hail Hitler salute and think they’ll one-up him by raising both arms in the air and yelling “Hail Hydra!” Yeah… they look ridiculous. All that intimidation, all that evil in the character evaporates like all those who opposed him.
I like movies that are set in the past, so maybe that adds to why I liked Captain America so much. You get to see all the old style cars, aeroplanes, trains etc that make it all look authentic, then in contrast you see these futuristic weapons created by Red Skull. A lot of the scenes are filmed in England, with Manchester’s Northern Quarter being a big part of it; because apparently Manchester looks just like 1940s America. Not too far from the truth really.
Unfortunately for the movie itself, it was overshadowed largely by the promise of an Avengers teaser trailer after the credits. It seemed to be all people were talking about while Captain America was out and in the end, after watching it, it really wasn’t that special. It was so small there was hardly a point to it. Most of it was taken up with hype-inducing words flashing across the screen. All-in-all pretty pointless and a shame those few seconds overshadowed the entire movie!
Marvel have been building up to next years Avengers movie with a series of movies based on each character. Up to now there has been Hulk, Ironman, Ironman 2, and Thor. Captain America is the last of the introductions before we‘re hit with The Avengers in 2012.
So much hype has now been built up about The Avengers that it’ll be fairly difficult for the movie to get close to the expectations of the fans. Admittedly it’s a tantalising prospect to behold, what with all these heroes together in one movie, I’m surprised it hasn’t been done yet. The only worry I have about it is that it could have too many characters involved. Take Spiderman 3 for example, it had far too many villains and as a result ruined the film series so much Marvel felt it necessary to reboot the entire thing. I havent even seen Tobey Maguire since.
It seems like a large gamble for Marvel all while they’re juggling other projects like the Spiderman reboot and X-Men. Hopefully it will be good but I’m not hyped up and ready for action just yet.
Captain America is however, a good movie that stands on its own two feet. Even if the Avengers movie doesn’t take of, this movie was a fun, action packed and charming one and deserves praise for it. The music is atmospheric and in keeping with the times (including a song that sticks into your brain for a good week) and the sets and fashions all add to the nostalgia of 1940s America. It all totals up to a good movie... just don’t take it too seriously.
Final Verdict: 4 Stars. A charming if a little ridiculous take on World War II…
No comments:
Post a Comment