Outside of X-Men: First Class, Joe Johnston’s Captain America had the most promise out of the myriad of comic book adaptations being released this year, and I am pleased to say that it did not disappoint. With the Iron Man movies, Thor, and finally Captain America, Marvel has done a fantastic job setting the stage for their epic superhero ensemble movie, The Avengers, which is currently shooting and due out in Summer 2012. Better than Thor though not quite as on point as Iron Man, Captain America does a sufficient job of introducing the character played pitch perfectly by Chris Evans (Fantastic Four, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World). On top of the stellar cast which included Hayley Atwell, Hugo Weaving, Stanley Tucci, Tommy Lee Jones, and Dominic Cooper, Johnston and his team excelled in mixing comedy with emotion, kept the action coming early and often, and really made me feel as if I was looking in on the 1940’s.
Save for Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man and Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, Chris Evans as Captain America might be my new favorite Marvel superhero. Not only does he nail the titular role, but he also shines as the punitive Steve Rogers who struggles to follow his dream of fighting for his country. Stanley Tucci is endearing as a German scientist working for the US to develop a “super soldier” who takes Rogers under his wing. The always compelling Tommy Lee Jones plays the stonehearted Colonel Philips and Hugo Weaving harkens back to his villainous ways as Agent Smith in The Matrix and superbly captures the evil inherent in Red Skull. My favorite performance however was that of Dominic Cooper (An Education, The Devil’s Double) as the playboy genius father of Iron Man, Howard Stark. I can only hope that he will be able to reprise this role in another Marvel movie sometime soon.
I do not typically see movies in 3D that were converted in post as opposed to being shot in 3D to begin with, but the conversion on Captain America is pretty spot on. It doesn’t feel kitschy and is not distracting at all. In fact, despite not seeing it in 2D, it seemed as though it enhanced a good deal of the action and I would definitely recommend seeing it in three dimensions. There were very few things to complain about and although it is not perfect there are no glaring problems. They even do an awesome job of joining this WWII set world with the modern world that The Avengers is set in. Get out of the summer heat and enjoy Captain America: The First Avenger. Be sure to stay through the credits for an awesome treat from the people at Marvel!
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