Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) loves his country and is dedicated to the men and women who live within its borders. So, when Nazi Germany is wreaking havoc on the world and the country he loves, he determines that the best way to service everything he cares about is to join the United States Army. Unfortunately for Steve, his miniature frame and lack of muscles doesn’t allow him to serve in the way that he would like. However, when a brilliant doctor, Dr. Abraham Erksine (Stanley Tucci), and billionaire playboy Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper) are able to transform him into Captain America, his abilities and luck quickly change. Captain America: The First Avenger is the story of Steve and his friends--Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) and Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell)--as they aim to bring the sinister Hydra and mad leader, Johann Schmidt (Hugo Weaving), to justice.
While the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) was launched three years prior to Captain America: The First Avenger, this film acts as the first installment, chronologically, in a story that will last decades. Director Joe Johnston and writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely were tasked with bringing to life the first avenger before the collaborative event known as Marvel’s Avengers, as well as solidifying what Disney and Marvel had been trying to express for years: that the MCU would forever be a force to be reckoned with. Casting star actors such as Tommy Lee Jones (Colonel Chester Phillips), Weaving, Evans, and Neal McDonough (‘Dum Dum’ Dugan) helped to build the film and the cinematic universe’s prowess, and, furthermore, helped to draw in viewers who were new to the superhero subgenre.
Chris Evans is famously known for his role in Sony's Fantastic Four. While his acting was not the reason the film (and its sequel) failed, that short-lived series did ultimately fail to entertain the way that the minds behind it had hoped. That performance and failure had lingered over Evans for years and led some to believe that his ability to portray superhuman individuals was, in fact, lacking. This tenacious individual, however, refused to be bogged down by the whispers of the pessimists and veritably slaughtered the role of the titular Captain America. Steve’s personality is calming and relatable, characteristics that Evans hadn’t often played in the past. He, however, fits beautifully into this role and allows fans to appreciate, better than ever, a live-action Cap. The issue with the character of Captain America is that he’s written in a way that sometimes makes him look weak. While other heroes, throughout the world of cinema, often face tragedy, resulting in them being emotionally fragile from time to time, Steve Rogers often struggles with his moral compass and seems incapable of pulling the hypothetical trigger in the more difficult situations he faces. The moral dilemmas that are depicted throughout Captain America: The First Avenger are certainly tough, and ultimately difficult for viewers to fathom were they faced with them, but seeing this hero struggle in the fashion that he does makes it cumbersome to appreciate the hero and far easier to challenge whether he’s as emotionally strong as many believe him to be.
The story of Captain America: The First Avenger takes a series of twists and turns throughout as it is meant to depict not only a remarkable story of bravery by the highly regarded Cap and the way by which he came to be, but also focuses heavily on content that will affect the MCU for years to come. A series of stories work together to create an all encompassing journey unlike anything the world had seen before. As Captain America: The First Avenger transitions from an origin story to something far bigger, viewers never feel overwhelmed by the amount of information being thrown their way, but impressed by how seamlessly that transition is made. Viewers are fully into the next act before they even realize, and this seamlessness allows viewers to feel calm and nonchalant and to remain fully engrossed in the story from beginning to end.
This was Marvel’s first attempt at a time piece in the MCU, meaning that attention to detail and a serious budget would come into play like Kevin Feige and his team had never before experienced. Oftentimes when certain aspects of a film demand such a significant amount of attention, other aspects of that film can be overlooked and underdeveloped; this couldn’t be further from the truth in regard to Captain America: The First Avenger. The acting, costumes, soundtrack, storyline, casting, and animation are top notch (for the most part) throughout the course of the film and leave very little to the imagination. Johnston, Markus, and McFeely are deliberate in everything they do for Captain America: The First Avenger, and the end product is nothing short of spectacular as a result.
Directed by Joe Johnston.
Written by Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely, Joe Simon, & Jack Kirby.
Starring Chris Evans, Hayley Atwell, Sebastian Stan, Tommy Lee Jones, Hugo Weaving, Dominic Cooper, Stanley Tucci, Toby Jones, etc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/10
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