Captain America (Chris Evans) photo courtesy of Paramount
I’m probably not alone in being a Marvel fan via the TV shows and movies. I never got a chance to really get into the comics, as they weren’t readily available to me when I was growing up.
In many ways 2011 is a Marvel year, with the release a couple of months ago of Thor now we have Captain America The First Avenger and in less than 12 months we’ll be watching The Avengers.
All the Marvel films are big productions. They’ve all got dazzling visual effects, but not all of them have strong storylines or a particularly engaging cast. It’s been hit and miss. Thor had a strong cast, with heavyweights like Anthony Hopkins filling the screen, but other Marvel movies have been pretty awful (Sorry X-Men fans, but Wolverine really sucked!)
In the case of Captain America, however, it’s a pleasant return to past glories.
Chris Evans plays the title role of Captain America, or Steve Rogers. Rogers is a small sickly man who cannot get into the US army due to his height and multiple ailments. Without giving away anything (and if you’ve seen any of the trailers) Rogers becomes a much bigger and stronger man courtesy of Stanley Tucci’s Dr Erskine, who not only gets him into the army but also gets him into a top secret experiment.
Of course every hero needs a villain and Captain America is no different. Enter Hugo Weaving as Red Skull / Johann Schmidt who has is obsessed with power and heads up HYDRA a sort of nazi terror group of sorts ..His goons’ uniforms are pretty stunning from a visual perspective plus he gets to drive around in a very cool car.
Hugo Weaving as Red Skull in Captain America. Photo courtesy of Paramount
And no hero movie could really be considered “complete” unless there was either a heroine or a “love interest”. For the 2011 incarnation of Captain America the love interest is played by Hayley Atwell:
Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter in Captain America The First Avenger. Photo courtesy of Paramount
The chemistry between the two is fantastic, though you’ll have to see the film to find out if they ever get together or not 🙂
The visual effects throughout the film are pretty impressive, though whether it really warranted a 3D release or not is debatable, as the “flying into your face” type effects only come into play a few times in the movie. It wasn’t actually filmed in 3D, but was converted in post-production – not because the technology to film in 3D wasn’t available, but because the director wasn’t too happy with the restrictions the technique imposed on filming.
It is one of those films that definitely warrants the big screen treatment, so if you can see it while it is playing in your local cinema then do.
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