Sunday 12 August 2012

FILM: Captain America: The First Avenger (6/10)

So after Iron Man, Hulk and Thor, last but not least it was Captain America's turn to make his big screen début as part of the Avengers development.

The First Avenger spends the first half the film covering the origin story of the Captain, which from an previously uninformed point of view was something I greatly appreciated.

With almost the majority of the action set during WWII, the film is similar to a war movie, especially once the Captain recruits his band of soldiers who then spend their time destroying Nazi science labs at ease. Think of Inglorious Bastards meets Band of Brothers but without the Tarantino violence and humour and the epicness and sincerity of the mini-series. The score also sounds familiar when heard in a war setting.

Chris Evans is successful as Captain America and holds up to the pressures of a leading man. He plays the superhero with the right amount of patriotism and conscience without being overbearing. However, Hugo Weaving's Red Skull was a disappointment.

As an origin story First Avenger is solid and the retro setting is hugely original for a superhero movie, however as a general action film, I felt that the plot, mainly the threat of the Red Skull, and the action sequences were not as strong as they could have been. America simply seems to clout everyone he meets with his shield before running onto the next, there is little variation in his tactics or in the challenges he faces.

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