Cast: Chris Evans, Hayley Atwell, Tommy Lee Jones, Hugo Weaving, Sebastian Stan, Toby Jones
Director: Joe Johnston
How do you show old-fashioned values to a new generation? How do you talk about Truth, Justice and the American Way when most of your money is coming from an overseas audience? It was not going to be easy. To make things more interesting, you have to tell the story in the past and then bring it to the present. Thank god this is just a comic book movie.
The story is set during World War 2. Young, puny, Steve Rogers (Evans) had only one dream – to serve his country. Unfortunately, his physique let him down, time and again. But his attitude catches the eye of Dr Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci) who was developing a serum meant to create super soldiers. Hey, presto! He turns out to be this bullock of a man, but with his moral compass still intact. After a few missteps, he goes head on head with the Nazi’s biggest weapon – Johan Schmidt (Weaving), himself an early recipient of the serum.
Chris Evans turned out to be a surprise package. Last seen as the boisterous Johnny Storm in Fantastic Four, people didn’t think he had the gravitas for such a role. Sure, he could bulk up, but emoting? Well, Marvel saw something that we couldn’t at first. He inhabits the role with great empathy. It's his earnestness that makes Captain America a figure of, in equal measure, admiration and derision. A very thin line. We had no idea who Hayley Atwell was before this movie, but she became such an integral part of the Captain America legend that I actually typed in Hayley Carter in the credits! Another of the romances that struck gold.
Stanley Tucci and Toby Jones easily play their parts as rival scientists, with the latter having a bit more meaty role. Hugo Weaving is all icy dialogue delivery as Red Skull, while Tommy Lee Jones templates the grumpy old colonel with a heart of gold and wit to spare. Sebastian Stan was Steve’s best friend Bucky, who we would definitely see more of.
This was still early-age Marvel, who were not afraid to take risks. Captain America singing dancing with the girls was such a surprise, that you actually spent time thinking about the gall of the filmmakers during the movie. The special effects were quite impressive, especially of the frail Steve Rogers. If you had not seen Chris Evans before, you would definitely not think he was not a skinny boy.
One of the toughest things for managers during performance reviews is to tell good employees they were good and meeting expectations, when they would feel they were exceeding those. Captain America: The First Avenger is good, a solid entry in the most positive way. The expectations were high and it didn’t disappoint. Captain America went on to be one of the most beloved characters in the MCU primarily because of what this film. It will be remembered more for what it didn't do wrong rather than what it did right.
Stan Lee cameo: Typical tongue-in-cheek Lee as an army general. Wait a minute, was he the same one who shows up in Age of Ultron? Is Stan the same in all cameos?
Post-credits scene: The pre-credits scene brings Captain America into our timeline. Rarely has a missed date sounded so poignant. The post credits scene has Fury in recruitment mode. There is also a brief trailer for The Avengers.
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