First Avenger The Official Captain America Critic's Review Thread - Part 2

[I SEE SPIDEY]

The reviews are decent and even if they weren't so what? You know what you like. I just hope it has nice long legs.

 

[RedSkull]

HULK REVIEWED IT
http://filmcrithulk.wordpress.com/2011/07/22/peggy-carter-why-captain-america-works/

 

[shogunrua]

http://www.ecranlarge.com/movie_review-read-17032-128941.php

Here's a french review (for those of you who can speak/read French)

The reviewer aknowledges that Cap could be a tough sell abroad, and you can feel some really tiny antiamerican bits in this review (although I think he was being sarcastic to illustrate his point)

As the other reviews, he praises Chris Evans, Hugo Weaving. His negative point is mainly that the action scenes weren't (for lacking a better word) "more extreme" and that they ended to quickly.

But I have to say that my favorite quote was that he mentionned Captain America the first avenger as the "Anti-Venom" for TDK t:

4/5

 

[Milkman95]

Saw it yesterday, loved it. It's the best comic book adaptation this summer with XMFC close behind it.

Does anyone really care what the French think anyway? LOL......

 

[shinlyle]

Saw it yesterday, loved it. It's the best comic book adaptation this summer with XMFC close behind it.

Does anyone really care what the French think anyway? LOL......

Do you think that letter on Cap's head stands for France?!?

Taking the little girl to see it in a little bit! SO EXCITED!! Um...she is...I'm maintaining my integrity...

 

[Marvin]

It sure does. Yep, I'm a nearly 27 year old woman and right now I'm wearing a Marvel shirt that I wore when I saw Cap...

I'm kinda a loser... Nah just a huge dork.

is that the "running gag?"

makes sense i guess

 

[The Caped Knight]

See even a Batman fanboy loved this film Jett from Batman On Film


No doubt about it, I love me some comic book/movies! I don’t care which publisher owns the character, I dig this genre and hope that every single one of them not only is good, but successful at the box office too.
Michael Uslan told me not long ago that we’re living in the “Golden Age of Comic Book Movies” and he’s damn right. This Summer alone, there are four major films based on comic bookshttp://www.batman-on-film.com/on-film_film-reviews_BRamey_CAPTAIN-AMERICA_7-21-11.html# -- THOR, X-MEN: FIRST CLASS, GREEN LANTERN, and CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER. Hell, you can probably add COWBOYS VS. ALIENS into the mix -- as it’s based on a graphic novel -- bringing up the Summer ‘11 total to FIVE!

And in 2012, we’ve got THE AVENGERS, THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, and MAN OF STEEL. That’s FOUR big-ass films!

A “Golden Age” indeed!

Speaking of the Golden Age, I’m here today to give you my take on the aforementioned CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER.
I’m a history buff, and I’m quite fond of films that are “period pieces.” In fact, I’m a big “World War II nerd” and have LONGED to see a superhero film set in that era. (I thought a Wonder Woman film would be perfect for this, but the fine folks at Warner Bros. thought better it seems. *sigh*) Well, I finally got my wish thanks to Marvel, Paramount, and their jones for a film based on THE AVENGERS.

This film was just darn good and the best of the Summer ’11 bunch (sans COWBOYS VS. ALIENS of course).
CAP has everything you need and now expect from a Summer superhero movie blockbuster: Great special effects, lots of action, humor, and the obligatory love story. But what makes CAP work better than most other films of its ilk is that it has all three things needed to kick it up a few notches past the “It was OK” level…
1) A hero that the audience will truly care about.
2) A villain that you love to hate.
And most importantly…
3) A really good story that’s not just a bunch of CGI-produced “WOW!” action sequences.

Look, there are plenty of those CGI-produced “WOW!” action sequences, but they take a backseat in the film thanks to Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America. Director Joe Johnston made a great decision to begin the film by making the audience take stock into the young, wannabe Army recruit Rogers -- a 5 foot-ish, asthmatic weakling who is constantly getting his ass kicked by the bullies of his Brooklyn neighborhood.

We all know that Steve Rogers ends up becoming Captain America, but the fact that he is the same courageous, ingenious, and likable kid throughout -- be it the 90 pound shrimp or the super soldier serum-created Cap -- makes him one of the endearing heroes of this genre to date.

When it comes to “The Bad Guy,” Hugo Weaving’s Johann Schmidt/The Red Skull damn near steals the show. Honestly, I can’t think of the last time I truly disliked the villain of one of these films and desperately wanted to see someone stomp his ass into the ground. Cheers, Hugo Weaving!

As for the rest of the cast, standouts include Tommy Lee Jones (who now gets a Mulligan when it comes to comic book films) as Co. Phillips; Sebatian Stan as the VERY non-sidekick “Bucky” Barnes; and, Stanley Tucci as Dr. Erskine -- the man behind creating a “Super Soldier” -- as well as the main reason Steve Rogers becomes Cap.

I was also very glad to see Hayley Atwell’s Peggy -- while smoking’ hot (and one of the main reasons she got this gig I suspect) -- be much more than the stereotypical “Damsel in Distress.” I’d love to see more of her in future sequels, but I don’t know if that’s going to be possible (I’m sure most of y’all know WHY, but I’ll simply leave it at that).

Oh yeah! I’m not a fan of building cinematic comic book universes. I know geeks/nerds LOVE that sort of stuff, but I think it restricts directors and creative teams. Regardless, CAP’s tie-in with THE AVENGERS was done the best and most seamlessly I’ve seen compared to the other films. I’ll admit seeing Howard Stark(Dominic Cooper) play a fairly big role in the film -- as well as the winks and nods to THOR -- was indeed sorta cool.

Bottom line, CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER has instantly became one of my favorite book/superhero movies to date. It took me back to my childhood and with its RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK vibe.
Man, it would SUCK not to be able to get drunk…

JETT's GRADE: A
http://www.batman-on-film.com/on-film_film-reviews_BRamey_CAPTAIN-AMERICA_7-21-11.html

 

[I SEE SPIDEY]

^Great review. I'm going to see the Avengers but I agree with you about that whole thing.

 

[weezerspider]

Anyone else notice a lot more OLDER people at Cap then in most comic book films? Both showings I went to the theater was at least 40% 50+ year olds. Is it the time setting or just a coincidence for my two showings?

 

[Rock Sexton]

Anyone else notice a lot more OLDER people at Cap then in most comic book films? Both showings I went to the theater was at least 40% 50+ year olds. Is it the time setting or just a coincidence for my two showings?

Nah. Mine had a ton of kids. In fact I was sitting next to a lady with 4 of them who wouldn't **** the entire time thru the film. This one little girl probably asked "Is that Captain America" like 20 times LOL.

Plus it depends on what time you see the movie.

 

[Whiskey Tango]

Anyone else notice a lot more OLDER people at Cap then in most comic book films? Both showings I went to the theater was at least 40% 50+ year olds. Is it the time setting or just a coincidence for my two showings?

A poster on another board I visit mentioned he'd seen it twice and both showings had a noticeably large number of older folks.

 

[ElMariachi]

Anyone else notice a lot more OLDER people at Cap then in most comic book films? Both showings I went to the theater was at least 40% 50+ year olds. Is it the time setting or just a coincidence for my two showings?

yeah, I noticed that too and they all seemed to be having a good time. They didn't seem to care that Steve Rodgers wasn't a conflicted, brooding anti-hero or that HYDRA was a division that broke away from the Nazis.

Pretty diverse crowd actually from what I saw there.

 

[Hurm...]

Mine had a lot of women lol.

 

[marcvader]

Cap has widespread appeal. you can't really limit him to one or two demographics.

 

[UltimateJustin]

HULK REVIEWED IT
http://filmcrithulk.wordpress.com/2011/07/22/peggy-carter-why-captain-america-works/

Gotta say, Hulk kind of nailed it. Especially when discussing Captain America's story compared to Thor's scenes.

 

[Rock Sexton]

Gotta say, Hulk kind of nailed it. Especially when discussing Captain America's story compared to Thor's scenes.

I stopped reading. Hard to sit there and watch him emulate Hulk speech while trying to take a review seriously.

 

[BigThor]

Gotta say, Hulk kind of nailed it. Especially when discussing Captain America's story compared to Thor's scenes.

I agree

 

[The Lizard]

Good to see that Captain America ended up with a positive Tomatometer comparable to Thor.

 

[DyeLorean]

Oh man, when does it get certified fresh on the Tomatometer?

 

[Spideyfan93]

Why is there only 130ish reviews when most big movies have over 200...

 

[BigThor]

Good to see that Captain America ended up with a positive Tomatometer comparable to Thor.

Yep, it sure is

 

[Suzanne78]

I think there aren't more reviews just yet b/c the US and Canada are the only markets in which CA opened this week.

 

[Tony Stark]

I think everyone underestimated the cross demographic appeal this movie would have. One thing that I noticed in my theater was that there were multiple age ranges represented. There were people old enough who were probably reading the Timely Comics stuff, and others young enough they probably discovered Cap from Avengers EMH on Disney Channel.

Men and Women were as close to 50/50 as any Superhero movie I've ever been to before. That's what's driving these numbers.

 

[Flint Marko]

I went to the midnight showing so it was mostly nerds t:
But now that I think about it there were a lot of girls there, it was pleasantly surprising..

 

[Figs]

I went to the midnight showing so it was mostly nerds t:
But I was surprised at how many girls were there, it was pleasantly surprising..

Evans and his muscles really brings them in. t: