I should confess upfront, although I like Chris Evans and thought he was great as Johnny Storm in The Fantastic Four, I wasn't sure how to feel about his casting as Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, in the new Marvel film Captain America: The First Avenger...
Used to seeing a youthful Evans joke around and portray loveable smart alecks, my fear was that he might not radiate the immediate credibility and gravitas that define a "born leader." This is a character who will be giving orders to an Iron Man portrayed by Robert Downey, Jr., and a Thor portrayed by Chris Hemsworth. So Captain America needed to be someone we could all believe Robert Downey, Jr. would respect and defer to, and someone the God of Thunder would prefer to follow rather than lead.
It wasn't a knock on Evans, it was simply that the cast of Captain America was key to making the entire Marvel Universe work on film, and the upcoming 2012 release The Avengers might rise or fall on the credibility of the portrayal of Captain America. Marvel films so far have a perfect batting average in casting, and even in recasting, with Mark Ruffalo stepping into the role of Bruce Banner (aka the Hulk) following Edward Norton's great turn in The Incredible Hulk and Eric Bana's superb, underrated portrayal in Hulk. So it was imperative that the casting for Captain America maintain that perfect trend.
Well, whatever concerns or doubts I had, my humblest apologies to Mr. Evans, because he hit another home run for Marvel.
Let me make explain something at this point. I'm not just speaking as an overall comic book fan now. I started reading Captain America comics during the terrific 1980-1981 run by Roger Stern and John Byrne (and seriously, check out that link to Byrne's official site!), when my older brothers were reading the books and encouraged me to read them, too. After that, I collected Captain America comics every single month for more than a decade, until I was kind of forced to stop in 1989 (college and food took all of my money at the time). I'd read an occasional copy here and there in the subsequent years, but eventually I stopped altogether for more than ten years. Then came Ed Brubaker's stunning, award-winning run in the 2000s, and I was once again eagerly consuming one Captain America comic after another (if you're a comic book fan and haven't had the pleasure of reading this multi-year run, it's collected in a hardcover Omnibus Edition of Brubaker's brilliant first five years on the Captain America comic).
My point is, I'm not merely a "fan" of Captain America. He is in a small collection of character for whom I have a special connection and affinity, and I half expected to come away from any Captain America film thinking it's simply impossible to ever hope to do Steve Rogers justice in real life. The performer would not only have to live up to the character in the books, but more importantly would also have to live up to the character in my mind.
Chris Evans did the impossible. He became Steve Rogers, inside and out. I could not have asked for a more perfect portrayal of not only the hero in uniform, but more importantly the man behind the mask. Every single moment he was on screen, Evans blew my mind with how much he embodied the essence of the character -- not just from the pages of the comics, but the essence I felt in my heart from the time I was a young boy. Watching this film, I felt a joy and a return to that childhood excitement, while my adult demands for strong storytelling and character development were likewise treated to an unexpected but very welcome fulfillment as well.
Captain America: The First Avenger isn't dominated by a costume, or by special effects, or by action scenes. It's dominated by a great performance in a strong characterization of Steve Rogers, a young man who spent his life refusing to back down no matter how beaten and outnumbered he was in life. It is the best superhero film of the year (and I say that as someone who walked out of Thor grinning ear-to-ear, in awe, and shouting, "I need a horse!" at anyone who would listen), but is also one of the best all-around films of the year regardless of genre.
Marvel continues to put out one great film after another, bringing their universe to life and building up to an Avengers film that increasingly looks like it's going to easily be one of the greatest comics-to-film moments in history. And their success in the future just got a huge boost with the addition of Chris Evans, who rose above my every expectation and hope, and brought my boyhood memories to life again. Thanks for that, Mr. Evans and Marvel.
Captain America: The First Avenger enjoyed a $25.7 million opening day, which tops Thor's first-day total and bodes well for a possible run at $500 million box office. Reviews have been mostly very positive, and word of mouth is particularly strong, all of which is well-deserved. This isn't just a superhero film, it's a war film and a period piece and a romantic drama, as well as just a great tale of a man in search of his destiny and striving to live up to his sense of decency and responsibility in a world torn apart by darkness and war.
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