First Avenger The Official Captain America: The First Avenger Review Thread! - Part 1

[X Knight]

just got back from seeing the movie.

I did not follow the movie's production at all, and I'm not really all that familiar with Captain America's world ( beyond the basics ), so I went in with a fresh mind.

I absolutely loved it!! I consider it one of the best Marvel movies, and maybe even one of the best CB movies. I rank it right up there with TDK and Spider-Man 2.

I really hope the folks behind the next Superman movie take some notes from this movie, especially in how the character makes the hero, not just the powers.

And I'm defintely hyped for the Avengers next year.

oh......and this movie made me do something I don't normally do, especially with CB movies..........I cried at the end when Cap crashed the plane into the Artic and he was talking to the girl.......

yes.....I'm a softie.......

 

[co2]

just got back from seeing the movie.

I did not follow the movie's production at all, and I'm not really all that familiar with Captain America's world ( beyond the basics ), so I went in with a fresh mind.

I absolutely loved it!! I consider it one of the best Marvel movies, and maybe even one of the best CB movies. I rank it right up there with TDK and Spider-Man 2.

I really hope the folks behind the next Superman movie take some notes from this movie, especially in how the character makes the hero, not just the powers.

And I'm defintely hyped for the Avengers next year.

oh......and this movie made me do something I don't normally do, especially with CB movies..........I cried at the end when Cap crashed the plane into the Artic and he was talking to the girl.......

yes.....I'm a softie.......

Takes a man to admit it!

 

[BobbyCorwin88]

6.5/10

The film simply couldn't live up to it's very well established first act. The film practically rushes to its end after Cap gets his powers and important character development is given a back seat in favor of quick action montages that do little to showcase any of the real drama centered around the main character. Red Skull did little to showcase himself as a true villain other than show up from time to time so he could remind us that he had a plan of sorts. I felt the role was rather wasted on Hugo Weaving. The final battle between Cap and Skull felt very anti-climactic and what could have been a very dramatic rivalry ended up being nothing more than the dastardly bad guy failing to get his way. If Red Skull had done something to personally get under Cap's skin, perhaps the confrontation would have had a little more spark.

The film didn't really pick back up for me until Cap woke up in modern day New York. The tie-in for the Avengers built more excitement than the film did sadly. Only after the Avengers teaser ended did I notice any cheering from the audience in attendance.

My hope is that Cap is properly personified in the future films. He needs a much bigger chance to shine than what he was allowed in this film.

The pros of the movie would definitely be the first act leading up to the second. Steve Rogers is a hero right from the start and doesn't have to put forth a lot of effort to sell it to the audience. He is the ideal American soldier. The CG work done to Evans on his smaller body was nothing short of brilliant as I could barely tell it was done up digitally. The action sequences where Cap takes down various HYDRA agents were quick and efficient, much how Cap would handle any battle. The shield mechanics worked great and I hope they continue to improve.

 

[SentinelMind]

6.5/10

The film simply couldn't live up to it's very well established first act. The film practically rushes to its end after Cap gets his powers and important character development is given a back seat in favor of quick action montages that do little to showcase any of the real drama centered around the main character. Red Skull did little to showcase himself as a true villain other than show up from time to time so he could remind us that he had a plan of sorts. I felt the role was rather wasted on Hugo Weaving. The final battle between Cap and Skull felt very anti-climactic and what could have been a very dramatic rivalry ended up being nothing more than the dastardly bad guy failing to get his way. If Red Skull had done something to personally get under Cap's skin, perhaps the confrontation would have had a little more spark.

I liked the film, but I agree with some of this. I give it 7/10. Chris Evans was a good Captain America. The movie could have had better
lines and better pacing, but I enjoyed the patriotic spirit of the movie.

 

[Casius--J]

Loved it, I not too long ago got back from seeing this and I think it might be slightly better than Thor for me. Marvel just keep doing their thing here.

I think Joe Johnston got the tone exactly right, it felt like I was watching an Indiana Jones movie with the style of action and soundtrack(which was great imo) I was unsure about Evans for the role at the first but I must say he did a great job and really sold Cap to me.

solid 8/10 for me

oh and....

Spoiler

I was surprised we got a trailer at the end, I thought it was just a bonus scene because I purposely avoided it when it came online. And it blew me away, Bring on the AVENGERS!!!

 

[pb0000]

7/10

The first half of the movie was great. They did a great job of showing how Steve Rogers becomes Cap. But things fell apart once it got to see Captain America in his full "glory". There wasnt anything really super about Cap as a superhero. He more or less just Rambos through HYDRA till the end. I kind of felt they just wanted to fast forward to getting Cap stuck in iceberg so he can join up with the Avenger asap.

It didnt help that Red Skull wasnt a very interesting villain. Wanting to take over the world is such a saturday morning cartoon villain motive. The fact that Cap and Red Skull only had 2 scenes together made the end anti-climactic.

 

[Brawl]

9/10

Took my son with me to see and we LOVED it! I was really skeptical of Evans as Cap but he pulled it off pretty dang good. I think there might have been an handful of actors to make it better but he did a really good job. Hugo as ever was AMAZING as Red Skull!!! I think he easily became my favorite CB villain come to the silver screen so far. I liked Ledger and guy (Magneto) from X-Men FC but Hugo showed them up something fierce. My god the sets and production of the movie made me feel like I was watching an acclaimed period piece. I actually "yipped" at seeing the Human Torch I in the tube at the expo, excellent egg!!. The continuity was great with Tony Stark’s dad. One thing this movie did better than any other CB movie did with the exceptions of Sin City and 300 was make me feel the fight scenes could have been panels in an actual comic book. The action was fast and superhuman. I wish this director could do the next X-Men movie because he nailed it spot on. The story in this movie and the way it was written allowed me to believe that a man would dress like Cap and run around WWII fighting Nazis with a shield. This movie with the exception of Iron Man was treated as serious as any other movie and did not feel like I was watching something corny or made only for fanboys. Atwell.....my GAWD she was HOT!! I think so far she was the best looking female, other than Halley Berry, in a CB movie.



I was really expecting to see an average movie and I am so glad I was wrong. This movie made me feel Avengers will be really awesome I just hope they have enough screen time to give the movie justice.

 

[Brawl]

7/10

The first half of the movie was great. They did a great job of showing how Steve Rogers becomes Cap. But things fell apart once it got to see Captain America in his full "glory". There wasnt anything really super about Cap as a superhero. He more or less just Rambos through HYDRA till the end. I kind of felt they just wanted to fast forward to getting Cap stuck in iceberg so he can join up with the Avenger asap.

It didnt help that Red Skull wasnt a very interesting villain. Wanting to take over the world is such a saturday morning cartoon villain motive. The fact that Cap and Red Skull only had 2 scenes together made the end anti-climactic.

That is what makes Cap a true Hero. He doesnt have a spidey sense to tell him when he is about to get shot. He doesnt have alien DNA that make him powerful enought to fly through suns in outer space. he doesnt have mutated abilities that allow him to rengerate and pop blades from his hands to cut through anything. Cap is the best any normal man could ever hope to be and is a paragon fo the American way. He can get away with his unform because he is more of a symbol of an idea rather than an actual person performing heroic activities. Soldier cannot hope to be like Superman, Spider-man or Wolverine but they can aspire to come close to what Cap is and what he represents. The same way I think that superheoring is a aspect of certain heroes like Thor, Hercules, and a few others, Captain America is first a nations icon and representative then a Hero.

Red Skull was grat because in every book of Captian America that I have, Red Skull was trying to conquer the world in some from or fashion. The other goal of Red Skull was to match himself agianst his nemesis the Captain. They are defined by each other in the way most fables define the protaginst and antagonist. When Red Skull took one look at Rodgers on the monitors and knew he was in "Check" he retreated like a master Chess player to fight another day. His need to match himeself to his only equal is classic.

 

[psylockolussus]

7/10

The first half of the movie was great. They did a great job of showing how Steve Rogers becomes Cap. But things fell apart once it got to see Captain America in his full "glory". There wasnt anything really super about Cap as a superhero. He more or less just Rambos through HYDRA till the end. I kind of felt they just wanted to fast forward to getting Cap stuck in iceberg so he can join up with the Avenger asap.

It didnt help that Red Skull wasnt a very interesting villain. Wanting to take over the world is such a saturday morning cartoon villain motive. The fact that Cap and Red Skull only had 2 scenes together made the end anti-climactic.

I agree with this!

 

[Bren]

I enjoyed the film, but I think I'm going to have to watch it again because on first viewing I was left feeling a little empty.
I'm no reviewer so I'm not going to try say because of a, b or c. Just feelings.

My Wife, kids and niece liked it more, but for me..... *shrugs* it was water. I was hoping for at least a bit more flavour.
I'm really hoping they push the character bits a hell of a lot more in Avengers. Hell, I wouldn't mind them killing a favouite character and have the rest mope around in real depression for 5min.
Err, I dunno about that last bit...

6 / 10 for me. The part where [BLACKOUT]the tesseract opened a portal 'somewhere'[/BLACKOUT] moved it up from a 5 hehehe.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

6.5/10

The film simply couldn't live up to it's very well established first act. The film practically rushes to its end after Cap gets his powers and important character development is given a back seat in favor of quick action montages that do little to showcase any of the real drama centered around the main character. Red Skull did little to showcase himself as a true villain other than show up from time to time so he could remind us that he had a plan of sorts. I felt the role was rather wasted on Hugo Weaving. The final battle between Cap and Skull felt very anti-climactic and what could have been a very dramatic rivalry ended up being nothing more than the dastardly bad guy failing to get his way. If Red Skull had done something to personally get under Cap's skin, perhaps the confrontation would have had a little more spark.

The film didn't really pick back up for me until Cap woke up in modern day New York. The tie-in for the Avengers built more excitement than the film did sadly. Only after the Avengers teaser ended did I notice any cheering from the audience in attendance.

My hope is that Cap is properly personified in the future films. He needs a much bigger chance to shine than what he was allowed in this film.

The pros of the movie would definitely be the first act leading up to the second. Steve Rogers is a hero right from the start and doesn't have to put forth a lot of effort to sell it to the audience. He is the ideal American soldier. The CG work done to Evans on his smaller body was nothing short of brilliant as I could barely tell it was done up digitally. The action sequences where Cap takes down various HYDRA agents were quick and efficient, much how Cap would handle any battle. The shield mechanics worked great and I hope they continue to improve.

I rated the movie a little higher than you, but I agree with A LOT of this review, the faults of the movie you point more than anything.

 

[GhostPoet]

From best to least for me
Thor
Captain America
Iron Man 2
Iron Man 1
TIH

 

[scatterax]

for me it's

Cap
TIH
Thor
IM2
IM1

 

[Mysteryman]

That is what makes Cap a true Hero. He doesnt have a spidey sense to tell him when he is about to get shot. He doesnt have alien DNA that make him powerful enought to fly through suns in outer space. he doesnt have mutated abilities that allow him to rengerate and pop blades from his hands to cut through anything. Cap is the best any normal man could ever hope to be and is a paragon fo the American way. He can get away with his unform because he is more of a symbol of an idea rather than an actual person performing heroic activities. Soldier cannot hope to be like Superman, Spider-man or Wolverine but they can aspire to come close to what Cap is and what he represents. The same way I think that superheoring is a aspect of certain heroes like Thor, Hercules, and a few others, Captain America is first a nations icon and representative then a Hero.

Red Skull was grat because in every book of Captian America that I have, Red Skull was trying to conquer the world in some from or fashion. The other goal of Red Skull was to match himself agianst his nemesis the Captain. They are defined by each other in the way most fables define the protaginst and antagonist. When Red Skull took one look at Rodgers on the monitors and knew he was in "Check" he retreated like a master Chess player to fight another day. His need to match himeself to his only equal is classic.

No Cap doesnt havent any of those things.
He just has a Super Soldier Serum enhancing his strength ,speed and reflexes.
Steve Rogers will ALWAYS have the heart of a hero,
But he can't be a Superhero without the serum .
At least that is what the movie says .
Without the Serum?
He gets tired running the obstacle course.
With the Serum?
Chases down a Nazi Saboteur several city blocks without breaking a sweat.

 

[Crimson King]

No Cap doesnt havent any of those things.
He just has a Super Soldier Serum enhancing his strength ,speed and reflexes.
Steve Rogers will ALWAYS have the heart of a hero,
But he can't be a Superhero without the serum .
At least that is what the movie says .
Without the Serum?
He gets tired running the obstacle course.
With the Serum?
Chases down a Nazi Saboteur several city blocks without breaking a sweat.

But Steve and the serum are not mutually exclusive, or am I missing your point?

 

[Mysteryman]

what I was saying is that like all the Superheroes Brawl mentioned, Cap needed a boost too .

 

[50yroldfffan]

No Cap doesnt havent any of those things.
He just has a Super Soldier Serum enhancing his strength ,speed and reflexes.
Steve Rogers will ALWAYS have the heart of a hero,
But he can't be a Superhero without the serum .
At least that is what the movie says .
Without the Serum?
He gets tired running the obstacle course.
With the Serum?
Chases down a Nazi Saboteur several city blocks without breaking a sweat.

I would say skinny Steve Rogers jumping on what he thought was a live gernade makes him a super hero with or without serum! Thats what the movie was trying to tell us.

 

[scatterax]

I say he always had the makings of a hero, but the serum is what made him "super". it's what took him beyond his limits to be more than he would have been on his own. Super

 

[Mysteryman]

Again, I was responding to Brawls comparisons to other Superheroes.
Yes , He jumped on the grenade,
But would The Colone have picked Steve as Cap if the Serum had FAILED?
Like the mutated DNA ,like the radioactive Spider bite, The Serum is a boost for Cap.

 

[Mysteryman]

i say he always had the makings of a hero, but the serum is what made him "super". It's what took him beyond his limits to be more than he would have been on his own. Super

Exactly!

 

[arveg2]

Hi guys..Finally managed to see this today here in sweden. Personally I really really liked the movie. I didnt really expect it to like it this much but thank you marvel for this very very nice movie. That scene between carter and cap before the crash was just perfectly executed imho.. very emotional

 

[SWAT]

Second Marvel movie with a scene from Norway... That made me smile.

 

[Ebil Gig]

FML. I just wrote like a 3 paragraph review and the browser crashed. So I'm cranky and basically:

8.5/10

 

[the fixer]

Got to see the avant-premiere in Brussels last friday!

Absolutely LOVED it!!!
Sadly it was in 3D so I'm looking forward to see it again in good ol' 2D when the movie is released the day after tomorrow!

 

[Mercurius]

I have finally watched Captain America.

It's just what I expected: a bad movie. And it's very sad to say so, because I was hoping I was wrong.

Evans still has boyish looks and demeanour; the outfit is a watered down version of Captain America; Red Skull is not a villain, it's just make up and special effects, nothing else, a void character; Bucky's death is irrelevant, cause it doesn't have the perfect timing it has in the comics, leaving Cap hopeless and desperate at the end of the war, to wake up in another time and place: in the movie, it's just a cliché of "dead friend" that strenghtens his motivation; poor Atwell is also a cliché of the "strong woman". Etc, etc, etc.

The first act almost convinced me it would be a good ride: it has some "Riders of the Lost Ark" thing about it, but the cheap patriotic innuendo is already spoiling the story. After the first act, it's downright crap.

It's 3 out of 10, for me.

Even worse: the last photos from Cleveland are terrible. Captain America's look is a DISASTER. His boots look like sneakers, his cap and all his outfit are from some Comic Con (Thor is also looking cheap). How can they make such mistakes after almost 20 years of perfecting the translation comicbook - cinema? Beats me.

Oh well. Maybe it is the end of superhero movies. And seeing Catwoman in Nolan's upcoming Dark Knight Rises, doom is spread in all directions.