LogFAQs > #950450952

Mr Crispy
Mixing a WW2 period movie and a comic book movie works out pretty well. It still feels a bit formulaic and hitting a lot of familiar plot beats for both genres, but the synergy between the two (and being removed in time from the other MCU movies) helps it feel a bit fresher for a comic book origin movie. I also liked the supporting cast. Though the climax needed a better one on one hand to hand fight with Red Skull instead of just vanishing, after building him up as an evil counterpart to Cap. Also the biggest disappointment is how much the start spoils the ending - the fake out before the scene with Cap meeting Fury would have worked out better if it didn't show the wreck in the arctic. If they wanted some way to transition from the current day back to WW2, they could have been more creative about it. Like I dunno, having Coulson showing one of the other agents his Captain America cards and talking about him (which could also tie into having the cards in The Avengers). Well, that's not really all that clever either since it's just something off the top of my head.

Whiskey Nick
(No write-up.)

Mega Mana
First Scene That Comes to Mind: Covering the grenade

Chris Evans is to Captain America as Michael Keaton is to Batman. Often cast as a stock generic lead comedy actor, his casting as the lead role of a morally set superhero was completely questionable and often looked at as a mismatch... until it turned out they completely nailed the role and it's difficult seeing anyone else doing it much better in the same shoes. Except there have been numerous takes on Batman before and since that have worked for different reasons, but I don't know if anyone will be able to match the heart, integrity, and willpower Chris Evans brings to Steve Rogers. The MCU may not have been able to succeed without Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark, but I guarantee it all but collapses without Evans' Cap.

Everything that is Steve is introduced in this movie. He knows what it's like to be the weak, little guy, and he's got gumption and drive to fight for what's right even before he's made of muscles. His training exemplifies this showing more moral fortitude than most of the jockish candidates Agent J wants to put to the test. He's made to be a posterboy and propaganda piece, but knows he wants to fight for what's right and goes to save his best friend and take on the Nazis. He loves Peggy. He loves Bucky. His moral compass is strong. I know these sound like dumb descriptors, but they're real and they get truer and deeper with every passing movie. He takes charge and leads by example. He sees when something is wrong and takes a stand against it no matter how big the force he faces is. He recognizes and enables good men to do good things. He is the star-spangled man.

Captain America: The First Avenger is two-thirds the best MCU origin story and one-third terrible superhero flick. As soon as the Red Skull appears, the movie goes off the rails. There is a clear before-and-after where the movie shines and then no longer does. Hugo Weaving is a great actor, but his ham is not right for this movie. Hayley Atwell's Peggy Carter has such a standout performance she got her own television show and continual reappearances in many Marvel movies.

And while Steve's final line about not getting to dance with Peggy originally felt cheesy and out of nowhere, it has so much more weight to it when you see Cap's journey through until Endgame. That really is his one selfish care in the world. He becomes a man out of time who uses his powers, leadership, moral fortitude, and old world mentality to make the world a better place. But he hangs on to those in his life that he cares about and would do anything for them. He hops a motorcycle and goes behind enemy lines to save Bucky, he faces down the Avengers to clear his name, and he lives out the remainder of his years to be with the one person he loves with all his heart. He's a good man and a good soldier with a good heart. Clear eyes, full heart, can't lose.

Again, would be much higher if the last third didn't suck.

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