Captain America: The First Avenger as reviewed in The Phantom TollboothFreedom Fighter He just seems to have so much fun tossing that shield around.

www.captainamerica.marvel.com

Captain America: The First Avenger

Stars: Chris Evans, Hugh Weaving, Tommy Lee Jones, Hayley Atwell, Stanley Tucci, Toby Jones, Dominic Cooper and Sebastian Stan
Director: Joe Johnston
Scriptwriters: Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely from Marvel comic books
Paramount Pictures
Rating: PG 13 for violence
Running Length: 125 minutes

If we live long enough, we will have seen most of the great comic book characters on the big screen. This summer, alone, there was another  X-Men film then Green Lantern, Thor and now Captain America (Chris Evans) with his shield and motorcycle. I"ll be 85 before my favorite, Plastic Man, is brought to the screen. One can hope.

Captain America's fame hinges on going from a small man (referred to as such in the film) to body-building muscles with the aid of a secret serum. Chris Evans, who played The Torch in the Fantastic Four film, has the title role of Steve Rogers, aka Captain America. The story begins in our time, with a scene in the Arctic where a plane is discovered covered in ice. We then flash backward to Steve Rogers as a small-statured man eager to join the Army in WWII and fight Nazis. His best friend, Bucky (Sebastian Stan) is already in the Army classified as 1A, but Steve is consistently 4F with a host of allergies. Steve's plea to be accepted is overheard by a scientist (Stanley Tucci) who is conducting secret experiments to make a man into a superman, and he needs a volunteer with the right attitude (re: compassion). Steve is suddenly classified 1A and is in the Army, but barely making it through training. He consents to the experiment and suddenly has a muscle-bound body, is taller, smarter and just right for Army propaganda encouraging men to enlist. All this because of a spectacular rescue Steve did. He now has a costume of red, white and blue and becomes Captain America, paraded before the public and kind of enjoying it. It is when a spy enters the lab and someone is killed that Steve takes this seriously and goes to fight the main Nazi enemy being the Red Skull (Hugo Weaving) and his sidekick scientist, Dr. Zolo (Toby Jones who is the voice of Dobby the House Elf in the Harry Potter films.) Steve is aided by a sharp-shooting woman agent, Hayley Atwell and goes abroad with a super-charged motorcycle, and a circular shield that is quite a weapon in itself. Steve is also aided by Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper) who is the head of Stark Industries and ends up being the father of Iron Man. Steve rescues American prisoners, one of which is his friend, Bucky. The men band as a unit with Steve, and the action begins with chase scenes, explosions, the Red Skull trying to get Dr. Zola to work faster, Atwell showing her shooting skills, and fighting an enemy who wants to take over the world.

Chris Evans does a quiet take on this super hero. Almost shy, actually, and awkward with the girls---the opposite of his friend, Bucky. The transformation of skinny to muscles is done with special effects and it works. He doesn"t hide behind his mask, though it offers some protection and motorcycle fans will certainly envy the super-charged motorcycle. Sebastian Stan as Bucky, Steve's childhood friend, protects him as kids and fights with him as adults. You can believe their friendship. Stanley Tucci and Tommy Lee Jones are the other actors who project warmth in their performances. Tucci as the kindly scientist with a droll sense of humor, and Jones as the military leader who doubts everything, but can toss a quip or two. Otherwise, it is say your lines and then back into action. Hugo Weaving's performance as the Red Skull is not an impressive villain and teaming him with Toby Jones as Dr. Zola doesn"t help. Jones steals his scenes. Hayley Atwell should have some kind of background here, but we know nothing about the character. We get close-ups and that's all. Dominic Cooper is fine as Howard Stark with multiple inventions like something out of James Bond.

Special effects are OK with a rousing train scene, airplane scenes, motorcycle runs and chases through buildings ready to explode. You can always spot the Captain in the fray, dressed in red, white and blue. Hitler didn't stand a chance. I appreciated the film for bringing patriotism into the story with a self-doubting hero and a sentence that may become a famous one. Stay through the end credits---even though it seems as though everyone in the movie industry is listed---to see a preview of Captain America's next appearance in The Avengers, along with Thor and numerous comic book heroes. Methinks, along the way, there will be another Captain America film, too, he just seems to have so much fun tossing that shield around. Thor liked tossing his hammer, too, and is getting ready for his second film.

Three Tocks

3tocks

Copyright 2011 Marie Asner

 

On Tue, Jul 26, 2011 at 10:08 AM, <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.> wrote:
> www.captainamerica.marvel.com
>
>
> * * * * *
>
> Freedom Fighter
>
> Captain America: The First Avenger
>
> Stars: Chris Evans, Hugh Weaving, Tommy Lee Jones, Hayley Atwell, Stanley
> Tucci, Toby Jones, Dominic Cooper and Sebastian Stan
> Director: Joe Johnston
> Scriptwriters: Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely from Marvel comic
> books
> Paramount Pictures
> Rating: PG 13 for violence
> Running Length: 125 minutes
>
> If we live long enough, we will have seen most of the great comic book
> characters on the big screen.  This summer, alone, there was another
> “X-Men,” film, then “Green Lantern,” “Thor” and now “Captain America” (Chris
> Evans) with his shield and motorcycle.  I"ll be 85 before my favorite,
> Plastic Man, is brought to the screen.  One can hope.
>
> Captain America’s fame hinges on going from a small man (referred to as such
> in the film) to body-building muscles with the aid of a secret serum. Chris
> Evans, who played The Torch in the “Fantastic Four” film, has the title role
> of Steve Rogers, aka Captain America.  The story begins in our time, with a
> scene in the Arctic where a plane is discovered covered in ice. We then
> flash backward to Steve Rogers as a small-statured man eager to join the
> Army in WWII and fight Nazi’s. His best friend, Bucky (Sebastian Stan) is
> already in the Army, being 1A, but Steve is consistently 4F with a host of
> allergies. Steve’s plea to be accepted is overheard by a scientist (Stanley
> Tucci) who is conducting secret experiments to make a man into a superman,
> and he needs a volunteer with the right attitude (re: compassion). Steve is
> suddenly classified 1A and is in the Army, but barely making it through
> training. He consents to the experiment and suddenly has a muscle-bound
> body, is taller, smarter and just right for Army propaganda encouraging men
> to enlist.  All this because of a spectacular rescue Steve did. He now has a
> costume of red, white and blue and becomes Captain America, paraded before
> the public and kind of enjoying it. It is when a spy enters the lab and
> someone is killed that Steve takes this seriously and goes to fight the main
> Nazi enemy being the Red Skull (Hugo Weaving) and his sidekick scientist,
> Dr. Zolo (Toby Jones who is the voice of Dobby the House Elf in the “Harry
> Potter” films.) Steve is aided by a sharp-shooting woman agent, Hayley
> Atwell and goes abroad with a super-charged motorcycle, and a circular
> shield that is quite a weapon in itself. Steve is also aided by Howard Stark
> (Dominic Cooper) who is the head of Stark Industries and ends up being the
> father of Iron Man. Steve rescues American prisoners, one of which is his
> friend, Bucky. The men band as a unit with Steve, and the action begins with
> chase scenes, explosions, the Red Skull trying to get Dr. Zola to work
> faster, Atwell showing her shooting skills, and fighting an enemy who wants
> to take over the world.
>
> Chris Evans does a quiet take on this super hero. Almost shy, actually, and
> awkward with the girls---the opposite of his friend, Bucky. The
> transformation of skinny to muscles is done with special effects and it
> works. He doesn"t hide behind his mask, though it offers some protection and
> motorcycle fans will certainly envy the super-charged motorcycle. Sebastian
> Stan as Bucky, Steve’s childhood friend, protects him as kids and fights
> with him as adults. You can believe their friendship. Stanley Tucci and
> Tommy Lee Jones are the other actors who project warmth in their
> performances. Tucci as the kindly scientist with a droll sense of humor, and
> Jones as the military leader who doubts everything, but can toss a quip or
> two. Otherwise, it is say your lines and then back into action. Hugo
> Weaving’s performance as the Red Skull is not an impressive villain and
> teaming him with Toby Jones as Dr. Zola doesn"t help. Jones steals his
> scenes. Hayley Atwell should have some kind of background here, but we know
> nothing about the character. We get close-ups and that’s all. Dominic Cooper
> is fine as Howard Stark with multiple inventions like something out of
> "James Bond."
>
> Special effects are OK with a rousing train scene, airplane scenes,
> motorcycle runs and chases through buildings ready to explode. You can
> always spot the Captain in the fray, dressed in red, white and blue. Hitler
> didn"t stand a chance. I appreciated the film for bringing patriotism into
> the story with a self-doubting hero and a sentence that may become a famous
> one. Stay through the end credits---even though it seems as though everyone
> in the movie industry is listed---to see a preview of Captain America’s next
> appearance in “The Avengers,“ along with Thor and numerous comic book
> heroes.  Methinks, along the way, there will be another “Captain America”
> film, too, he just seems to have so much fun tossing that shield around.
> Thor liked tossing his hammer, too, and is getting ready for his second
> film.
>
> Three Tocks
>
> Copyright 2011 Marie Asner
>
> # # # # #
>