Movie Review: Captain America - The First Avenger

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Effects (mostly), action, fun

Cons: Chris Evans, predictable character development and plot

The Bottom Line: 

Familiar story

Filled with plenty of action

For a fun movie

"How Do You Feel?"  "Taller."

Even though I'm not a huge comic book guy, there is something about Captain America that appeals to my patriotic side.  So of all the superhero movies coming out in 2011, Captain America: The First Avenger was the one I was most anxious to see.  Somehow, it didn't quite live up to my expectations, but it was still fun.

Set during World War II, the movie opens with a frustrated Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) trying anything he can to get into the army to go fight Hitler.  He has a very defined sense of right and wrong and doesn't like to see bullies of any kind.

And that's what brings him to Dr. Erskine's (Stanley Tucci) attention.  Dr. Erskine has invented a serum that will, in theory, create super powerful soldiers, and he wants Steve to be the first person it's used on.  The injection works, and not only gives Steve muscles, but also helps him grow.  Unfortunately, an attack by a rogue group of Nazis kills Dr. Erskine.

This group of Nazis wants to make their own version of super powerful soldiers and weapons and take over the world, including defeating their own.  When Steve gets winds of the plot, he begins to track them.  But is he powerful enough to take them out?

While I usually try my best to avoid 3D movies, a 3D showing was the only one that worked for my last minute trip to see this movie.  I'm actually quite glad that was the case because this is an example of good 3D.  The scenes look real and deep, and the result was occasionally beautiful and always fun.  If you are debating, this is a movie worth paying the extra to see in 3D.

The flip side is that some of the visual effects don't look as good.  Occasionally, the effects stood out as apart from the action because of the added depth of the 3D.  Actually, it's rather ironic that one effect cheapens the look of another.  Mainly, we're talking about an explosion here or there, nothing bad enough to ruin the overall look of the film.  I do have to give a shout out to the effects on the pre-serum Steve.  The different between them is so stark I was wondering how they found an actor willing to be stretched for the size difference.  It really is that believable.

No, my real complaint with the movie is the fact that the characters were two dimensional.  All of the character development felt forced, expected, and rushed.  I wanted to get to know them better, to feel for them more, but that just didn't happen.

Part of that could be Chris Evans' performance.  During the most emotional scenes, I felt like he was just reciting his lines with little effort to actually connect to them.  The rest of the cast, including Tommy Lee Jones, Sebastian Stan as the best friend, and Hayley Atwell as the love interest, were all much more solid in their rolls.

As with the character beats, the story felt pretty predictable.  Maybe it's because we've seen so many superhero movies, most of which are origin pieces, that they all begin to have the same feel to them.  I was able to predict several of the bigger moments before they happened.

Now it's beginning to sound like I didn't enjoy the film, but that's not true.  It was entertaining.  There was plenty of humor, which my friends and I all laughed at.  The action scenes were great.  I just wish it had done more.

And maybe my expectations were too high to begin with.  I was hoping that Captain America: The First Avenger would stand out from the other superhero movies, and it doesn't.  Even so, it's still very entertaining.