Well, as of several hours ago, I saw Marvel Studio's latest superhero film Captain America: The First Avenger, and I am happy to report, that the film has gone above and beyond in what I had expected.
First off, the director, Joe Johnston, really did good by Cap in both adventure and origion. He squeezed Cap's origion and WWII adventures, all into a two-hour film. The film was laced with a few fanboy goodies and nods to the comics themselve, such as the little old lady in the Brooklyn anitques shop (you have to go all the way back to issue #1, 1941 folks for her). Also, I found it interesting that they included a brief scene, showing copies of Captain America #1, selling like hotcakes from a newsstand, which shows that the film is grounded in reality to a degree. Also, when Steve is walking through the Worlds Fair with Bucky and the girls, be on the lookout for a certain synthetic human in red jump suit folks.
Now as for Chris Evans performance as Steve Rogers/Captain America, I must say he did a fantastic job. He's come a long way from playing the Human Torch in Fantastic Four, and the fact that he brought to the film, a level of maturity that played into Steve himself, showing him to be "not just a soldier, but a good man", retaining his goodness and kind nature, despite being given power. The costumes were awesome, the shield was sweet, and the fact that they managed to cycle in three variations on his uniform was even more cool.
As to the fact that they are no Nazis in this film, despite HYDRA being a "Nazi deep science division", I like the fact that they make HYDRA the primary enemy for Cap and the group he works with (consisiting of Colonel Philips, Peggy Carter, Howard Stark, the Howling Commando's and other staffers) because to me, it was like a 1940's, WWII version of S.H.I.E.L.D., still continuing the good fight against HYDRA. My hope is that HYDRA will resurface in the modern times of the Marvel Movieverse, after all "cut off one head, two more grow in its place"! Toby Jones as Arnim Zola was a great choice, can not think of anyone else to potray him. And Hugo Weaving as the Red Skull, oh man oh man, that was stylin' folks I tell you what. He brought this infamous comic book villain to life in a very scary way, making him very menacing and villainous, and not in the least bit cartooney. And the other adventures that Cap seems to have in the movie, taking down other HYDRA bases before going after the Skull's main base, is a nice way of setting up the chance for a sequel that could go back to the war.
As for the other actors, Sebastion Stan portraying Bucky Barnes was great, he did a awesome job mixing main Marvel Universe Bucky with a bit of Ultimate Universe Bucky in there as well. Tommy Lee Jones as Colonel Chester Philips was hilarious, his lines were so funny, yet serious as well. Stanley Tucci in the role of the man behind the Super Soldier Serum, Dr. Abraham Erskine, was excellent choice, because he showed that the Doctor was truly invested in chosing Steve to be the one to receive the formula, because of the good qualities he saw in Steve. And Haley Atwell as Peggy Carter, wow she was awesome. She brought this strength to her character, showing her to be a girl yes, but a girl who can take care of herself.
All in all, I was very pleased with this movie. It went above and beyond what I had expected of it, and delivered more in a star-spangled knockout punch! In terms of rating, I give the film five out of five stars. I cannot wait for the Avengers movie next year, because that will be the crux of all that Marvel has been working towards. Truly these are strange and fantastic times we live in my friends, they truly are.
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