Whereas Marel’s Thor movie was designed to have more mainstream appeal -- and X-Men: First Class offered its own unique take on the X-Men mythology -- the upcoming Captain America: The First Avenger aims to be the Marvel movie of 2011 that remains most loyal to its comic book source material.
In the latest Captain America featurettes, the technical crew members that worked behind-the-scenes on the film discuss just that -- specifically, how the movie was designed to recreate Jack Kirby and Joe Simon’s original 1941 comic book work in cinematic form, as accurately as possible.
Cap’s outfit certainly reflects that intention, seeing how it lacks the streamlined structure of the costumes worn by contemporary costumed heroes like, say, Spider-Man or even Batman. As the new incarnation of Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) puts it in these new clips, that was very much the intention.
Oscar-winning production designer Rick Heinrichs (Sleepy Hollow), Oscar-nominated costume designer Anna B. Sheppard (Inglourious Basterds), and Oscar-nominated set decorator John Bush (The English Patient) were all brought onboard to realize the 1940s setting of director Joe Johnston’s Captain America movie in an authentic style -- one that would also mesh well with the fantastical elements of the First Avenger’s origin story (HYDRA, Red Skull, etc.). Judging by the footage shown so far, their efforts seemed to have by and large paid off.
Here are the links to the latest videos on the upcoming film: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFfQajuK1lM&feature=player_embedded#at=123 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBWsgDFs4wo&feature=player_embedded#at=114
Besides the excellent production values, Captain America looks to also feature some great live-action incarnations of characters like Steve Rogers, Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), and the villainous Red Skull (Hugo Weaving). The supporting cast isn’t lacking either, with actors like Oscar-winner Tommy Lee Jones, Stanley Tucci, Toby Jones, and Richard Armitage tackling a variety of either heroic or villainous parts in the film.
On the directing side of things: Johnston has proven himself capable of delivering imperfect-but-fun period action-adventures before, in the forms of The Rocketeer, Hidalgo, and even his Wolfman remake. While he’s yet to deliver a movie that most people regard as flat-out great, Captain America could conceivably be the film that bucks that trend.
As it stands, though, there seems to be two potential issues that could possibly hinder Captain America‘s performance at the box office:
- After Thor, X-Men: First Class, and Green Lantern, have most moviegoers gotten their fill of superhero flicks?
- While Cap fans will certainly appreciate the filmmakers’ attempt to remain loyal to the comic book source material, will the movie struggle to appeal to those outside the fanboy/girl demographic?
If Captain America is an exciting old-fashioned adventure as it promises to be, neither one of those aforementioned potential issues may matter. Plus, Cap is one of the more readily-recognized superheroes around (even outside the U.S.), so non-comic book readers who passed on watching Marvel films about Asgardian warriors or super-powered mutants might be more inclined to check out Cap’s movie.
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