Captain America: The First Avenger ****

Marvel’s The Avengers better be the film to end all comic book adapted films in May 2012, as we’ve been serviced with more than our fair share of the genre of late in the build up. Fanboys and girls will always have their favourite characters – which naturally makes them biased in terms of the films, Thor, Iron Man etc. Then along comes US golden boy Captain America– or Steve Rogers – to sway opinion. As a standalone film for the uninitiated, this is the best so far, with a real old-fashioned hero verses evil villain, and all set in an historical context. The other good news is even though the 3D is done in post, more thought has gone into camera angles to enhance the technology, so it’s an improved 3D experience – even if it’s still really used to emphasise depth of field.

It’s 1942, and slightly built and sickly Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) wants to serve his country fighting the Nazis and complete his military service. After being deemed unfit and trying numerous ways of getting enrolled, Rogers volunteers for a top secret research project led by Dr. Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci) involving injections of Super-Soldier serum and “Vita-Ray” treatment that turns him into the buff and powerful Captain America, a superhero dedicated to defending America’s ideals – especially against those who set out to destroy them, namely The Third Reich and Red Skull (Hugo Weaving).

Aesthetically, the film has all the Marvel qualities to thrill its loyal fan base; 2D-rendered cartoon animation, subdued, moody palette splattered with intentional or signature colour and symbols when needed, and rousing, slow-mo, gravity/reality-defying action sequences, to name a few. As mentioned, the 3D in some panoramic shots further opens up the depth of the Marvel universe on screen, and beautifully frames the characters and objects – like Captain America’s infamous flying weapon, his shield – in intriguing angles at times. However, style goes hand in hand with good shot planning, with a lot of the action directed towards the audience in a vortex-styled way, again mimicking a full 3D-filmed experience and adding further dimension.

All that sounds a trifle stylised, and the whole affair is in a sense because it simultaneously highlights the showmanship of Captain America after he is first ‘born’, paraded as a nation’s male sweetheart and symbol of hope in a time of war. But as this Marvel story is more rounded and substantial on its own merits, the former adds, rather than subtracts from the whole experience, which is a great adventure. The first and last scenes tie up The Captain’s journey to date with a thrilling conclusion.

As well as a good old-fashioned story that’s often reminiscent of Indiana Jones’s personal struggle with Nazi marauders, it’s Joe Johnston’s cast who ultimately bring all the colourful characters to life, particularly Evans. No stranger to playing superheroes as Johnny Storm, aka the Human Torch in Fantastic Four, this character is more focused, respectful and passionate about his acquired powers and how he uses them. Evans’s dedication to doing full justice to the part is very evident throughout – both physically and mentally. As the all-American boy himself, Evans is perfectly cast, very personable, funny and surprisingly engaging. His costume is in keeping with the original, too, as are his multiple martial arts fighting skills.

However, it’s the stellar support that Evans receives that really fleshes out the adventure. The film is full of wonderfully witty retorts and hilarious observations from the likes of Tucci as cynical Dr Erskine and Tommy Lee Jones as dry Colonel Chester Phillips that are given time to court audience reaction, rather than being merely mumbled throwaways in the script. Evans has his own deadpan banter, especially with members of his Inglourious Basterds-like gang of soldiers, including ‘Bucky’ Barnes (Sebastian Stan), an important sub-plot and relationship in the film that doesn’t feel as poignantly reconstructed as it does in the graphic books.

Hayley Atwell is excellent as the dishy beauty with brains and lushious red-lipped Agent Peggy Carter, a woman holding her own in a man’s world who is endeared by Rogers’s naivety with the ladies, and eventually falls for The Captain. Screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely have kept her as authentic and ladylike as possible, without succumbing to a contemporary ‘girl power’ slant, which is nicely in-keeping with the period the film is set in.

The threat of terrorism is equally rife in the 1940s as it is today, and this very poignant in this story. Weaving dons the red mask as Nazi-turned-Red Skull, a despot set on world domination with the help of the Cosmic Cube who looks like a skeletal version of Darth Maul. Weaving’s theatrical performance is as delightfully clichéd, as you’d expect, complete with comical faux German accent and SS-style leather outfits, but his chilling presence from his days of The Matrix’s Agent Smith is tapped into here to further enjoy. Sadly, the evil mastermind’s final confrontation feels too brief, throwing the spotlight back onto The Captain and his mission. It’s a shame as it would have gone to demonstrate how these opposing minds and enhanced physical beings were equal adversaries in the comic books.

That said, this beautifully rendered, fully developed and action-busting tale to complete The Avengers hype is a credit to all cast and crew involved. Captain America packs a comic, moralistic and patriotic punch that’s well worth watching, regardless of your interest in further following the Marvel adventure.

4/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

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