Captain America: The First Avenger – Film Review

It is 1941 and the world is in the throes of war. Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) wants to do his part and join America’s armed forces, but the military rejects him because of his small stature. Finally, Steve gets his chance when he is accepted into an experimental program that turns him into a supersoldier called Captain America. Joining forces with Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) and Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), Captain America leads the fight against the Nazi-backed HYDRA organization.

With each review in my Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) marathon thus far, I have provided a brief description of how I first watched the film in question and my initial thoughts on it when it was first released.

When Iron Man 1 and 2, Incredible Hulk, and Thor were released, I fell in love with them and I legitimately could not stop thinking about them no matter what. My favorite phase in the MCU is without a doubt Phase Three – it tied up all the loose ends and storylines that the films spent years leading up to – but Phase One is easily the one that brings me the most nostalgia because it’s the Phase that I grew up watching.

But interestingly enough, eleven-year-old me didn’t really enjoy Joe Johnston’s Captain America: The First Avenger when I initially watched it. To this day I have no idea why – the film has plenty of action, excellent characters, and a huge heart at its core. Because of my past history with this movie, The First Avenger was one of the movies I was most curious to revisit for my MCU marathon. Watching it again all these years later, I can wholeheartedly say that this is an amazing movie and eleven-year-old me had no idea what he was talking about.

It’s intriguing to think about how, in the present-day MCU, we have so many films and shows centered around characters that some would consider odd-balls or characters who otherwise just don’t get a lot of screentime in the films. For example, who would have ever thought that an Ant-Man movie would ever get made? I certainly didn’t and that belief is widely echoed.

As strange and as unique as films like that are, The First Avenger feels like one of the most distinct and bold MCU films ever released. This was the last film in the franchise to be distributed by Paramount Pictures, as The Avengers served as the starting point for the Disney-era of the MCU. Some don’t like the Disney era and others love it (myself included). But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss the days when Marvel movies were not afraid to get dark as evidenced in this film.

Everybody knows that World War II was one of the darkest times in history, and it would’ve been god-awful if Marvel had made a squeaky clean film taking place during that time, but thankfully, they didn’t. Don’t get me wrong, this movie is nowhere near as brutal and realistic a war film as Saving Private Ryan or Hacksaw Ridge, but for a superhero film, they did a superb job at depicting this time in history. Most Marvel flicks don’t even dare to go near the topic of the World Wars, but The First Avenger did, and it mostly succeeded in its efforts.

Even the films that preceded this one didn’t get as dark and as gritty as this film gets and I appreciate the screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely as well as director Joe Johnston for daring to try something different in the Marvel world.

Speaking of Joe Johnston, his direction here is absolutely impeccable. He has directed quite a few films in the past including Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Jumanji, and Jurassic Park III, and even worked on the entire original trilogy of Star Wars. In short, he has been credited to a lot of big, blockbuster movies and his vision for Captain America’s origin story is nothing short of marvelous.

Captain America is without a doubt one of my favorite superheroes ever and it’s not because of his powers – he doesn’t have any. But what makes him so memorable and inspiring to me and so many other people is that he’s simply one man who believes he can bring some good to the world. Sure, he has a vibranium shield that’s virtually indestructible and is extremely strong, but at the end of the day, he is just a good man with a good heart, trying to do the right thing.

Thankfully, this film does a wonderful job at depicting Steve Rogers / Captain America in that light. The moment this film ended, I wanted to watch the other Captain America movies because I was reminded of just how strong his character arc is in the MCU. At the time of this film’s release, nobody was sure where his character would go down the road but now that we see the big picture, it’s easier to appreciate this movie even more.

All of the visuals, camerawork, music, and editing are all top tier and add up to create a magnificent superhero blockbuster. The Marvel Cinematic Universe rarely has a misstep. When I was younger, I thought this film was, but now that I am older, I can wholeheartedly say that this movie is amazing.

Overall Grade: A-

MPAA Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action

Cast: Chris Evans, Tommy Lee Jones, Hugo Weaving, Hayley Atwell, Sebastian Stan, Dominic Cooper, Neal McDonough, Derek Luke, Stanley Tucci

Directed by: Joe Johnston

Written by: Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely

Distributed by: Paramount Pictures

Release Date: July 22, 2011

Running Time: 124 minutes