SPOILER ALERT
I will try to avoid plot details as much as possible, but some things will be necessary to properly review the various aspects of the movie.
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I finally watched Captain America last night (i know, i know. yes i'm ashamed it took so long).
There are some parts of the movie that people will no really care for, but I feel the movie delivered on pretty much everything I could have wanted in this movie.
First up, the cast. Chris Evans undoubtedly took a lot of flack when he was cast as Cap, being previously best known for his stint as Johnny Storm in the Fantastic Four movies. Evans put on some serious muscle for the role, and really looked the part. People were mostly afraid that Evans would approach the role with the same humor that he approached the Human Torch role with, but any fans of Evans' other movies knows that he actually does have a decent bit of acting ability, and he was able to pull off the humble yet confident personality that you would expect from Steve Rogers.
It was a stroke of genius to cast Hugo Weaving as Red Skull, and I have been saying so since it was first announced. The only thing i was hesitant about was how he would turn out visually. I must say that Red Skull looked exactly like I wanted him to. A lot of actors in these types of movies sorta look like you would want them too or are "good enough" to please people, but Red Skull was as close to perfect as I think could possibly be done.
The rest of the cast was well rounded, with a blend of highly recognizable faces and some considerably less commercially known actors (WHY have I never heard of Hayley Atwell before?? that woman is gorgeous!), and pretty much everyone hit their mark.
Another thing people complained about right away was the costume. At this point, I have learned to sit and patiently wait to see how things turn out before getting riled up, and that patience usually pays off. There is a portion of the movie where Evans is in the classic Captain America costume, complete with the original triangle badge shaped shield. Seeing him walking around in it does present a view point that it isnt exactly something you would run around fighting in, and thus explaining why he would need a more tactical costume.
I cant really say that the final costume was the best choice, as it doesnt really look like something that would be period accurate, but it is considerably more functional than the classic costume shown earlier in the movie.
I also like that some reasoning was given behind why exactly he carries a shield, and that he hand picked the standard round shield that he is most known for carrying.
moving to some plot points, the characterization of Steve Rogers before the serum was a great lead-up, and a great contrast to all the other superhero movies. showing him as the weak but good hearted 90lb army reject was perfect to set him apart from all the big egos and larger than life personalities seen from the main characters in the other movies. seeing pompous bullies learn important life lessons and become heroes is fine, but seeing the determination of someone with all the greatest qualities rise above his own limitations really makes for an inspirational tale.
the inclusion of the Howling Commandos was great, even though they werent referred to as such, and the individual members didnt get much solo exposition. of note, the british superhero Union Jack was included in this bunch, even though he was never an actual member. i would have liked for them to have included a young Nick Fury to give a little more continuity, but i dont think they could have realistically explained how he is still alive after all those years in the time they had left in the movie. it was kinda fun seeing the montage of Cap and the Commandos taking out various Hydra bases, as it had sort of a old school war movie feel to it.
Bucky was portrayed very well, considering how he has been represented in more recent years. not as the little kid sidekick of Captain America, but as a skilled soldier. they managed to give him a realistic version of his classic costume, minus the mask of course, even though it was a bit understated
i have always hated the "death" scene from the comics in which Captain America leaps from a missile after Bucky tries to disarm it. an attempted retcon changed to show that Bucky stayed on the missile because his arm was trapped, which is even worse, cause it seems like Cap abandoned him flat out.
these points were given a much needed facelift and i think it turned out very much for the better in the movie. Bucky was lost during an op to capture Arnim Zola, trying to help Cap and falling to his apparent death when Cap couldnt reach him in time. this sets up a potential Winter Soldier appearance later in the series, as we are shown that he falls, but not where/how he lands. any comic fan can tell you, unless you see the body, there is always the chance they will come back. heck, even if you do see the body...
As for Cap's final fate, instead of a single missile that Cap is trying to disarm, he takes out the Red Skull's entire plane, crashing it into the ice to keep it from delivering the various payloads to multiple US cities. a much more heroic demise than simply leaping off of a missile that you were unable to disarm and landing in some icy water
the final scene in the movie, Steve waking up in modern times, could have been drawn out a little longer, and the exchange between him and Fury could have been a little better, but Evans again pulled off some good acting by giving us a Steve Rogers that was genuinely finding himself in the future and how disorienting that must be.
now... i hesitate to approach this subject, cause it is a matter of serious debate. Nazis. probably the #1 complaint i hear about this movie is the lack of Nazis. a lot of people see this as either trying to be too sympathetic to the Jews and other victims of the Nazis, or they see it as trying to be sympathetic to the Nazis themselves, and not wanting to portray them in a "bad light"
In the comics, Red Skull was not directly part of Hydra (until much much later), Hydra was not part of the Nazi regime, and Hydra was not a scientific research division. Red Skull was a Nazi working directly for Hitler, Hydra was criminal organization, and Hydra had it's own internal science division, AIM, which eventually became its own entity.
All that aside, I prefer the way it is all portrayed in the movie. Red Skull always struck me as a "take over the world" kind of guy, and that isnt something that could have been accomplished as Hitler's do-boy. i much prefer him as the leader of his own army that seeks to rise above even the Nazis, and set out on a quest for total domination
all in all, i was very afraid they were gonna drop the ball on this movie, but they ended up doing a spectacular job. If you havnt seen the movie yet, you should still be able to find it in a theatre somewhere (even if it is the discount theatre). i highly recommend going to see it.
