
Day two of Comic-Con consists of a massive amount of Hitler punching.
Starring: Chris Evans, Tommy Lee Jones, Hugo Weaving
Directed by: Joe Johnston (Who should really be working on 'The Pagemaster II')
The Positives:
- Hayley Atwell was absolutely beautiful in that 1940's sort of way.
- Stanley Tucci and Tommy Lee Jone's Performances were the highlight of the film.
- Chris Evans actually pulled off a great Steve Rogers/Captain America.
- Hell, the digitally minimization of his body looked fantastic and not at all as fakey as the trailers would suggest.
- The Red Skull's makeup was superb.
- I enjoyed the little hints here and there at Indiana Jones.
- "A weak man knows the value of strength" was the perfect line for this film. It sums everything up about Cap's origin so neatly.
- I loved that the film-makers found a way to incorporate the Captain America punches Hitler comic book.
- Also, the mention of Odin and (especially) the inclusion of Howard Stark were great tie-ins to the rest of Marvel Studio's series.
- Correction: The post-credits 'The Avengers' trailer was the high light of the film.
- It was a fun, not-too-serious summer popcorn flick.
The Negatives:
- There were numerous poorly edited jump cuts. At one moment Captain America could be swinging on a chain towards the enemy and the next scene he was darting after him on foot.
- I didn't care at all for Bucky. His death wasn't the emotional beat that it should've and could've been.
- The Red Skull was a bit underwhelming as a villain.
- And don't even get me started on Hydra. First and foremost, Hydr isn't real (as if I had to tell you). Part of Captain America's appeal is that he was invested in real world events. Having Cap never fight an actual nazi but instead a sub-group only invented for Marvel properties kind of takes the realistic aspect out of Captain America. The super-futuristic laser guns Hydra used only made things worse.
- While I enjoyed the stylistic 1940's tone of the movie, it felt like it wasn't set in the same universe as the rest of Marvel Studio's films. This was only partially resolved at the end of the film. I believe this really all falls back on the director. I do not like Joe Johnston and I feel like he was the wrong choice for the film.
- Adding critiques to both the realism and the tone of the film, once captain America gets his updates costume and the flick switches into an action movie montage, the movie's tone shifts to almost that of a cartoon. Jumping out of explosions in slow motion on a motorbike? That doesn't belong in a Marvel Studio's picture. It belongs in 'Machete'
Grade: B-
What I would consider the worst of Marvel Studios pre-'Avengers' films. While it wasn't bad, the picture suffered from poor direction.
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