Okay, it's announcement time. This review took me a hella long time for a number of reasons, and the end result is that I'm going to be tweaking the way things work around here.
To make a long story short, it's become a little too easy to forget that this blog isn't a chore. I've saddled myself with a number of rules and regulations on just how I do things here, but that's rather silly. It's not like I'm being held to some journalistic standard of excellence here--it's pretty awesome to have readers and I love you all dearly for being so supportive, but this blog exists primarily for my own amusement and that means that I can basically do whatever the hell I want with it.
And besides, too many rules make things boring. Nobody wants to read something that's boring.
As such: my Cinema Snark posts will continue, but they won't be reviews as such--there are other people who get paid to do that, and who do it much better (and more concisely) than I. Instead, I'll give a quick overall opinion of the movie, and then spend the rest of the time discussing whatever stood out to me. It could be acting, it could be story, or it could be some deep philosophical question that I feel is in some way relevant. Or I could just talk about fluffy kittens for six paragraphs because fuck it.
I mean, it's pretty much what I do anyway, but for some reason I felt the need to say it out loud. Or type it. Whatever.
In any case, I loved Captain America. Straight-up loved it. It's my favorite Marvel Studios movie since the first Iron Man, although there's not a whole lot of viable comparison between the two movies except for the fact that they exist in the same continuity. It's apples and oranges, really, except that the apple is on super-soldier-steroids and the orange has titanium-alloy armor instead of skin. Iron Man was awesome because it was so snarky and self-aware, whereas Captain America is about as straightforward and earnest as a Jimmy Stewart movie.
Seriously. It's like It's A Wonderful Life, but with more Nazis in gimp masks and people getting vaporized. Captain America: The First Avenger is basically your perfect summer blockbuster: it's full of badassery, humor, explosions, and memorable characters. If you haven't seen it yet, you really should.
That being said, the movie isn't without its flaws. My least favorite part is the final scene, mostly because Cap's reaction to suddenly waking up in the 21st century and realizing that everyone he had ever known is probably dead by now is pretty fucking casual. It's also a little odd to see laser pulse weapons in something that's ostensibly a World War II movie, but this is the Marvel Universe we're talking about so I'll give it a pass.
There's one thing that stands out in my mind as making this movie great, though, and it's not the explosions or the fight choreography or the or the witty quips. It's the main character--or rather, it's the fundamental understanding the screenwriters have of who the main character is.
A lot of people see Captain America as nothing more than a mouthpiece for jingoistic propaganda (and sometimes he is), but when you're not dealing with '50s-era impostors or Ultimate Marvel's Asshole!Cap, you begin to realize something: Steve Rogers doesn't represent America as it is; he represents America as it should be. He epitomizes all of the ideals that this country is based on, even when his country fails to live up to them.
The first theatrical trailer almost brought tears to my eyes. When Dr. Abraham Erskine offers scrawny asthmatic Steve Rogers the chance to be part of an experimental super-soldier program, Steve asks "Why me?" Erskine promptly responds, "Because a weak man knows the value of strength... knows the value of power."
Those words sum up the entire concept of Steve Rogers as a character, and they're as important to him as "with great power comes great responsibility" is to Spider-Man. It isn't the super-soldier serum that makes Steve a hero; it's his sense of right and wrong. Scrawny!Steve knows that he probably wouldn't survive on the front lines, but his conscience simply cannot allow him to stay safe while others are laying down their lives. He's essentially powerless in physical terms, but his spirit is noble and courageous, and that's the very thing that makes him worthy of the serum. As Erskine says in the movie, the important thing isn't that he's a good soldier; it's that he's a good person.
And holy crap is he ever a good person. Steve Rogers is the American answer to Jesus. He's kind, brave, and willing to put himself in danger or even lay down his life to save the lives of the people he cares about. Even after he becomes the ironically Aryan exemplar known as Captain America, he's still the same scrawny kid from Brooklyn who hates bullies and refuses to run away. He's pretty much the ultimate good, which is why the villains have to be the ultimate evil.
How evil are they, you ask? Their leader is Hugo motherfucking Weaving. Oh, and they used to be Nazis but then they quit and started their own club because the Nazis weren't hardcore enough. That's how evil they have to be to counteract Steve Rogers' saintliness.
That vision of the character is what makes Captain America: The First Avenger so great; the rest is just icing on the cake. Awesome, awesome icing.
