PHASE ONE
Discovery
"Whatever happens tomorrow, you must promise me one thing. Stay who you are. Not just a soldier. But a good man."
One of the weirdest criticisms I've heard about Marvel Studios and their films is that they have a "house style", which strikes me as kind of a peculiar criticism. I mean, sure, all the movies under the studio are PG-13, and typically have action in them, but a major part of why these features have become such enormous successes is because of the variety of tones, environments and aesthetics each individual project has. Even the action elements can deviate from movie to movie; Guardians of The Galaxy, as one might imagine, dishes out more sci-fi enhanced violence than Iron Man 2 for example.
Captain America: The First Avenger is a prime example of how variety serves the Marvel Cinematic Universe well, with this one being the studios first period piece (the story is set in the 1940's) that is used by director Joe Johnston as a way to create riveting environments and unique action set pieces. At the center of it all is Steve Rogers, played by Chris Evans. Today, we all know and love the guy as a never-give-up super soldier (and as a dude who can handle himself well against Tilda Swinton), but 2010, the year he was chosen for the role, was a different time. This was an age where the Tim Story Fantastic Four movies were still on everyone's brains.
There was high level of dubiousness surrounding the idea that Evans could go from being the cocky Human Torch to the upstanding Captain America, but by God, he pulled it off. Here's the thing about Evans turn as Steve Rogers; he understands the character has an innate goodness to him. He's not driven by vengeance or a gritty past. He's been bullied all his life, sure, but as Rogers notes in one scene, he doesn't want to kill anybody. He just doesn't want anybody else to have to endure the kind of suffering he's had to live with, and that's as crucial to him becoming Captain America as any o'l super soldier serum.
Evans makes that drive feel genuine, as well as making sure the character has a personality beyond his natural compulsion to help others. It's namely in his dynamic with the other members of the cast, primarily Hayley Atwell and Sebastian Stan, that he truly excels, especially when he executes humorous moments that juxtapose his casual attitude towards his incredible new powers. Those particular bits of levity not only allow for moments of light-heartedness into the plot, but also emphasize why Steve Rogers is such a gripping personality; even when he's become a human being like no other, he still acts like a likable, everyday man.
Once Steve Rogers undergoes the procedure that takes him from scrawny dude to Captain America, he faces a number of foes, all that we see belonging to the sinister organization HYDRA that's led by the Red Skull (Hugo Weaving). This distinctively colored fellow is Captain Americas foremost enemy, and while Weaving imbues crazed menace to Red Skull, he just doesn't have a lot of nuance to him that makes him someone truly memorable. It doesn't help that his more reserved nature (which matches the fact that, for much of the film, he wears a mask that covers his unusually pigmented face) keeps him from lacking a notable personality for a long duration of the feature.
Still, facing off against him and his HYDRA soldiers does provide great fodder for Captain America and his Howling Commandos to engage in pretty damn fun action sequences. It helps that the aforementioned chemistry Evans has with the various members of the cast lends depth to these battles, giving the more layers than just "EXPLOSION EXPLOSION EXPLOSION". And hey! Hayley Atewlls character, Peggy Carter, isn't just treated as eye candy here, having a personality that's notable and having a role in the story that isn't just there to support Steve Rogers!
As her own TV show proved earlier this year, Peggy Carter is a character rife with storytelling possibilities, and thankfully, Captain America: The First Avenger makes use of some of those opportunities she offers. On a similar note, the 1940's setting that (most of) the film occupies offers numerous chances for memorable sets and props, and the movie is more than happy to seize the limitless possibilities the era provides and create some truly memorable environments for the various members of the cast to inhabit.
The only time Steve Rogers exits this particular 20th century decade is in the films final moments, wherein he wakes up to discover he's been frozen for 70 years. The sequence ends on a morose note that helps to not undercut the bleak tone of the wonderfully executed previous scene (where Steve gives tearful farewell to Peggy), but it still feels like too much of a tease for the then forthcoming Avengers movie. Moving it to the mid-credits section of the feature would have been vastly preferred, especially since the transition from the downbeat final line of the movie to the more jovial score of the credits is unspeakably awkward.
The idea of Marvel Studios having some kind of house style has always struck me as particularly silly, but looking over Captain America: The First Avenger, my position of feeling that such a mindset is silly is only reinforced ten-fold. This may be the weakest Marvel Studios film to feature Captain America in a prominent role, but I'll be damned if it still isn't a whirlwind of distinctive visuals, engrossing action and a lead actor that fully understands how to make Captain America work so well as a character. Plus, this may be one of the few superhero movies to get a musical number, and a pretty damn awesome on at that!
There was high level of dubiousness surrounding the idea that Evans could go from being the cocky Human Torch to the upstanding Captain America, but by God, he pulled it off. Here's the thing about Evans turn as Steve Rogers; he understands the character has an innate goodness to him. He's not driven by vengeance or a gritty past. He's been bullied all his life, sure, but as Rogers notes in one scene, he doesn't want to kill anybody. He just doesn't want anybody else to have to endure the kind of suffering he's had to live with, and that's as crucial to him becoming Captain America as any o'l super soldier serum.
Evans makes that drive feel genuine, as well as making sure the character has a personality beyond his natural compulsion to help others. It's namely in his dynamic with the other members of the cast, primarily Hayley Atwell and Sebastian Stan, that he truly excels, especially when he executes humorous moments that juxtapose his casual attitude towards his incredible new powers. Those particular bits of levity not only allow for moments of light-heartedness into the plot, but also emphasize why Steve Rogers is such a gripping personality; even when he's become a human being like no other, he still acts like a likable, everyday man.
Once Steve Rogers undergoes the procedure that takes him from scrawny dude to Captain America, he faces a number of foes, all that we see belonging to the sinister organization HYDRA that's led by the Red Skull (Hugo Weaving). This distinctively colored fellow is Captain Americas foremost enemy, and while Weaving imbues crazed menace to Red Skull, he just doesn't have a lot of nuance to him that makes him someone truly memorable. It doesn't help that his more reserved nature (which matches the fact that, for much of the film, he wears a mask that covers his unusually pigmented face) keeps him from lacking a notable personality for a long duration of the feature.
Still, facing off against him and his HYDRA soldiers does provide great fodder for Captain America and his Howling Commandos to engage in pretty damn fun action sequences. It helps that the aforementioned chemistry Evans has with the various members of the cast lends depth to these battles, giving the more layers than just "EXPLOSION EXPLOSION EXPLOSION". And hey! Hayley Atewlls character, Peggy Carter, isn't just treated as eye candy here, having a personality that's notable and having a role in the story that isn't just there to support Steve Rogers!
As her own TV show proved earlier this year, Peggy Carter is a character rife with storytelling possibilities, and thankfully, Captain America: The First Avenger makes use of some of those opportunities she offers. On a similar note, the 1940's setting that (most of) the film occupies offers numerous chances for memorable sets and props, and the movie is more than happy to seize the limitless possibilities the era provides and create some truly memorable environments for the various members of the cast to inhabit.
The only time Steve Rogers exits this particular 20th century decade is in the films final moments, wherein he wakes up to discover he's been frozen for 70 years. The sequence ends on a morose note that helps to not undercut the bleak tone of the wonderfully executed previous scene (where Steve gives tearful farewell to Peggy), but it still feels like too much of a tease for the then forthcoming Avengers movie. Moving it to the mid-credits section of the feature would have been vastly preferred, especially since the transition from the downbeat final line of the movie to the more jovial score of the credits is unspeakably awkward.
The idea of Marvel Studios having some kind of house style has always struck me as particularly silly, but looking over Captain America: The First Avenger, my position of feeling that such a mindset is silly is only reinforced ten-fold. This may be the weakest Marvel Studios film to feature Captain America in a prominent role, but I'll be damned if it still isn't a whirlwind of distinctive visuals, engrossing action and a lead actor that fully understands how to make Captain America work so well as a character. Plus, this may be one of the few superhero movies to get a musical number, and a pretty damn awesome on at that!
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