Captain America? More like Captain Boring.

Rating: 6/10 (28 December 2011)

After reading a bunch of glowing reviews when the movie came out, I finally rented it and I have to say I was disappointed. I found the movie to be little more than a by-the-numbers comic book action movie.
*SPOILERS BELOW* Now, I am not familiar with the original Captain America, so I don't know how it compares to that. However, the premise of the movie - a patriotic super hero who must defeat a Cobra-like evil Nazi organization based on super science - is one that should appeal to me. I mean, think of the possibilities! Unfortunately, it seems apparent to me that the movie never considered the possibilities and instead chose to make CA into an amalgamation of every super hero trope set against a paper thin WWII backdrop.
Captain America himself is little more than a copy of Spiderman's Peter Parker - a wimpy kid who is gifted with super hero powers...and proceeds to brood over his new found abilities for most of the film. Then, of course, you have his (doomed) mentor and his (doomed) friend, both there to provide motivation-by-death at key moments. Hugo Weaving plays the part of your ridiculous and paper thin villain whose motivation is never developed beyond the "he is crazy" approach. And Tommy Lee Jones reprises his increasingly tiresome role of the folksy sheriff/soldier/authority figure.
Even more disappointing than the lack of deep and original characterizations were the incredibly boring action sequences. Based on this movie, CA was nothing more than a brute who would win battles by banging people on the head with his shield. Really? Not exactly what I had in mind. I mean, how many times can you watch CA charge into a mess of Cobr...er, Hydra thugs and start beating them up with as much finesse as Hulk Hogan? I actually found myself looking at my watch every time a fight sequence would break out because they were all thoroughly uninteresting and on par with those found in the awful Batman TV series.
However, I think the greatest tragedy of CA is how WWII is never portrayed with any depth; really, it is little more than a convenient backdrop. When I saw some of the (unimaginative but) interesting Hydra weaponry, such as the mammoth Leman Russ tank at the beginning of the movie, I immediately started imagining all sorts of alternative WWII battles along the lines of DUST. I mean, how would the Battle of the Bulge changed if the Wehrmacht fielded a bunch of laser-armed Leman Russ tanks?!? Unfortunately, the movie never bothers to explore any of this as while we get to see huge stockpiles of advanced weaponry, the movie is content to use a dozen guys with silly looking laser rifles and flamethrower units, and the occasional laser-armed APC, none of which impacts the events of WWII in the least. Even when Red Skull "goes rogue" and uses his weaponry in open revolt against Hitler, there are no historical implications. It's as if the events of this film take place in a bubble that the rest of the world found thoroughly irrelevant and uninteresting. Wait a minute...they may be right.
I really wanted to like this movie, but its approach is so amateurishly banal that I found myself hating it with each passing moment. And don't even get me started on its unsatisfying conclusion that seemed to be written before the rest of the movie for franchise reasons. In the end, nothing is really explained or resolved, which is the final lazy insult for me.
All in all, CA is little more than yet another missed opportunity by Hollywood. Captain America? More like Captain Boring.