The First and Best?

Rating: 8/10 (4 May 2013)

In the summer of 2011, when it had already been announced that the following summer would be kicked off with The Avengers, I got so severely burned out on poor to mediocre superhero films, beginning with Thor and followed by X-Men: First Class, Green Lantern and finally, Captain America - The First Avenger.
In all fairness, I got burned out after the X-Men prequel which I only barely liked then and would later appreciate more. On video, I would finally see Green Lantern and absolutely hate almost every minute of that. Due to that, I put off Cap't America as long as I could. As Julia Roberts' Vivian once said in Pretty Woman: "Big mistake. Big. Huge."
ForI actually really enjoyed this movie a tonand he's completely down my list of favorite superheroes.
Chris Evans brought a special heart and selfless spirit to the contagiously patriotic Steve Rogers, a.k.a. Captain America. I understand and have seen overly Gooo-America films – most recently, Act of Valor, but this one, thanks for Evans, really roped me in and I both loved and rooted for him the whole way.
While I'm not a big fan of CGI, the computer generated, miniscule and original weakling Steve Rogers, before he becomes Captain America, was, in fact, weak. I understand there had to be a transition from small to super soldier, but they all-but made him look like a mouse that would later turn into a tiger. A bit too under-the-top.
Nevertheless, we have a small boy who's desperately trying to fight for truth, justice and the American way in World War II and continuously gets knocked down, literally and figuratively. Untilhe gets spotted due to that deep heart I spoke about. Not just overnight, but within minutes, he's now fast, strong and regenerative. What hadn't changed was that perfect attitude.
He's got the (ho-hum, and sometimes boring) Red Skull to deal with, as, I guess, Hilter's so passé. But, along the way, he's accompanied with a beautiful broad and the always awesome Tommy Lee Jones as his Colonel.
Admittedly, the first half is a lot more entertaining, contains welcomed great performances and special effects/cinematography for a superhero film. Even the second half is still a fun ride with wonderful tie-ins to the other Marvel/Avenger films and an extremely touching and admirable finale.
While it's not perfect, and not the genre I'm fond of – period piece films, but it's a lot of fun, and comparatively speaking, they saved the best for last in Summer 2011.