Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

Rating: 8/10 (13 December 2011)

I'm so annoyed that Green Lantern was the worst superhero movie of the summer. All 4 of the superhero films this year were a big risk, involving period pieces, sci-fi, or Norse mythology, and only Green Lantern failed to be great. Anyways, to a lot of people Captain America may seem like a joke. Over patriotic propaganda. Fortunately, the film realises this and plays off it. Once Rogers becomes a superhero, he is simply used to sell war bonds. He's popular with the kids, but a joke to soldiers everywhere. Evans gives an excellent performance as a kid just wanting to do the right thing. He doesn't want to kill Nazis, he just hates bullies. Everything comes together to work in Captain America. Cooper is a fantastic choice as a young Howard Stark, Tucci is funny and touching, Lee Jones is gruff and comical, Atwell is professional and sexy. In fact, this may be one of the best played casts in years. Captain America wouldn't work without its heart being in the right place. We care for Rogers, and see how pure he is, but that doesn't mean he wont blow the bad guys away. The action scenes are brilliant, and throwing a shield has never looked so attractive. All the pieces are together for The Avengers now, and with every film (minus Iron Man 2) being impressive, we are on course for something quite extraordinary.