A Great Popcorn Movie For The Summer

Rating: 10/10 (24 July 2011)

I didn't think Captain America could be done properly on film (next to Thor, anyway) but director Joe Johnston has surprised me and delivered a film that exceeded all expectations. It's definitely one of those films that allows one to easily leave their brain outside the theater.
First of all, the casting was perfect. At first I was concerned with Chris Evans being cast as Cap but while watching it, images of the Human Torch from the Fantastic Four films never came to mind. I saw Steve Rogers and Captain America. Hugo Weaving plays Johann Schmidt, alias the Red Skull, who really does justice to this sinister comic book villain and despite various people complaining that the Red Skull is poorly written (being that his motivation and back story are hardly touched upon) I found him to be quite an enjoyable antagonist to see on screen save for those few character developing flaws. Tommy Lee Jones, Hayley Atwell, Stanley Tucci, and Sebastian Stan also did justice to their characters (especially Sebastian Stan who really made the character of Bucky into more of a person who could handle tough situations on his own rather than a wimpy sidekick like he was in the comics at times).
As for the plot, it was pretty straight forward but there are quite a few cool action scenes and, as stated, it's pretty much one of those films you can just leave your brain outside the theater and just go with the flow. Also, unlike "Thor", the romance between Cap and Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) is more developed and handled better in this instance.
So if you're looking for a good film to go see just for the fun of it, go see "Captain America: The First Avenger". Well done, Marvel! Let's hope that Joss Whedon can deliver "The Avengers" just as well as Joe Johnston delivered this.
Final Verdict: 10/10