Does this latest take on the shielded hero do one of Marvel's most popular characters justice?

Rating: 6/10 (30 July 2011)

So after two Iron Man films, The Incredible Hulk and Thor, we have now reached the last of the Avengers set up films; Captain America: The First Avenger. Because of its title there was a lot of pressure for this film to be good, otherwise audiences were unlikely to be enthusiastic about next year's 'The Avengers', which may well be Marvel's most ambitious project to date. People unfamiliar with one of Marvel's most popular comic book characters may be put off the film simply by the superhero's name. The USA is known to be one of the world's more proud countries, and many people from outside the US might not find the patriotic theme too inviting, however the superhero's title is justified quite nicely and fits in historically with the needs of the country at the time. This really is not a ridiculous propaganda fest as some might expect.
Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is introduced as a small skinny and generally unhealthy looking guy with good intentions. He's desperate to join the army and help fight the war against the axis overseas, however he is repeatedly turned down from serving his country due to his physical appearance. He remains persistent and is eventually noticed by a military scientist who gets him trained up and enters him into a contest where the chosen candidate becomes America's first super soldier. During this process we meet a Colonel played by Tommy Lee Jones and the film's love interest Peggy Carter, played by Hayley Atwell. These two characters are the strongest of the film's supporting cast and there's convincing chemistry between Atwell's Peggy Carter and Steve Rogers. Dominic Cooper's Howard Stark is also worthy of a nod. However, perhaps he could have done with a bit more screen time. Regardless, it was nice to see glints of Tony Stark's personality in the scenes he was in.
Hugo Weaving plays Captain America's nemesis; Red Skull. He's the typical comic book villain; seemingly deluded with dreams of world domination. He's not boring and Hugo Weaving plays the part nicely, but he's just nowhere near as interesting as Thor's Loki. Red Skull is the head of a Nazi division named Hydra, a group of specialist scientists and soldiers who invent/are equip with high tech weaponry. One of Hydra's recent discoveries makes them a serious threat to the allies and so Captain America is deployed to take them down.
A lot of the cool fights that we got glimpses of in the trailer are still only glimpses in the film. This is due to them being part of a montage sequence rather than a full action scene, this felt unnecessary and was disappointing, especially seeming as it came straight after Captain America getting a new suit and shield. You can't help but think that those being tested out for the first time in a longer fight would've been much more entertaining. There are still several lengthy action sequences though, with great moments – trains, planes, motorbike chases it's all here. It's just a shame the film is so cleanly cut between character development and action. In Captain America you only seem to get large chunks of one or the other, never both merged together.
Captain America does have its flaws but it's still an entertaining summer blockbuster. It also ties in well with the other Avenger set up titles which should leave audiences pumped for next summer's Marvel outing.