Worth the wait!

Rating: 10/10 (26 July 2011)

'CAPTAIN America: THE FIRST AVENGER': Five Stars (Out of Five)
The fifth Marvel Studios film adaptation of one of their 'Avengers' comic characters (following two 'Iron Man' films, 'The Incredible Hulk' and 'Thor'), this time based on the original 'Avenger': Captain America. Joe Johnston (the filmmaker behind a variety of genre films including 'THE ROCKETEER', 'OCTOBER SKY', 'THE WOLFMAN' and 'JURASSIC PARK III') directed the film. Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely (who also co-wrote all three 'CHRONICLES OF NARNIA' film adaptations) wrote the screenplay. Chris Evans (who's co-starred in a series of other comic book and superhero films including 'SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD', 'PUSH' and 'THE LOSERS' as well as two 'FANTASTIC FOUR' films from Marvel) stars in the title role. Hugo Weaving, Tommy Lee Jones, Hayley Atwell, Stanley Tucci, Toby Jones, Dominic Cooper and Sebastian Stan co-star.
Captain America first appeared in comics in 1941 (published under Timely Comics) and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. The series told the story of a weak wannabe war hero named Steve Rogers with a huge heart and enormous passion for doing good but lacking the physical prowess to match. He was selected for a secret military project which enhanced everything he was good at and gave him the physical capabilities to match his amazing good will. Like 'Superman', 'Captain America' was a great patriotic symbol but after World War II died off in popularity and disappeared in the 1950's. The character was later revived by Marvel Comics in the 60's as part of the Avengers team (it's leader) and it was explained that he had fallen into suspended animation since the end of the war. The film retells his origins story and sets up the Avengers film which is to be released next year.
There have been several other film adaptations of the classic character in the 1940's, 70's and 90's but none have been very satisfactory to die-hard comic fans (until now). This is the first time a film studio has spent a significant amount of money on a project and actually invested the resources to do the material proper justice. It's quite surprising if you think about it that it took them so long (for such a beloved and classic iconic character) but it was worth the wait. I don't think any film adaptation until now could have turned out this good. The special effects are amazing (and it does look good in 3D). The movie's villain 'Red Skull' (Weaving) looks incredible, the action is spectacular and the scenes of Steve Rogers looking almost deathly ill are completely seamless and flawless. Johnston's directing is solid grade A filmmaking. Like his similar themed 'ROCKETEER' Johnston really shows a knack for classic nostalgic storytelling. The film is a technical marvel but besides that (like it's lead character) it has tremendous heart to match. It has been a while since such an admirable patriotic symbol has been portrayed in a major motion picture. American pride of course isn't quite as big as it used to be but the heart and nobility of someone wanting to do good (just for the sake of doing good) really resonates with the viewer in this film. Like 'Spider-Man' the classic tale of a wimpy outcast with a heart of gold becoming the super-hero is truly inspirational as well. The acting, cinematography and screenplay are all top-notch too but it's the movie's heart and message that are most impressive. It really is what good filmmaking and storytelling is all about. They don't get much better than this!
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