Just a good movie

Rating: 6/10 (29 August 2011)

Let me start by getting one thing clear, Captain America is not a bad film. Just a major let down at least for me. It is actually quite alright movie overall but that is overshadowed by the disappointment streaming from because of what it could have been. It felt like it could and even would succeed in being more than just the average Marvel superhero movie. The trailers seemed really promising but after having seen the whole film one realises that there was nothing more than what was shown in the trailers and also stuff looked like being great turns out to be not quite so much. The set up is practically the usual becoming a true hero idea but still gets some fresh feel being set during WWII which I feel is not just a set piece and works fine. Even with the serious tone it sets there are some standard superhero silly stuff but never that it takes the overhand, it works quite alright. The tone, settings and old fashioned war music are the good parts of this. But sadly the lesser good parts seem to weigh over. The action which not seldom are the central parts of superhero movies feel really weak. Some critics have pointed out and enjoyed the kind of old time fight scenes, comparing them to Indiana Jones. OK they are old styled but that doesn't automatically make it great. The problems are a total lack of suspense or thrills, one never ever gets any feeling of excitement of what will happen and what cap will do next. Yes I know he is the hero and can't be really defeated but still one can create interest in action scenes involving those also. The cast is kind of good. Tommy Lee Jones is best not surprisingly. But Chris Evans just does not quite catch it, he looks cool once he's become Cap but the charm and substance in the performance to create any real relation between him and the audience is missing. When one is supposed the feel some sympathy or whatever I just give it a shrug of the shoulders. Red Skull is another failure. He seems to just fill the role that a hero needs a enemy. Hugo Weaving doesn't do a bad performance the problem is rather the directing or script. A villain in this kind of film is not scary but Red Skull is neither interesting, he is just there because he must. He is doing some evil stuff but at the end I've just forgotten what it was and why. A weak bad guy doesn't really create any thrill for the good guys fight against him. The rest of the minor roles are however perfectly alright, Hayley Atwell, Toby Jones and Stanley Tucci all very good. None of the Joe Johnston movies have had much of character development. I was worried when I first heard he was making Captain America. So I understand almost all I've pointed out here is negative but the thing is that the movie was such a disappointment and could definitely have been better. It's a alright movie but nothing more. It's better than THOR but my anticipation for The Avengers has declined again, which began with Iron Man 2. Not a bad movie but nothing more than just a good one, 6/10.