Not quite what I expected

Rating: 6/10 (1 August 2011)

***May contain spoilers***
But, then again, may not. After the crushing banality of Transformers 3, I had been desperately hoping for something less appalling to appear at the cinema. I didn't have to wait too long, as Captain America appeared shortly after the latest Bay disaster, so I rounded up some gym buddies and went to our local Vue.
Plot: There is one, and it is quite interesting. Set in WW2, we see that our hero is a big-hearted but small-framed young man, saddened by the departure of his friends for the front line while he is forced to remain back home in the USA. After numerous failed attempts at enlisting, he is finally spotted by a German scientist who can see his inner potential... Basically the plot is entertaining and will keep you hooked until about 75 minutes into the film, at which point it degenerates into a frenzy of special effects and action sequences. Following this I was rather bored.
Special effects: Abundant, and handled pretty well. At the beginning our hero has been digitally slimmed (so I read), and for a few minutes this is not too obvious. I did notice after a while, however, that his face and throat do not move correctly (or indeed very much) when he is talking, and once I had noticed that I found it rather irritating. The laser guns, explosions and aeroplanes all look fairly convincing. I didn't bother seeing it in 3D as 3D is generally disappointing.
Acting: Good. No wood here.
Cast: Chris Evans was appropriately cast, Tommy-Lee Jones performed admirably, Hugo Weaving was unintentionally hilarious, Dominic Cooper was spot on, but my attention was distracted throughout the film by the absolutely delightful Hayley Atwell.
Overall: Not bad at all for a superhero / comic book film, although a little (unsurprisingly) formulaic. Watch out for the vast quantities of "I love America!!!" cheese that literally flows out of the cinema screen at certain points...