A Charles Atlas comic given a 2 hour running time

Rating: 1/10 (21 March 2013)

Ralph Waldo Emerson once stated that life was a journey, not a destination.
One could only wish that Jumanji director Joe Johnston would have taken that timeless quote to heart when directing the final instalment of the Avengers' prequels.
Instead, he opts to give us a film that was about as winding of a journey as a trip to the mailbox.
Steve Rogers' journey from frail young man to, well, strong young man, presents us with the tale of one of the most one-dimensional, uninteresting protagonists in recent memory, as any amount of internal conflict or struggle is tossed to the wayside from virtually the opening frame. The only thing in the film that has any substantial development is the titular character's muscular frame.
Along with Evans of lacklustre supporting cast, including Hayley Atwell, who's monotone Carter provides a one-dimensional and particularly shallow love interest (any interest whatsoever in Rogers literally occurs after his CGI rendered frame is replaced with his natural torso), and a ultimately pointless villain in Red Skull (considering Hitler's role in the war at the time) a quickly forgotten about Richard Artimage, and a slumming, emotionless Tommy Lee Jones, all form a rather toothless cast.
The plot is filled with poorly executed clichés (the kissing scene with the blonde, in particular, feels so forced that you could practically see Atwell standing behind the scenery waiting for her 'cue'), tepid dialogue, plot holes and boundless leaps of logic (discovering the underground base by going in through an above ground window, wearing a brightly coloured suit when infiltrating a base to rescue soldiers, and the ending, which I'll get to), and rushed pacing.
What makes this film seem more of an contrived Avengers prequel than its associated films is the ending, which features Rogers commandeering a plane with a nuke.
After taking manual control, instead of jumping out of the plane after diverting it at the last minute to save himself and let the plane crash on its own, or diverting it to a warmer, isolated climate where it would do no harm, he instead chooses to go down with the plane.
There is no logical reason for Rogers to do this except for the fact that he wouldn't be part of the Avengers film if he didn't (also to give some forced pathos between himself and Atwell's character).
Overall, Captain America: The First Avenger is a paint-by-numbers origin that seems more of a bullet point presentation than a fully developed final product When it comes to the several years of audience buildup and putting the pieces into place for the upcoming Marvel crossover, it's little wonder why The 'First' Avenger, was given the 'Last' slot.