A Stereotype Nightmare

Rating: 2/10 (29 July 2011)

I went to see this film at a midnight premier screening. I had seen previews for the movie, and honestly, I thought it looked pretty solid. Of course, I was expecting a standard summer action flick, but nothing like this.
From the get-go, I could tell this movie was not what I had thought it would be. It's filmed using a digital camera, which gives it a TV-like quality that I find distracting. With every shot, I was reminded that I was sitting in a movie theater. Johann Schmidt's introductory scene was overly theatrical and cliché-ridden.
I'll say this about Captain America: apart from the camera-work and Johann Schmidt's intro scene, it started off well. The characters were well established, and Steve Rogers was very well written.
However, the moment Stanley Tucci's character appeared on screen, it started to feel wrong. His accent was so stereotypically "old German scientist" that I found myself smiling whenever he spoke.
This is around the time that we're introduced to the other characters: Colonel Phillips and Peggy Carter. Both are just more stereotypes added to the mix. Phillips is the grumpy and pessimistic army man, and Peggy is the cliché "strong government woman". Neither of them ever move more than an inch from their carefully enforced character cubbyholes.
The action scenes, while sometimes entertaining, are, once again, cliché-ridden. Steve Rogers' first fight as a superhuman has him jumping on top of a car and being shot at through the roof. Sound familiar? It's been in loads of action movies, and it's just one of the action clichés in this film.
Later in the movie, one of the characters dies. Within one scene, I had forgotten who had died and why everyone was so somber. That is not a good thing.
Finally, during the final battle between the Cap and Red Skull, I found myself looking away from the screen, hands on my face, realizing I didn't care at all about who won. I didn't care if Red Skull defeated the Cap and took over the world, because, quite frankly, the villain is too evil and too unrealistic to be believable.
For all the film's flaws, though, it's well-acted. Chris Evans does a great job, as does Hayley Atwell. I just wish the characters had been written better to allow these actors to really explore their roles. They feel caged.
All in all, this film felt like it was made simply to get the Avengers moving along. They rushed it. The characters are too simple. Steve Rogers/Captain America has no character flaws, which makes it difficult to connect with him. He's too perfect. And the action isn't worth seeing.
Skip this movie. Go out and watch an Army recruiting commercial. You'll find it's more entertaining than this garbage.