This superhero movie isn't a marvel but it offers retro fun

Rating: 7/10 (20 September 2011)

In this superhero movie, Steve Rogers after being deemed unfit for military service is part of an experiment which turns him into a super soldier. Think your average superhero movie set in World War II, which certainly makes it more interesting than some of the others but it fails to stand out among some of the other MCU movies. This competent but routine action movie delivers punch after punch of glorious retro action without ever delivering a knockout blow, and like with many comic book films: Once upon a time someone decided that every superhero film should have a cartoony villain and a forced love story and this film really suffers from that. Hugo Weaving's villain is bland, while the love story feels forced and one dimensional.
The script goes the motions, but the cast do give strong performances overall, even Chris Evans who was a surprise after the ill judged Fantastic Four movies. This movie can feel like it was written with a superhero checklist open at times, but the action is thrilling, the ending is thought provoking and there is humanity amidst the explosions. Certainly overshadowed by its masterful sequel, but this is still a good movie which used 3D well for once and puts an interesting twist on the Marvel formula although it doesn't reinvent it.
7/10