The Star-Spangled Avenger Finally Gets a "Real Movie" (or "Where's My Ovaltine?")

Rating: 9/10 (16 November 2011)

As a longtime comic book fan, I always felt sorry for Captain America. Co-created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby for Marvel (then-Timely) Comics, the character was a mascot during WW II but quite the anachronism when Mr. Kirby and Stan Lee revitalized the character in 1964, a year after John F. Kennedy's assassination. He was the straight arrow among mutants, radioactive-powered troubleshooters and blood drunk vigilantes, and he seemed to be relegated to fight second-rate costumed reprobates.
However, the Sept. 11 attacks brought a new sense of American patriotism (despite some blinded jingoism), giving Cap the chance to be cinematically adapted in a fun, faithful manner. You can finally forget the 1970 TV movies and corn muffin is way better than the 1990 train wreck (Rubber ears? Yuck!).
America's in the dawn days of WW II and Brooklyn-born Steven Grant Rogers (Chris Evans, who's been in nearly every comic book film since 2005!!!) is eager to fight the enemy with his already-enlisted pal James "Bucky" Barnes (Sebastian Stan), but Rogers's a shrimp (nice CGI) and gets denied active duty. Metaphysical scientist Dr. Abraham Erskine (Oscar nominee Stanley Tucci of "The Lonely Bones") gives Rogers a chance to join the Super Soldier Program, despite doubts from its' supervisor Col. Phillips (gruff Oscar winner Tommy Lee Jones of the "Men In Black" saga).
Erskine's tragically killed, post-Rogers's transformation (Holy Charles Atlas!), under the orders of the dastardly Johann Schimdt/The Red Skull (sneering Hugo Weaving of The Matrix, Lord of the Rings and Transformers sagas), a deformed scientist who leads the Nazi's scientist division, Hydra, but plans to outdo Hitler by unleashing the power of the Asgardian-based (Hint! Hint!) Cosmic Cube upon the world. The only success of the SSP, Rogers's the best candidate to stop Schimdt.
Using a sharp script by Chris Markus and Stephen McFeely (the Narnia films), director and George Lucas student Joe Johnston has fun with the film and deserves to, since he has old-school, high adventure movies like "The Rocketeer" and "Jumanji" on his resume. There's also a sense of satire; instead of fighting the bad guys at first, Rogers is put into a cheap red, white and blue suit and relegated, by a spotlight-loving politico, to be a war bond salesman, doing song-and-dance numbers with showgirls. It's not as deep as Zack Snyder's hard-edged, R-rated take on "Watchmen" (interesting how Cosmic Cube is like Dr. Manhattan), but it works. The story's a prequel to the upcoming "The Avengers", along with the Iron Man films, the second Hulk film and "Thor".
The aforementioned actors are well-cast, nicely assisted by Hayley Atwell ("The Duchess") as fetching British spy Peggy Carter; Dominic Carter (also of "The Duchess") as debonair weapons industrialist Howard Stark and Neal McDonough ("Star Trek: First Contact") as thick-mustachioed soldier Timothy "Dumb Dumb" Dugan. Stan Lee has a fun, obvious cameo as a military general, and Sam L. Jackson reprises in his Nick Fury role from the "Iron Man" films.
A fun blockbuster that doesn't go over the top and recalls the early Indiana Jones films, "Captain America: The First Avenger" is the type of film that will make you scream "Where's My Ovaltine?"