Newest comic release follows "Green Lantern" tack, unfortunately

Rating: Null/10 (22 July 2011)

The newest Marvel Studios release, "Captain America: The First Avenger," nicely captures a period of American history in which overt patriotism was still in vogue; however, with such a low-key (downright boring is a more appropriate term) hero, the premise falls apart.
Based on the 1941 Marvel Comic series (created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby), this latest inception of superhero films features Chris Evans ("Fantastic Four," Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World") as Steve Rogers, the skinny Brooklyn punk, who (like Eddie Bracken's Private Truesmith in "Hail the Conquering Hero"), wants to live up to the standard set by his military hero of a father.
Destined to a life of being beaten and humiliated, Rogers is handpicked for a special unit headed by Col. Chester Phillips (Tommy Lee Jones) and then medically transformed by Professor Abrahan Erskine (Staney Tucci, "Big Night," "Shall We Dance?") into a mini Incredible Hulk.
Rogers' full potential, however, is not realized because - after saving a child and capturing a Nazi spy - he is turned into a cartoonish figure and used as a propaganda tool to sell war bonds. Addressing real U.S. troops in Italy, he finally gets to go into action against Hiter's elite deep science division, Hydra, led by the malformed Red Skull (Hugo Weaving, "Lord Of the Rings" and the "Matrix" franchises).
Here's where the movie then takes a negative turn (for this scribbler, at least). Rogers dumps his goofy personae and leads a group of politically-correct, multi-national sidekicks (a black, an Asian, a Frenchman, a gay Brit and a derby-wearing idiot- what is this, the floor of a Democratic convention?) to assault and destroy a series of super-secret Hydra weapons factories.
The fact he needs so much assistance sullies his superhero credentials beyond measure.
Hydra has come up with ultimate death rays (which obliterate anything they hit), but, for some reason, the organization never really becomes the threat they are supposed to be. Armed with these weapons, the Germans find themselves wiped out time and time again by a group that turns the film into "Inglourious Basterds" without the laughs.
Even after these numerous setbacks, Red Skull still has delusions of crushing his enemies and takes a huge flying wing to attack New York City. Aboard this craft, Captain America and Skull battle it out in a rather tepid (some might say "lame") conclusion. Of course, there's the obligatory appearance by Samuel L. Jackson trying to recruit members for the upcoming Avengers picture.
Like the previous "Green Lantern," this installment will no doubt rake in big box office bucks for the first few weeks, but will soon fade from public memory. Perhaps, it's because modern America cannot relate to Word War II (even if it's a fantasy version of the conflict).
It might also be the fact that this is a lukewarm story with little or no redeeming or even interesting characters.