Captain Ab Crunch Gives America a Bad Name

Rating: Null/10 (4 September 2011)

This film is not recommended.
As the last wild days of summer wind down, and this bleak season of superhero flicks have ebbed for awhile, plus with nothing on the tube and nothing in need to buy, it only seems apropos to take in a diversion now and then. As this being America, the land of the free ( excluding movie ticket prices ) and the home of the brave, I sought out the help of the Captain himself.
I finally saw the comic book adaptation of Captain America: The First Avenger, which has been in the theaters since late July. This somewhat entertaining action film had its origins from the early 1940's to help the war effort and serve as patriotic propaganda. The film begins promisingly and is still wisely set in that nostalgic period, with nasty Nazis and other assorted villains and traitors. It has an interesting look to it due to that glamorous era, strong production design, and some of the director's choices. ( I felt the film to be very reminiscent of an earlier film called The Rocketeer, a nice little gem of a children's film, only to discover in my research that that film was also directed by the same director, Joe Johnson, who seems content to plagiarize from himself. )
But as with so many comic book films, the simple plot remains too simple: A top secret mission changes an unfit for military service weakling into a burly and buff muscleman who becomes the champion of American life, liberty, and justice for all. Chris Evans righteously plays our hero, Steve Rogers a.k.a. Captain America. His job, besides saving the world and kicking some German butt, is to stop a Nazi subgroup known as Hydra from winning WWII and achieving world domination, plus, as an American icon, still look good in a superhero costume.
I am happy to report that it is the last category where the film achieves its greatest success. With his tight fitting red, white, and blues, his nicely chiseled good looks, and a body that could easily make Abercrombie and Fitch models do their share of double takes, Evans is perfectly cast as this superman, well, at least physically. But just like the all too earnest and bland Captain America of comic fame, this superhero remains a a blank character, devoid of any humor, emotion, or depth. Evans plays this man as the straight man with any partner. He portrays the hero with a glum seriousness and without any self-effacing humor. Comedy, like nylons, is in short supply in this movie. One just doesn't care about him, his mission, or any action on the screen.
The supporting cast never clicks either. Hayley Atwell is Peggy, the bright, no-nonsense broad of his dreams. She's pretty, gutsy, and empowered, and many times, I thought she could give our hero more bruises than anyone else on the screen, and that includes a crusty Tommy Lee Jones as Colonel Phillips, and Hugo Weaving as his wicked adversary, The Red Skull. As the evil villain, Weaving starts off strong and has the makings of an intriguing character until his make-up and special effects take over his role. Veteran actors Toby Jones and Stanley Tucci bring a needed boost to the film but are essentially wasted in their poorly written roles.
The story gets muddled with its one-note action scenes, its one-dimensional characters, and its goody-two shoes hero. The film also tends to wallow too often into cliché territory. Yet, even if the charms never outweigh the formulaic flaws of Captain America, there are still plenty of action sequences, fights, explosions, and gadgetry for those moviegoers who crave that sort of thing.
Captain America: The First Avenger is routine stuff all right. In his fight with Hydra, our Captain and this film comes across as all wet. GRADE: C+
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