A worthy addition to comic movie lore and a great prequel for The Avengers.

Rating: 8/10 (23 July 2011)

I must admit that I am an avid fan of the Captain America comic book series and as such I was eager to see the big budget cinematic adaptation of my favorite super hero. I must also admit that I was a tad let down by the movie, but only because I am so intimately familiar with the character and history of Captain America and was hoping for a few things that just weren't in the film. That being said, Captain America is still a very good movie and is well worth the price of admission.
Chris Evans isn't stellar as Captain America, but his is fantastic in his role as Steve Rogers, the scrawny kid that is all heart. The movie spends a great deal of time establishing and developing Steve Rogers but is a little lacking in the establishment of Captain America as a total bad-ass. That's just me nitpicking a bit, I really wanted to see Captain America wade through legions of German lackeys and take them out with impressive, Matrix-style martial arts moves. There is a bit of that but not to the degree I was hoping for. I also wanted to see Captain America in training, developing his fighting and tactical skills to superhuman levels, instead there was on-the-job training. It worked and the fact that Captain America is truly heroic is evident, I just wanted some Batman Begins training to hone and solidify that fact.
When it is all said and done Captain America is a fine movie with a good lead actor and a stellar supporting cast. Tommy Lee Jones is great as the gruff Army Colonel, Stanley Tucci is brilliant as the fatherly Dr. Abraham Erskine, and Dominic Cooper delights as Howard Stark, father of Tony Stark, a.k.a Iron Man. Captain America is funny when it needs to be, action packed where it can be, and grounded throughout. Oh, and stay through the end credits, The Avengers looks like it will totally rule!