He's the star spangled man with a plan

Rating: 7/10 (31 July 2011)

If you've paid attention to the shape of cinema recently, you'd notice that we are sort of living in what we could call "The Superhero Age" of cinema. Because starting in 2008, anticipation for the upcoming Avengers movie had started with the stellar flick Iron Man, with the mediocre Incredible Hulk following. Then, of course, in 2010 the just as spectacular as the first Iron Man 2 followed, with the credits holding a teaser for Thor, which would come out this year, with Captain America following just a few months later. That, plus Iron Man 2 held plenty of secrets regarding The Avengers.
And so me, the comic book nerd I am, waited for every movie with great patience, and voila, they were all great... And believe me, Captain America is a fun as hell movie. While it may not be as great as Thor, it's still plenty of fun to be had, and it's overall a great time. I was initially worried before this though, because for one it was directed by Joe Johnston. And mind you, I've got nothing against the guy. In fact I gave a 5/5 review of his Wolfman remake. It's just that I was worried he couldn't pull it off, and he did it. Another thing is Chris Evans. I thought he was initially too much a bishonen to be convincing, and he surprisingly pulled it off. So in all, I was pleasantly surprised!
The movie, like Iron Man and Thor before it, is more of an origin story. It takes place in 1942 during the second world war, and Steve Richards, a small and skinny shotaro boy with a laundry list of medical problems, has been dying to join the American army, to help serve, and fight for his country. He has been unsuccessful in every attempt, and furthermore, he is completely jealous of his buddy, who is already in the army. One night, he manages to successfully get in, thanks to the help of a German doctor Abraham Erskine, although it isn't without difficulty in training.
However, the handsome and smart, not to mention very tech savvy Howard Stark has a plan for him: a serum that will give him a he'll of a physique, amazing strength, and furthermore turns him into the super soldier under the name Captain America. After this procedure, the transformation into Captain America begins, as he manages to do many things, such as free imprisoned soldiers from the jaws of death, somehow manage to make the smokin' hot British army general Peggy Carter fall for him, and get on the road to overthrowing the evil German doctor Johan Schmitt, who has terrifying plans for the war.
So really, let's begin with the fact that the 3D was surprisingly great. I wasn't going to bother since it was filmed in 2D and converted in post, but reading CinemaBlend's review of the 3D and further research that Joe Johnston had 3D in mind from the very early stages and carefully shot each scene for the 3D convinced me. And yes, it is totally worth it. While it's no Avatar or TRON Legacy, this is the best post conversion I've seen since Piranha 3D. Very few films shot in 3D looked better than this, and that's saying something. Maybe I'm over exaggerating, but if this is a sign of things to come for the current boom of 3D, maybe post conversions in the future could look as great as TRON Legacy or Avatar. So yes, do go for 3D!
As for the film itself, wow. Great performances abounds in the film. I wasn't expecting Chris Evans to be as great as he was, and boy did he thrill. He had great comedic timing, looked the part, played the role just the way you'd expect Captain America to be played. Tommy Lee Jones was great too, and so was Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark. The script is very intelligent and filled with humour, action, and great dialogue too. The action as well, is simply amazing! Why can't all action movies be well shot, with camera shots lasting longer than a few seconds? Transformers, despite 3D, still has the quick shots syndrome, so thankfully the action here did not disappoint.
Another surprise is the use of CG is very limited- thank god! The thing about Joe Johnston is that he's been known to use CG sparingly, mixing CG with practical effects. As you could imagine, this film takes place during World War II, and not on Asgard, as well as it doesn't have a man in an iron suit, so for the most part, the effects are practical and in camera. However, when he does use CG, you almost don't notice it, it's that well used. So I gotta say, it's great that we have a blockbuster that makes use of mostly practical effects. Maybe it's just my inner child speaking, as I grew up with a man in a suit playing Chewbacca, or people holding the doors open on the Enterprise to give it the sliding illusion, or Keanu Reeves sitting on a train writing his journal with a map of Europe projected on his face, but I was pleased with this.
If I had one complaint, it's that the movie is slow in a few parts, but that is just a teensy quibble. Otherwise, this movie is a fantastic blockbuster, and a sign of things to come for the Avengers. A total recommend, and I also advise you to stay after the credits, as there's a teaser for The Avengers!
Overall: 8/10
Pros: Captain America is a surprisingly very great superhero action flick, with awesome action and performances by Hugo Weaving and Chris Evans. It also looks great in 3D and makes awesome use of practical effects.
Cons: it is slow in the middle, and Dominic Cooper's underuse is just a teensy bit disappointing.