A near perfect soldier.

Rating: 8/10 (5 January 2015)

This, in my opinion is my personal favorite Marvel Phase 1 solo film. I'm aware the first Iron Man(2008) is considered to be the best, but this one did it for me.
Joe Johnston is no stranger to period pieces, like The Rocketeer and October Sky, and in the case of Captain America, Johnston delivers everything promised in the trailers. Johnston is able to capture that patriotic spirit that permeated the US during WWII. The film has an authentic feel to it and combines elements from films like Indiana Jones mixed in with Saving Private Ryan and a touch of 007. The set pieces are fantastic, due to the fact that this film was shot entirely at London. The film crew did a very good job disguising it as the 1940's New York City. Aside from October Sky this is Johnston's second best effort.
The film starts out very strong. The beginning to the middle is solid. Here we get a story of an underdog, very skinny, small, and sickly Steve Rogers trying to do whats right. From then on Steve is chosen from the super soldier program to become the world's first super soldier, aiding the United States war effort in WWII. Eventually the film looses steam in the second act, and goes a little crazy with montages. The musical montage in particular is great and clever, but then the other two montages just try to shoehorn most of the story and the conflict and it gets very generic.
The supporting cast overall was excellent as Tommy Lee Jones (Colonel Chester Phillips) and Stanley Tucci (Dr. Erksine) steal every scene they're in. Tucci in particular has a very enlightening speech on why he chose Steve Rogers and give him a pep talk to remain humble. Hugo Weaving has a natural talent playing villains, and he knocks one out of the park as the Red Skull.
However, the heart and soul in this movie rests on Chris Evans playing the titular hero. Evans during the hype train got a lot of hate, but I was actually one of the few who supported this casting, and man he does not disappoint. He gives the story right amount of everything it needs in every scene, and he only gets better, especially in the sequel Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Haley Atwell plays a believable and lovable ally/love interest. She's not a damsel in distress which is great and the chemistry between Atwell and Evans gives Marvel's most solid and satisfying romance on screen to date, I would say even better than Tony Stark and Pepper Potts. I found the ending of this film to be quite moving. A lot more moving than I thought it would be.
The weak spots in this film were, as I stated above the rushed montage, Johnston's very calculated and sometimes soulless action sequences that just feel bland, and the Red Skull's lack of development. Hugo Weaving gives a good performance, but his character spends most of his time building his plane and reminding us that he's evil, rather than emerging as a worthwhile threat. This film does have a lot of characters, so it also comes within the territory that Cap's team The Howling Commandos don't have too much to do. One could argue that Sebastian Stan's role as Bucky, Cap's friend and sidekick was trivialized, but he got his due in the sequel.
I admire this film, I like how it does send a decent message without being too preachy about it in the beginning. I liked the set pieces, I liked the cast. It's very old fashioned, as it should be and it will pleasantly kill off two hours of your time. Good music in it too by Alan Silvestri. Evans is great in the role and has a lot of charisma.
8/10