A Review From A Former MCU Hater

Rating: 9/10 (9 January 2019)

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
Marvel Cinematic Universe #5
Director: Joe Johnston
The MCU franchise got off to a rocky start in Phase One. Of the first five movies prior too The Avengers Assemble (as it is known in the UK), only Iron Man (2008) seems to have found universal praise as a truly great movie. The following three movies vary in quality, and whilst I personally rate Iron Man 2 higher than most fans, The Incredible Hulk gets little hate (mostly because it seems to have been forgotten, and in my opinion it's not hard to justify why), and Thor appears to have found itself regarded as one of the more middle of the pack entries (not to me though).
This now brings me to Captain America: The First Avenger, and the fifth entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Of all the origin stories presented in Phase One, this is my personal favourite. I understand that for some it's a little slow, as I've done some online research to discern how it is viewed by other fans. I was quite disappointed to note that, whilst Winter Soldier and Civil War received universal acclaim, the film that introduced us to the wonder that is Captain America appears to have found itself a little underrated (by MCU standards at the very least).
First of all, I want to praise Joe Johnston for bringing a real sense of old fashioned charm to this film. It has the feel of an old school adventure movie, the sort that helped make Steven Spielberg the legend that he is now. With a bit of tweaking here and there, Captain America could be taken out of the MCU and inserted into the world of Indiana Jones. We have, to start, the beautifully realised period setting of 1940's America. What we have is not so much a realistic portrayal rather than a heavily romanticized and heavenly old school Hollwood representation of a Great and Powerful WW2 era United States, one where everyone walks around in their finest clothes, cars are always clean, and people feel positive because "HEY! we are almost living in the future!"
This is very much a comic book movie, but one that also brings to mind under the radar classics like The Rocketeer (1991, another Joe Johnston classic, and surely the reason he was chosen to direct here) and a personal favourite of mine, the woefully overlooked 2004 cult classic Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow. And honestly, in many ways Captain America: The First Avenger owes a lot of its visual and stylistic charm to the ground-breaking work of Sky Captains creator and director, Kevin Conran.
The comics, serials, cartoons and posters of the 30s and 40s were used as a visual template to create Conran's movie, which was skillfully made almost entirely with CGI. What Conran and his fellow team created was a larger than life, feast for the eyes every scene, cartoon inhabited by real people years before Avatar did it to greater acclaim and success. Sky Captain is an unashamedly campy and romantic adventure that sought to provide escapism and instil a feeling of empowering optimism in the viewer. Gung ho action scenes involving giant robots, dinosaurs, planes that fly underwater, a very "Yeah America!" attitude, the movie never forgot it was fiction and for those who enjoyed it, it remains one of the unsung classics of the 2000s. In so many ways Captain America: The First Avenger feels like an unofficial companion to it.
In this film, after a mysterious introductory scene in which we witness the discovery of an artifact named the Tesseract, we meet a young, stick thin man with various ailments named Steve Rogers. Seeking to enlist in the US army, he is rejected because he simply is not enough. Physically but not emotionally weak, it is clear that many resent his "too nice" attitude, and no one takes him seriously as a potential soldier. We follow him as he breaks rules by trying to lie his way from city to city to get into the army and fight for justice, all to no avail.
Well a few scenes later through the power of comic book technology (naturally funded by Stark Industries), he becomes Captain America! No longer underweight, too short or easy to beat up (early on we see the weak Rogers being beaten in an alleyway in a scene that cleverly foreshadows his future when he uses a bin lid as a shield) he is now the ultimate hero! It's a great scene, one that strives to complement the frenetic, almost pastiche film making style of the era represented, whilst keeping it relatively modern looking as in the scenes in Iron Man when we see the work taking place in the labs. It definitely looks like how one would imagine Stark Industries ought to look during the war era.
Chris Evans is PERFECT as Steve Rogers/Captain America. Early in the film, when he is presented as a diminutive and weak aspiring soldier, he plays the role with a run down and yet quietly hopeful sincerity that has the audience rooting for him. It is worth noting as well that the special effects used to make him look so small are still incredible to look at. It makes his transformation into the powerful Avenger even more exhilarating to behold. As for his role as the superhero, he maintains an exceptional focus on what makes this character so relatable. Whether or not he is playing the national hero on television, meeting and greeting adoring fans, fighting on the battlefield or flirting with the gorgeous Agent Peggy Carter (an exceptional, scene stealing performance from Hayley Atwell), he never slips out of character and we always root for him.
Just before his transformation, Professor Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci) had this to say to him:
"The serum amplifies everything inside, so good becomes great, bad becomes worse. This is why you were chosen. Because the strong man who has known power all his life, may lose respect for that power, but a weak man knows the value of strength, and knows compassion. Whatever happens tomorrow, promise me one thing. You will stay who you are. Not a perfect soldier, but a good man."
Captain America could so easily have been presented to us as a wooden caricature of the ideal all American superhero, another bland, inconquerable Superman. Instead we have been presented a relatable hero, a down trodden, weak but aspirational young man given the chance to prove to himself and to others the value of decency, hard work and integrity. In a later scene up against the main villian of the movie, Johann Schmidt/Red Skull (a fun and campy Hugo Weaving) we have this really great moment of dialogue, in which we see the great gulf between what makes two men of equal strength who are potentially on the same level, so very different:
"You are deluded, Captain. You pretend to be a simple soldier, but in reality you are just afraid to admit that we have left humanity behind. Unlike you, I embrace it proudly. Without fear!"
This film has exceptional character building, and whilst for many this film succeeds mostly for its worldbuilding (it does really help lay out a lot of details vital for future entries to build upon, and gives great insight to the foundations of the world changing influence that Stark Industries has in this alternate reality), for me it's the characters that keep me coming back. Like Iron Man and Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger is full to the brim with technical marvels and great action sequences, but even moreso than the other two, it's the rich dialogue, the slower pace, and a phenomenal cast that make this for me the best MCU entry yet.
Just look at this cast:
Hugo Weaving
Tommy Lee Jones
Dominic Cooper
Stanley Tucci
Toby Jones
Richard Armitage
Samuel L. Jackson
Natalie Dormer
Chris Evans
Hayley Atwell
This is a GREAT cast, all working together at their peak level to create an ensemble that helps this world to live and breathe and feel real in ours. After a slight imbalance between the Asgard/Earth scenes in Thor- which at first felt a little disconnected- all the retro-futuristic, comic book loving, old fashioned adventure storytelling elements work perfectly in harmony with the straight faced cast. This is no mean feat, considering they are all up against Hugo Weavings cartoonish Nazi villian Red Skull (who never recieved full credit for being both a magnificent work of art design, looking exactly like he should from the comics, or for bringing a tasty larger than life sense of villainy, the very personification of evil exaggerated via serum the same way that made Captain America the dictionary definition of "good").
Whilst I hesitate to give this movie a perfect score (for all its charms, this movie doesn't deserve to be held up as high art, rather it should be celebrated for being fine entertainment), The First Avenger is easily one of my very favourite adventure movies, one that, like the first Iron Man and Thor, I can enjoy as much on its own terms as I can as a part of the much bigger picture. I also now long to catch up with the franchise and watch the sequels (both of which I have never seen, and have received even better reviews).
9/10