A Respectable First Outing But Not the Spectacle Cap Deserves

Rating: 6/10 (1 April 2018)

With Avenger's Infinity War around the corner, I decided to revisit every single movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 18-reviews in 27 days. And I'm reviewing these movies within the chronological order of the MCU, so instead of starting out with Iron Man-the first film released by Marvel Studios-I start with none other than Captain America: The First Avenger.
What's not to love about Captain America? This guy embodies everything we want to believe about America-even when our nation doesn't always live up to its promises. It's a harsh reality Steve Rogers will have to confront in time, but let's not jump ahead to the darker years ahead for our America's hero. Instead, let's embrace a simpler time when men were sexist, chauvinist jerks looking to die in the theater of war for country and honor.
Captain America: The First Avenger, takes place during World War II. In the film's prologue, we are introduced to Johann Schmidt-the head of HYDRA's special weapons division and legendary Marvel baddie, Red Skull. In the tradition of MCU villains, Skull has world domination ambitions and very little motivations for us to care about. What we do care about, is that in the opening of the film, he has tracked down the Tesseract, the first of several important artifacts we've all come to know and fear as Infinity Stones. A student of mythology, Skull alludes to a future Avenger's cultural history when he describes the Tesseract as the prize treasure of Odin's (Thor's father) collection. It's little nuggets like this that make watching all the MCU films such a treat the second time around. Meanwhile, in America, a skinny young man named Steve Rogers is catching a beatdown in the alley after calling out a rowdy moviegoer. Despite being outmatched, Steve's determination to fight-on is already at superhero status. It's the first time we see his famous battle-weary catch phrase, "I can do this all day."
It's at that moment that we realize this guy is special.
After an argument with a close friend and military enlistee Bucky Barnes that reveals Steve's inherent good nature-Abraham Erskine and Howard Stark (Tony Stark's father) decide to use Rogers for their super-soldier experiment. Abraham's search for a man of good character to entrust with these powers is such a valiant archetype that I get all warm and fuzzy knowing that they couldn't have found a better pick than Steve Rogers-our disillusioned good guy. But a HYDRA spy disrupts the experiment and makes off with the serum after killing Abraham. Immediately, a newly powered Steve Rogers and the ultra-badass Agent Peggy Carter springs into action to "avenge" Abrahams death. It's a remarkable sequence that turns Steve Rogers into the symbol of America's military superiority. Yes, Captain America is propaganda. But it's the kind we like so who cares.
And while Rogers will spend a good deal of his time as a figurehead for the war effort, he eventually demonstrates his true worth when he stages the rescue of hundreds of POWs without the support the military. The rescue operation makes him a real hero, and he's promoted to the official rank of Captain. Later on, we're treated to more Easter eggs, when we learn about Cap's vibranium shield which seems to be unaffected by the Tesseract-powered guns (that sound a lot like Iron Man's repulsion weapons) that HYDRA is using throughout the movie. That's fascinating subtext if you're curious as to how Wakanda will play into Infinity War. The final act of the film involves a pursuit to stop HYDRA and avenge the loss of Bucky Barnes who seemingly dies is combat. Keep in mind, Cap is utterly unaware of the more significant dangers the Tesseract imposes upon their world, and it's hardly a focus of his efforts, which makes the introduction of this weapon in this film, somewhat odd. I love the idea that no one really knows what it does, but I also hate the fact that no one really knows what it does. That's because it's reduced to an arbitrary bad guy weapon for the sake of showing of some CGI. And sure, we all know now, that it's not, but this is a wasted Easter egg in that respect.
As for the actors, Chris Evans-much like Chris Hemsworth and Robert Downey Jr.-was made for this role. After a missed opportunity as The Human Torch in the non-MCU version of Fantastic Four, Evans dons multiple versions of Cap's red-white and blue uniform (even a version of the horrific 80's-movie version) and embodies the role completely. Chris Evans is Captain America, and there shall be no other. It's a shame Agent Carter's character was never fully realized in her own series because she is one of the stand-outs in this movie. Of course, it's not a spoiler at this point to state that Captain America will emerge from a deep-freeze decades later to find himself face-to-face with Samuel L Jackson's Nick Fury. But it's also a miss in this film how loosely they handle Captain America's introduction to the 21st Century. Come on guys, do better.
Captain America: The First Avenger isn't as stylized as Cap's next outings, indeed not as action-packed and the storyline is relatively mundane. If we're being completely honest, the first time I saw it in the theater, I drifted off. But now that the vision of the MCU is fully realized, I've acquired a greater appreciation for this film solely as an origin film for one of my favorite MCU characters and the first bridge towards Marvel's most prominent story-Infinity War.
My MCU Rank: #17