It Ain't The Best, But It's a Lot Of Fun

Rating: 9/10 (14 May 2012)

What's there to say about director Joe Johnston? He's one of my favorite directors, but I know and respect the fact that he is not (nor will he probably ever be) a great director. Why? Because the movies he makes are too much fun. When Joe Johnston goes into a film, he gives most of his focus to the experience of the film, the feel of it. He makes films he wants us to enjoy for exactly what they are. This is the guy who was a visual director for Raiders of the Lost Ark, and a lot of his films definitely strive to emulate the kind of old-school swashbuckling fun that movie had. At the same time, he is also a director of little guys and little details; all of his films have little scenes or moments that pack more emotional power than you expect, and those moments stay with you.
As far as Captain America goes, he's the perfect director to tell us the story of a little guy getting the chance to do something big. Steve Rogers was born a scrawny kid from Brooklyn. His one goal in life was to serve his country the way his parents (an army nurse and soldier) did. His main problem? He's a toothpick. He has the heart figuratively speaking, but not literally speaking. All that changes when he is drafted into an experimental super-soldier program that transforms him into (duh duh duh duh...) Captain America! Fighter for Freedom, Justice and the American Way! Go ahead, laugh, most of the army does when they see him. Captain America is a superhuman, but not truly a superhero. He bruises, he bleeds, he can't breathe underwater, a car can still outrun him with a good enough headstart, any standard- issue bullet can kill him. But at the same time, he is the ultimate realization of a man; as strong, smart, and able as one could ever become without superpowers. But what attracts us most to the character is the person within. Take away the mask and the shield and the muscles, and he is still the same scrawny Steve Rogers underneath; a kid from Brooklyn who doesn't like bullies and just wants to do a good job. Steve Rogers deserves a lot of credit for putting aside his ego and letting us see that weakness and mortality throughout the film.
As far as the rest of the film goes, it's a modern-day action-comic-book-explosion movie dialed back to WWII. I can't describe how wonderful it feels to see CGI not for the sake of showing off, but to show us an old-school comic book movie with access to today's computer-graphic technology. The enemies are the Nazis, and they are (I kid you not) firing ray guns that shoot blue bolts of energy which vaporize whatever they hit. The kind of blue energy beams that will never hit their target, but look fantastic when you see a hero dodging passed them and chucking a shield around like a boomerang to knock out the shooter. At the same time, we also see a lot of practical effects; real explosions, dirt flying everywhere, and a good old-fashioned haymaker that would put any Nazi on his back wondering what just hit him.
This is a predominantly fun film. If you have issues with this, I'm afraid I can't help you.