A Fun Ride That's Worthy of All The Praise! Bring On The Avengers!

Rating: Null/10 (10 August 2011)

Captain America is a very very good film. I firmly believe that this character is the very toughest to bring to life in the Marvel stable simply because of his complexity. They did a fairly nice job keeping it simple but remembering to do so with heart. The film features a nice pace, the perfect cast and wonderful throwback action sequences. It does have its flaws but not enough to sink the film by any means. Overall, it's a fun ride that respectfully delivers a movie worthy of the legend and sets up for what could be amazing sequels and what will be an awesome Avengers film.
The Good
The cast is remarkable and every single character played to perfection.
Tommy Lee Jones simply stole every scene he was in and his character had the audience in the palm of his hand. Best audience reactions throughout the entire film.
Cap's wartime real costume, look and shield work is amazing. It's right out of the books. The same can be said of the Red Skull's look.
The brutality was not only welcome but needed. It grounded the film and made everything play out in a more real world tone with real consequences. The body count in this film is surprisingly high.
The film had true heart because they made Steve relatable and you instantly rooted for him and wanted to follow his path to glory. The pre-serum 98lb weakling Steve is not only an amazing CGI feat but perfectly hooks the audience.
A story featuring a true hero is so refreshing at this point. No dark brooding and moody anti-hero here
The story itself is told with a very nice pace and in a crisp manner. Nothing drags at all.
The dialogue is witty and the humor works its way seamlessly in to the natural order of the story.
The tone and period work is dead on perfect. I loved the flavor of this film when the focus was not on anything Hydra.
The Bad
I really wish they had stayed entirely Nazi and left the Hydra element out, laser guns and all.
Having no "learning curve" hurt the overall film as well. What always works in origin films is having the hero learn and come to grips with his new powers or abilities. Iron Man and Spider-Man are prime perfect examples. I enjoyed Steve's initial use of powers because circumstances demanded it but they never showed him training or learning combat techniques at all. That's a terrible oversight, especially since the character is known as the world's greatest hand to hand fighter in terms of the Marvel Universe.
I would've liked to have seen more background on Steve as a character... growing up without a father and mother during the Depression era and the building of his ethical and moral code.
Overall: A great film that is one of the year's best and oh so close to being perfection. Wonderful job by all involved.