Live Action Team America

Rating: 5/10 (22 November 2019)

Marvel only hires TeeVee directors for a reason. The visual effects work has already been previzzed. All they need is someone competent to film the spoken bits in between the cartoon-like action bits. But this movie set an interesting precedent: the reliance of Hollywood on the Chinese movie goers. No movie can possibly gross over a billion dollars without the Chinese audience these days. Americans are largely tapped out.
What is seen here should make you sit up and notice- and the China market for Hollywood blockbusters is as large as the US market. Captain America is presented as the leader of the team, but he is played as a dull-witted, good-hearted American soldier taking command just because he showed up. He is given deference, but he is not respected at all. Even the NYPD police captain disrespects him - until he demonstrates his martial arts ability, then it's all "yes sir, right away sir".
He is manipulated by the government and military leaders, and by Stark too, yet supplied with the most extraordinary technology. He even - and no one should be surprised by this - has access to the powers of the other worlds. The blond hair and Germanic manner really stand out here. Stark is also American but his portrayal here is a complete 180 from Cap: Stark's politics are correct, and Cap's politics are not.
The sequels would change up his hair color (Thor at one point in his movies had bleached eyebrows!). But the portrayal would remain the same: dim and dull. This is the only version of Captain America global audiences will accept.