Captain America: The First Avenger

***Captain America: The First Avenger*** is a 2011 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Captain America, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures.[a] It is the fifth installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film was directed by Joe Johnston, written byChristopher Markus & Stephen McFeely, and stars Chris Evans, Tommy Lee Jones, Hugo Weaving, Hayley Atwell, Sebastian Stan, Dominic Cooper, Neal McDonough, Derek Luke, and Stanley Tucci. Set predominantly during World War II, the film tells the story of Steve Rogers, a sickly man from Brooklyn who is transformed into super-soldier Captain America to aid in the war effort. Rogers must stop the Red Skull, Adolf Hitler's ruthless head of weaponry and the leader of an organization that intends to use an artifact called the "Tesseract"[b] as an energy-source for world domination.

*Captain America: The First Avenger* began as a concept in 1997 and was scheduled for distribution by Artisan Entertainment. However, a lawsuit, not settled until September 2003, disrupted the project. In 2005, Marvel Studios received a loan from Merrill Lynch, and planned to finance and release it throughParamount Pictures. Directors Jon Favreau and Louis Leterrier were interested in directing the project before Johnston was approached in 2008. The principal characters were cast between March and June 2010. Production of *Captain America: The First Avenger* began in June 2010, and filming took place in London,Manchester, Caerwent, and Liverpool in the United Kingdom, and Los Angeles in the United States. The film was converted to 3D in post-production.

*Captain America: The First Avenger* premiered in Hollywood on July 19, 2011, and was released in the United States on July 22, 2011. The film became a critical and commercial success, grossing over $370 million worldwide. The Blu-ray and DVD were released on October 25, 2011. A sequel titled *Captain America: The Winter Soldier* was released on April 4, 2014, and a third film titled *Captain America: Civil War* is scheduled to be released on May 6, 2016.

## Plot

In the present day, scientists in the Arctic uncover a frozen circular object with a red, white, and blue motif in the cockpit of a derelict aircraft.

In March 1942, Nazi officer Johann Schmidt and his men enter the town of Tønsberg in German-occupied Norway, to steal a mysterious relic called the Tesseract,[b] which possesses untold powers. Meanwhile, in New York City, Steve Rogers is rejected for World War II military recruitment because of various health and physical problems. While attending an exhibition of future technologies with his friend Sgt. James "Bucky" Barnes, Rogers again attempts to enlist. Overhearing Rogers' conversation with Barnes about wanting to help in the war, Dr. Abraham Erskine allows Rogers to enlist. He is recruited into the Strategic Scientific Reserve as part of a "super-soldier" experiment under Erskine, Col. Chester Phillips, and British agent Peggy Carter. Phillips is unconvinced by Erskine's claims that Rogers is the right person for the procedure but relents after seeing Rogers commit an act of self-sacrificing bravery. The night before the treatment, Erskine reveals to Rogers that Schmidt underwent an imperfect version of the procedure and suffered permanent side-effects.

Back in Europe, Schmidt and Dr. Arnim Zola harness the energies of the Tesseract, intending to use the power to fuel Zola's inventions, mounting an offensive that will change the world. Schmidt discovers Erskine's location and dispatches an assassin to kill him. In the U.S., Erskine subjects Rogers to the super-soldier treatment, injecting him with a special serum and dosing him with "vita-rays". After Rogers emerges from the experiment taller and more muscular, one of the attendees kills Erskine, revealing himself to be Schmidt's assassin, Heinz Kruger. Rogers pursues and captures Kruger, but the assassin avoids interrogation by committing suicide by cyanide capsule.

With Erskine dead and his super-soldier formula lost, U.S. Senator Brandt has Rogers tour the nation in a colorful costume as "Captain America" to promote war bonds, rather than allow scientists to study him and attempt to rediscover the formula. In 1943, while on tour in Italy performing for active servicemen, Rogers learns that Barnes's unit was MIA in a battle against Schmidt's forces. Refusing to believe that Barnes is dead, Rogers has Carter and engineer Howard Stark fly him behind enemy lines to mount a solo rescue attempt. Rogers infiltrates the fortress of Schmidt's Hydra organization, freeing Barnes and the other prisoners. Rogers confronts Schmidt, who removes his mask, revealing a red, skull-like visage that earned him the sobriquet "the Red Skull". Schmidt escapes and Rogers returns to base with the freed soldiers.

Rogers recruits Barnes, Dum Dum Dugan, Gabe Jones, Jim Morita, James Montgomery Falsworth, and Jacques Dernier to attack other known Hydra bases. Stark outfits Rogers with advanced equipment, most notably a circular shield made of vibranium, a rare, nearly indestructible metal. Rogers and his team sabotage various Hydra operations. The team later assaults a train carrying Zola. Rogers and Jones succeed in capturing Zola, but Barnes falls from the train to his assumed death.[c] Using information extracted from Zola, the final Hydra stronghold is located, and Rogers leads an attack to stop Schmidt from using weapons of mass destruction on American cities and soon other major cities across the globe. Rogers climbs aboard Schmidt's aircraft as it takes off. During the subsequent fight, the Tesseract's container is damaged. Schmidt physically handles the Tesseract, causing him to dissolve in a bright light. The Tesseract falls to the floor, burning through the plane and falling to Earth. Seeing no way to land the plane without the risk of detonating its weapons, Rogers crashes it in the Arctic. Stark later recovers the Tesseract from the ocean floor but is unable to locate Rogers or the aircraft, presuming him dead.

Rogers awakens in a 1940s-style hospital room. Deducing from an anachronistic radio broadcast that something is wrong, he flees outside and finds himself in present-day Times Square, whereS.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury informs him he has been "asleep" for nearly 70 years.

In a post-credits scene, Fury approaches Rogers, proposing a mission with worldwide ramifications.

## Cast

* Chris Evans as Steve Rogers / Captain America:

A frail, sickly young man who is enhanced to the peak of human ability by an experimental serum in order to aid the United States war effort.[10] Evans, who previously worked with Marvel as the Human Torch in the *Fantastic Four* film series, said he declined the part three times before signing a six-picture deal with Marvel, explaining that, "At the time, I remember telling a buddy of mine, 'If the movie bombs, I'm f—-ed [sic]. If the movie hits, I'm f—-ed!' I was just scared. I realized my whole decision-making process was fear-based, and you never want to make a decision out of fear. I can't believe I was almost too chicken to play Captain America".[11] He ultimately agreed to the role, saying, "I think Marvel is doing a lot of good things right now, and it's a fun character. ... I think the story of Steve Rogers is great. He's a great guy. Even if it [were] just a script about anybody, I would probably want to do it. So it wasn't necessarily about the comic itself."[12] Regarding the extent of the character's abilities Evans remarked, "He would crush the Olympics. Any Olympic sport he's gonna dominate. He can jump higher, run faster, lift stronger weight, but he can be injured. He could roll an ankle and be out for the season. He's not perfect, he's not untouchable. So a lot of the effects, if I'm going to punch someone they're not going to put them on a cable and fly them back 50 feet, but he's going to go down, probably not getting back up, which I think humanizes it. It makes it something that, again, I think everyone can relate to a little bit more, which I really like."[13] Theater actor Leander Deeny was the body double in some shots for Steve Rogers' pre-transformation physique as well as appearing as a bartender.[14][15]
* Tommy Lee Jones as Colonel Chester Phillips:

In the early comics, Phillips recruited Steve Rogers to join Project Rebirth, the secret experiment that created the super-soldier known as Captain America. The character was updated for the film.[16]Jones described his character as "the one you've seen in a thousand movies: the gruff, skeptical officer overseeing a team of talented, slightly sarcastic, specially talented soldiers".[17]
* Hugo Weaving as Johann Schmidt / Red Skull:

Captain America's nemesis and Adolf Hitler's head of advanced weaponry, whose own plan for world domination involves a magical object known as the Tesseract.[11][18][19] In the film, Red Skull is the commander of the terrorist organization Hydra.[20] Weaving stated that he patterned Red Skull's accent on those of Werner Herzog and Klaus Maria Brandauer.[21] About the character, Weaving remarked, "I think the major difference between Skull and Cap, they've both had the serum, and the serum seems to augment certain qualities that each of them have. Cap is much more in tune with other people I think. Schmidt is in tune with himself, and his own needs, and his own ego, so I suppose it augments that. From that point of view, they're quite opposite."[22]
* Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter:

An officer with the Strategic Scientific Reserve and the love interest of Captain America. Regarding her preparation for the role, she said, "I'm training at the moment six days a week to make her a bit more military and make it convincing that I could kick butt."[23] About the character, Atwell stated, "I likened her character to that famous Ginger Rogers quote. She can do everything Captain America can do, but backwards and in high heels. She's an English soldier through and through, although she always looks fabulous. She might stand there with a machine-gun shooting Nazis, but she's obviously gone to the loo beforehand and applied a bit of lipstick. She doesn't need to be rescued. That's exciting to me – her strength".[24] "I think she's quite stubborn, a slightly frustrated woman who struggles with being a woman in that time. But more importantly she's a modern woman and she sees something in Captain America that she relates to, and becomes kindred spirits. He treats her very differently to how she's been treated by lots of men, in this kind of dominated world she lives in. So she's very much a fighter."[25]
* Sebastian Stan as Sergeant James "Bucky" Barnes:

Steve Rogers' best friend. Stan has signed on for "five or six pictures".[26] He revealed that he didn't know anything about the comic books, but watched a lot of documentaries and films about World War II in preparation for the role, calling *Band of Brothers* "very helpful". About the role, Stan stated, "Steve Rogers and Bucky are both orphans and kind of like brothers. They kind of grow up together and look after each other. It's a very human, relatable thing... I also wanted to look out for how their relationship changes once Steve Rogers becomes Captain America. There's always a competition and they're always one-upping each other. I paid attention to how Bucky is affected by Steve's change and suddenly Steve is this leader".[27]
* Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark:

The father of Tony Stark, who worked on various government projects dating back to the World War II era.[28][29] Rogers, unsatisfied with his USO-issued Captain America costume, turns to Stark to design a sensible ensemble made of sophisticated fabrics.[30] About the role, Cooper stated, "It's an opportunity where you can see his future because I know the guy who becomes my son and I see myself as an older version in *Iron Man 2* which is great for an actor to have those tools. All I know of him is that he's a fantastic engineer and inventor and a very slick Howard Hughes type that's into aviation and women!"[31]
* Neal McDonough as Timothy "Dum Dum" Dugan:

A member of Steve Rogers' squad of commandos. McDonough said he grew Dugan's trademark mustache and wore the character's signature bowler hat. About his role in film he remarked, "Oh, I'm going to see a lot of action. [I'm] the go-to guy, so I'm very happy with that."[32]
* Derek Luke as Gabe Jones:

A member of Rogers' squad of commandos. Luke said he was cast without a script or much of a description of the character. As to why he took the part, "I just believed that Marvel was doing some really great work, great messages in films. The good versus evil and I was just like, 'How can I be down?'"[33]
* Stanley Tucci as Dr. Abraham Erskine:

The scientist who created the Super Soldier Serum.[34] Tucci said that what drew him to the role was the opportunity to do a German accent, which was something he always wanted to try.[35]
* Kenneth Choi as Jim Morita:

A Japanese-American member of Rogers' squad of commandos. Choi said he was the last actor to audition for the part and that he read sides from *Saving Private Ryan*. About his preparation for the role, Choi said, "[I] did a lot of WWII research especially in regards to the 'Nisei' soldiers, or Japanese-American soldiers. I wanted to get as much true, real-life information for a guy like Jim Morita fighting in WWII. I felt that if I had built a factual basis for him, I could then let go and permit the character to exist in the Marvel Universe, which allows for a lot of imaginative circumstances."[36]
* Bruno Ricci as Jacques Dernier:

A French member of Rogers' squad of commandos. Ricci auditioned for and got the part while filming the French series *The Hawk*.[37]
* JJ Feild as James Montgomery Falsworth:

A British member of Rogers' squad of commandos. Feild called his part in the film "a very physical job. I play one of the Captain's sidekicks so I've been running around shooting things and blowing things up and trying to look cool for about a year."[38]
Additionally, Toby Jones was cast as Arnim Zola, a biochemist for the Nazi party.[39] Richard Armitage portrays Heinz Kruger, the Red Skull's top assassin.[40] Natalie Dormer portrays Private Lorraine, a soldier who attempts to seduce Rogers.[41] Samuel L. Jackson reprises his role as Nick Fury, the director of the super-spy agency, S.H.I.E.L.D.[42] Stan Lee has a cameo appearance as a general.[43]