Thursday, July 21, 2011

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER (B+)

Starring: Chris Evans, Tommy Lee Jones, Stanley Tucci, Hugo Weaving and Hayley Atwell

Directed by: Joe Johnston (THE ROCKETEER, JUMANJI, THE WOLFMAN and HIDALGO)
Rated: PG-13
Story: Captain America: The First Avenger will focus on the early days of the Marvel Universe when Steve Rogers volunteers to participate in an experimental program that turns him into the Super Soldier known as Captain America. (Paramount Pictures)

Bottom Line: Shield yourself from any nay-saying critics because CAPTAIN AMERICA (the final piece to next year’s IRON MAN/HULK/THOR superhero puzzle called THE AVENGERS), is a spirited, beautifully designed, stylistically retro, good ol’ fashioned, patriotic march of go-team-go filmmaking. It’s got a RAIDERS OF THE ARK-LITE meets SAVING PRIVATE RYAN-LITE vibe and, save a few slight missteps (underdeveloped romance; a few rushed action sequences), it delivers the requisite thrills, the anticipated explosions and, thankfully, a really interesting story of how a 97-pound weakling came to be America’s hope during the battles of World War II and beyond. CAPTAIN AMERICA is a simple, popcorn-munching, crowd-pleasing, summer blockbuster – the acting is solid, the script is tight and the fun is infectious. If I may be so bold as to finish a popular thought that Uncle Sam started, ‘I want you…to see this movie!’

2 comments:

VeryAware.com said...

CAPTAIN AMERICA is a great throwback to the serials of the 40s, never taking itself too seriously and always aiming to be entertaining first and foremost.

BRTaibl said...

Agreed, Courtney! Read and loved your review, by the way...