Review: Captain America The First Avenger
Thursday, July 21, 2011 at 8:42PM Exhausted by superpowered heroics yet? The summer has already brought us Norse gods (Thor review), dangerous mutants (X-Men review), and intergalactic policemen (Green Lantern review) and we still haven't reached the finish line. Here comes Captain America: The First Avenger, the last superhero to storm the box office beach. Summer's end goal: total world domination by the spandex nation.
Cappy might be arriving a month too late for his own good, if he was hoping to be greeted by cheers and patriotic parades. The new would be blockbuster would've made a great fit for Fourth of July opening -- damn those giant robots! Given that the studios like to frontload the summer they didn't do this on purpose but I'm pleased to report that they saved the best hero for last. No, really. Cappy is just swell.
And not just because of that spectacular literal swelling that you've already seen in the TV spots when Chris Evans emerges newly muscled from that sci-fi silly metal cocoon.
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P.S. OSCAR POSSIBILITIES?
I didn't discuss this in the review but Oscar hopes for genre pictures are always based on the perceived merits of said pictures only after they're multiplied by box office success. If the film isn't a substantial hit, you can probably count only on Best Original Song, a fun pastiche "Star Spangled Man" by Oscar favorite Alan Menken, which I've included below for your listening pleasure, and some random technical nod. But if it is a hit AND they prefer it to Thor (which I'd bet they will given the World War II period angle IF it's a hit) you could see Make Up due to the Red Skull (that category though... anything goes... impossible to know from year to year what they're actually looking for), Visual Effects if they like Chris Evan's transformation and the shield action... and maybe Sound or even Costume Design. Anna B Sheppard is a true wizard with this time period -- though they weirdly ignored her for Inglourious Basterds -- and the evolution of the good Captain's look is well handled. Can't wait to see how they update this look for The Avengers next year. "Avengers Assemble" and so on. Carry on.
Reader Comments (6)
I haven't seen a single one of the 'Avengers' movies (i.e. Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, etc...) so far, but this one is sort of sounding more and more appealing to me for some reason. I might actually see it. That song is a trip.
Sheppard should have WON for Inglorious Basterds. That snub was egregious. But they'll always prefer Powell and Atwood in autopilot.
Not a one? Really? Weird. They're at least a little entertaining. Though, if they really wanted their Avengers movie to be perceived as necessary...why did they RELEASE A CARTOON!!?
Nathaniel, did you see Captain America in 3-D, and if so, was it worth it? Am trying to plan a beat the heat movie day tomorrow...
Nathaniel, this has nothing to do with Cap...but...Maria Tomei in Crazy, Stupid, Love (saw it last night) is ridiculously amazing and better win your scene-stealer gold in 2011. Holy crap this woman is amazing!
With the exception of a small handful of shots (guns pointing at the audience, a hood ornament coming into frame) the 3-D technology is useless. I recommend you skip 3-D showings and opt for the clearer, brighter 2-D print instead