The First Avenger

Last night, Lee and I caught the late showing of Captain America: The First Avenger.  We watched the 2D version, because 1) I refuse to pay more than $10 to see a movie, 2) I hate wearing those stupid glasses, and 3) I am morally opposed to 3D movies in general.

 

So what did I think of the film?  Well, here's what I liked:

1. The story.  Of all of the big superhero movies to come out so far, Captain America is the one I knew the least about.  I mean, I knew that he was really strong and had a cool shield, but that was about it.  I have no idea how true the plot of the movie was to the original comics, but either way, it was pretty entertaining.

2. The acting.  All of the characters were fun to watch.  Especially Red Skull, as played by Hugo Weaving (aka Agent Smith).  So cold and sinister!  Although the "love story" between Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter left a little something to be desired; it was about as believable as the "love story" between Thor and Jane Foster.

3. The montages.  There were a lot.  But they were so well done!  I especially liked the one set to Star Spangled Man, a song that really captured the feel of patriotic American songs from the 1940s.  Hats off to you, Alan Menken.

And here's what I didn't like:

1. The action.  What's wrong with asking for fewer explosions and more hand-to-hand combat scenes?  I mean, isn't that what Captain America is known for anyway?  I'm not complaining about the cool weapons they had in the movie, I just wish we got to see Captain America show off more of his expertise in the martial arts.

2. The jokes.  I'm sorry, but I didn't think any of the one-liners in the movie were all that funny.  Iron Man had Tony Stark and Thor had Darcy Lewis.  Captain America had... nobody.  Who knows, maybe the movie was written using 1940s humor and I just didn't get it.

3. The patriotism.  Or should I say, the lack thereof.  Come on, this is a movie about the United States taking down the evil German Nazis!  All I want is some more unabashed national pride.  Wave that red, white, and blue!  This is Captain America, not Captain Non-Governmental Organization with Apolitical Multinational Humanitarian Interests.

Overall Assessment:
Good movie that's worth watching in theaters.  More good than Thor but less good than X-Men: First Class.  Hopefully a lead-in to an even better The Avengers.  Come on, May 2012, you're so far away...