Review of Captain America

Movie #47 - Captain America

Yeah, I had to go backwards a bit because I forgot I owned Captain America. How I could forget that I owned this movie is a travesty, but in any case, I did forget. It's difficult to remember to throw in my Blu-Rays to the alphabetical mix as I go through this movie watching journey.

Captain America is one of my all-time favorite superheroes. He's tough, he's loyal, he's afraid of nothing, he's brave, he has a heart of gold, and he's mega hot...okay, so comic book Captain America is not hot, but movie Captain America is. Chris Evans *drool*

The movie centers around WWII, but instead of focusing 100% on the war with Hitler, they shift focus to a group called Hydra. Hydra is led by Johann Schmidt (Red Skull) and they are trying to take over the world by harnessing the power of the Tesseract, a cube of power thought to have been once owned by Odin of Asgard. (We find out in Thor that this theory is indeed true). The Tesseract is very powerful, and if found in the wrong hands, can be extremely dangerous. Enter Steve Rogers. Steve is the future Captain America. He is a scrawny guy that has spent 95% of his life getting told 'no' or being beat up in an alley. One day, he is given a chance to be a hero. Harold Stark and Dr. Abraham Erskine inject Steve with a serum created to make a person stronger. The same serum was used on Johann Schmidt, but it grabbed a hold of the negative energy and turned him evil. The serum has the opposite effect on Steve, and it turns him into a true soldier: Captain America. He goes from being a short, scrawny twerp to a tall, husky...gorgeous piece of a man...Excuse me while I daydream about Chris Evans for a moment...okay, thank you. Steve Rogers is then put "on the bench" and has to tour around the country performing stupid shows to sell gun ammo. One day he receives his calling. He is told that his long-time friend, Bucky, has been taken prisoner. He runs to his aide and saves, not only Bucky, but 400 soldiers total. He meets Red Skull face-to-face for the first time, and he vows to destroy every Hydra base in the world. Captain America sets out with a band of soldiers to take down Hydra. He succeeds, but not before Red Skull harnesses the power of the Tesseract and is beamed into, what seems like, outer space. (If you have seen the end of The Avengers, you know that Red Skull is still fully alive and plotting his revenge). Steve is forced to crash land the plane that he is on, where he found Red Skull's final Hydra lair. The movie then jumps 70 years to find Steve waking up in what seems like the 1940s, but is in fact the 2000s. He notices right away and takes off running into modern-day New York City. He is stopped by Nick Fury, the leader of SHIELD. Nick Fury tells him his services are needed, and this segues into The Avengers film - the trailer happens after the credits.

Captain America is a phenomenal movie. Well directed, well written, well acted...well done. I love the little things that are added into the movie, that only real fans, who have watched the movie repeatedly, will catch. 1) When Steve is getting beat up in the alley by the guy from the movie theater in one of the first scenes, he grabs a garbage can lid to protect himself. He will later replace this garbage can lid for his shield as Captain America. 2) When Steve is filming the movies as Captain America, there is a scene when he is walking in front of a fake forest set with other actors behind him dressed as soldiers. Later in the film, Steve rescues Bucky and 400 soldiers, and when they walk back to base, they are walking in the exact same order in the exact same way as the cheesy little scene he shot for the Captain America movie reel. AND NOW FOR THE BIG ONE 3) It has been put out on the internet as a theory, but I believe it to be reality. At the end of the movie, there is a little boy with a Captain America garbage can lid. He waves to other little boys and runs across the street. I believe, as well as several hundred other fans, that this little boy is Agent Phil Coulson.

Why do I believe this? The serum that was used to create Red Skull and Captain America is something that you know the US government did not stop testing. They say that the serum never worked again, and they're right; it never worked THE SAME WAY again. However, if they injected Phil Coulson with this serum, it would've picked up on all of the positive qualities he had, just like Steve Rogers. And who would've volunteered to become like Captain America if they asked for volunteers? PHIL COULSON! Phil Coulson is a major Captain American fan, so I would like to believe that he mirrored many of the same qualities. Loyalty, braveness, a willingness to fight for what's right...a ridiculous amount of strength, like enough to pick up a large sack of flour and take out two large bad guys...THOSE qualities. There's also the possibility of anti-aging. This theory could 100% be true, and I am standing behind it. Marvel is releasing a TV show called SHIELD in just a few weeks, and Phil Coulson is in it - even though he was "killed" in The Avengers film by Loki. If this serum theory is in fact true, then Phil didn't die; he healed. We'll all just have to watch the show to find out, but I'm dead set on this being possible. 

Overall, this movie is amazing. I love finding the connections between this movie and the other Marvel movies. The Tesseract, Howard Stark's past, etc. The only thing that bothers me every time I watch this movie is why is the Unisphere at The World's Fair? 1) The Unisphere was created for The World's Fair in 1964...this movie takes place in 1942-43. 2) There was no 1942 World's Fair. It was cancelled. Ugh. Do your research people. But, if that's the only thing I can find wrong with the movie, then it's doing quite alright.

Before I rate the film, let's just take one last look at Chris Evans as Steve Rogers...

Dear Lord.

I give Captain America 4.5 out of 5 stars.