Review:
*Originally written April 24th, 2019*
It feels weird just how far this series has come from its humble beginnings before being eaten up by Disney. I'm not saying Disney haven't improved the direction of this series (For the most part), but the films under Paramount certainly have a different tone, look and feel to them, for better or worse.
The First Avenger is a more earnest entry in the series that wears its honesty on its sleeve, making for a pretty entertaining and sweet World War 2 adventure that effectively sets up the Captain America trilogy and some of the groundwork for the MCU as a whole.
Chris Evans makes for an easy to root for hero. A malnourished young adult from Brooklyn who wants nothing more than to do the right thing and help the war effort, despite the danger and his lack of anything close to combat skills. Evans makes the character work so well, so inherently earnest and likeable as he goes from scrawny asthmatic to 'roided up super-soldier. It is weird seeing the CGI in making Chris Evans look so small though, while I remember it being very impressive back when this released, it doesn't hold up very well.
Not a lot of the CGI or action has aged well either in all honesty, but the more cartoony look of the film and special effects works in favour of its tone, making it feel like a more Indiana Jones esque take on World War 2 and Nazis. I mean, these aren't your Schindler's List monster Nazis, these are cartoonish super-villain Nazis, which I suppose they were, but the portrayal here is much harder to take seriously.
I wasn't a massive fan of the look of the film either. It's very drab and colourless for the most part and made even worse by a 4K disc that only exacerbates these flaws. The whole film has this flat digital look to it. I always found the first two Avengers films to not look like actual films, but more big-budget TV. First Avenger suffers from the same problem. There's not really any moments of striking cinematography as everything just looks pretty bland and the direction lacks anything with a signature.
I sound like I'm criticising this a lot, but I did enjoy it quite a bit. Which is also very much due to the character work with Steve Rogers and his journey. I particularly loved the travelling roadshow montage to Star Spangled Man that involved him punching a fake Hitler at the end of every performance, before realising he could make much more of a difference if he actually helped in battle.
Then there's the romance with him and Peggy, which is probably the only romance in the MCU outside of Tony and Pepper that actually feels like it has any weight to it. I always forget just how touching the last moments of the film are, helped by the fact they have genuine chemistry throughout. Everything with Steve and Bucky is surprisingly effective too, especially knowing how that all goes in the next two Captain America films.
Hugo Weaving's Red Skull is also a pretty solid villain. Again, his motivations are very cartoonish and his look is ridiculous, but it works in favour of the films tone. Even with the tone, I was surprised at just how violent this was at times too. When people get shot, there's pretty strong blood splatter and even a pretty shocking moment where Steve throws a nazi into a plane engine and he turns to bloody mulch, something the MCU would in no way get away with now. I'm amazed they even got away with it in a 12 rated film from 8 years ago. This came out 8 years ago, Jesus.
Captain America: The First Avenger is a solid first outing for the Evan's Steve Rogers, helped enormously by strong character work, Evan's earnest performance and fine campy tone that saves the film from it's forgettable action and bland, drab visual look.
7/10 Dans
Captain America: The First Avenger is out now on 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD in the UK
Watch the trailer below:
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Letterboxd: Dan
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