Captain America: The First Avenger

I had planned on seeing Bad Teacher, but at ticket booth I changed my mind and saw Captain America: The First Avenger instead. What a good decision.

First things first. The title. Captain America may hold the "title" of The First Avenger, but he is the last of the four featured in the upcoming film (The Avengers) to have his own film. I just found it ironic that they made this movie last of the four.

So let's get to it. The movie moves more as a recount of events rather than just a story occurring (minus the narration). We follow a meek/mousy looking Steven Rogers (played by Chris Evans) who undergoes an experimental treatment to turn him into bigger, faster, stronger Captain America (aka Johnny Storm 2.0). Captain America starts out as a public figure of stability and has to gain the respect of the troops he is trying to help. He goes on to fight Johann Schmidt and Hydra.

Following surprisingly fitting dialogue these actors follow through. Evans and Hayley Atwell (playing Peggy Carter) have great chemistry when they are on screen, though a few events had some awkward timing, most notably the first kiss. Great performances all around by the main characters, help give this superhero movie an extra kick. I did not, however, enjoy the accents from some of the characters. They seemed a bit off to have been strictly German. With many big name actors in this film, I was not surprised that the performances were fun to watch.

The sound throughout this movie was outstanding! Easily one of the best parts of the film. The sound effects actually matched and were not simply the standard door creak heard in countless movies. They seemed fresh and added a lot to the fight scenes. The special effects, while good, left a little to be desired in my opinion. The only time they seemed strange was in the train scene. (See the movie to find out what I mean). Though I am very pleased to see more and more comic book movies focus on the stories rather than just on the action. It makes the movies more fun to go to, more well-rounded, and shows that the producers and directors are spending more time on the story details

While I haven't read any Captain America comic books in my time, I can say that I followed the story well and it made sense. I greatly enjoyed the tie in to World War II (though I know that came from the comic books). It makes movies like this more fun to go to; seeing things you've learned about for years, with a new spin on them.

Before Captain America became the hero in this film he was doing hokey bond-selling, which I must say I sided with the soldiers on. It fit with the time and for most of it I actually felt more patriotic, but after he tries the same spiel on the men in action the whole story changes and action ensues.

A mouse to lion story unknown to many, was brought to screen with pride and dignity. Captain America: The First Avenger was a great end to the separate films (The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, and Thor) and a great beginning for Captain America and The Avengers.

8/10