Captain America - Review Thread

Daniel · 07-20-2011, 11:32 PM

Captain America - Review Thread

It's a curious thing... Today I was watching a walk-through of the new "Captain American" video game by a guy who goes by the moniker Ghostrobo. I was having a hard time getting into it like I have some of his other walk-throughs and, when I gave it some thought, I realized my problem: it was just kind of generic. And then I thought about the character of Captain America, and I realized that, honestly, he is just a pretty generic superhero altogether.

Back around World War II, Captain America was a patriotic creation, something to kind of generically market the idea of American bravery and patriotism to the masses. Cap was a watered down product, more or less, but has manage to survive throughout history, as well as evolve into other markets as a member of the Avengers and as a protagonist in a number of video games. Still, every time I see the Avengers, Cap was always the one who struck me as the most one-dimensional, and the least interesting. Even his inclusion in games such as "Marvel vs Capcom 2" and "3" were pretty unremarkable and easy to look over; he simply was never a character I was interested in using. Sure, his shield is pretty cool, but at the end of the day he is really just a generic, unremarkable guy who can jump, run, and punch a little higher, faster, and harder, respectively, than other people.

That said, the film really didn't do Cap any favours and really kind of kept the generic theme going. The background story was drawn out far too long and quite boring, and he action was surprisingly sparse. I was literally yawning, and kind of waiting for the action to just get going. Hugo Weaving turned in a rather lazy performance as the Red Skull, and I was rather disappointed, since we have seen how menacing he can be in "Matrix" series, to see him playing such a generic villain. The scenes all kind of plodded along with a lot of heavy segues that really served to do little other than to bog it all down. Even the Hydra agents all reeked of "generic bad guys" throughout. I think movies like "Hellboy" and even "Thor" had far more interesting villains, to be honest, and "Captain" really never gave me a sense of danger or intrigue.

One thing I found particularly insulting was the middle portion of the film when Captain America is leading a series of attacks on the Hydra headquarters. The film had spent so much time on the origin that they literally reduced the scenes of these attacks to a series of montages, very similar to the montage of action sequences in "Wolverine" when we see Logan and Sabretooth fighting through the various wars at the beginning of the film. It all hinted at some very wicked scenes of action, but that's all we really got.

I did like that the love story took a backseat here, and that Cap's sense of duty to his country and the war always took precedence over giving the woman his attention. This is probably where "Captain" won over "Thor," and while "Captain" felt disjointed and dragged out a bit, it still wasn't quite the agony that was the majority of the Earth scenes in Thor.

While I have probably made this out to be a terrible movie, I do think the sum of all the parts wasn't so terrible. The few action sequences are quite pretty cool as "Cap" is a very agile and capable fighter, and I did like the makeup job they did with Red Skull. Tommy Lee Jones was, of course, the comedic relief in this film, and he breathed some much-needed life into this. There was also a funny plot line involving what the government used Captain America for before they realized what a military asset he truly was. Still, I kept thinking "this is a waste of movie, this is kind of funny, but man he could already be out there kicking Hydra tail and entertaining us more than this literal sideshow."

I will say this: Evans was spectacular in this. He wasn't a prick, and he embodied the strong, nice-guy character that is Captain America. I thought he did great, and the love story was done perfectly: non-obtrusive, and seamlessly crafted into the story. Also, the doctor who created the super serum was a cool guy and part of some of the better scenes of the film. And, as I stated earlier, Tommy Lee Jones provided some great comical relief.

And, really, the fact they were all so capable and good ended up being the demise of the film in that they were never properly utilized. They could have done so much more or better with this film given the characters and the actors, but it just fell so flat. The only remarkable shot I remember was a guy falling into a propeller and turning into a spray of red, but the rest of it was just so damn lifeless.

Obviously Captain has to make it to modern times in order for "The Avengers" to work, so I don't think it is spoiler-ish to mention that the end of the film addresses him making it to present day, and that showed a lot of promise as it takes Good-ol Boy Captain America out of the drab 40's, and sticks him in a much more intense and slick environment. I honestly think this would have worked better if they had brought him to present day early in the film and gone from there.

Just a fair warning for those of you true "Captain America" fans: you're going to hate what they did to Bucky in this. But, in the end, I think it was just another generic plot point to give "Cap" a textbook, cliched (unnecessary) reason to push even harder in the fight against Hydra.

Stay after the credits because they do indeed show the teaser for "The Avengers."

5/10

DarthVader 2004 · 07-20-2011, 11:53 PM

Your Review sound more like a 6 or a 7/10 then a 5/10.

Brenzi51 · 07-21-2011, 02:39 AM

Thanks for the review. Your thoughts seem to go against everything I have read so far, so I am interested to check this out for myself.

Daniel · 07-21-2011, 08:16 AM

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/captain-america/

I saw a lot of reviews that looked an awful lot like mine... The only people I saw gushing over this, so far, were a couple of dudes (Henry Knowles, who was there last night) at AICN who are, historically, some of the worst reviewers in all of history.

This guy actually ripped off my review, lol: http://www.miami.com/039captain-amer...-pg-13-article

Other review blurbs on RT that resonated with me: "A capable, if somewhat unremarkable, affair, beset by origin-story shortcomings."

"The details in Captain America deliver, but the big moments fall flat - you can tell that we're intended to cheer here, to weep there, but the scenes that try hardest to elicit emotions just feel deflated."

"Captain America: The First Avenger neither commits any terrible storytelling offenses nor takes any significant creative risks. If the director and the script took more chances with the material, Marvel could have had their best movie ever."

"Red, white and bland."

Daniel · 07-21-2011, 08:21 AM

del

Nilade · 07-21-2011, 12:56 PM

Got my tickets for the midnight showing at the Arclight in hollywood. Can't wait!!

DarthVader 2004 · 07-21-2011, 01:53 PM

To be honest this years Marvels movies haven't been bad at all and I am optimistic that this is better then 5/10 rating. It looks different and I like a patriotisum film and Cap is the Top Go Army greeting card.

Daniel · 07-21-2011, 02:39 PM

I suspect this will mostly get review scores higher than mine, RedVader - I'm OK with that. I'm just not the biggest Cap'n America fan, so I came into this prepared to be underwhelmed.

Also, our premiere was in 3D. It was no good. See it in 2D, as Ebert said.

Doomsday · 07-21-2011, 02:48 PM

I didn't wanna hijack the thread or anything, but I pose a question in the What's On Your Mind? thread to people who love the superhero genre, something that I've noticed over the past few years....

http://forums.comingsoon.net/showthr...21#post2766721

DarthVader 2004 · 07-21-2011, 02:59 PM

My favorite hero which would make a killer movie that no one has done is Swamp Thing. There is many more low key hero films comics could do then just The AVengers and I will take a look at your thread Doom.

krushgroove19 · 07-22-2011, 12:02 AM

There is definitely a Swamp Thing movie. It is not good.

FranklinTard · 07-22-2011, 12:16 AM

swamp thing is a pure guilty pleasure. watched it a ton as a kid.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJf0Sr1Ktmk

Neverending · 07-22-2011, 02:14 AM

It was okay.

saveus1011 · 07-22-2011, 05:10 AM

Couple of issues with it, some that tried to mangle my enjoyment of it, but damn did I love this movie. From the production design to the acting, to my new wife in Hayley Atwell, this movie fired on all cylinders. Yes, some parts are a bit hokey, but I went with it for the time period. And even with the warts, when this movie is firing, it's red hot.

What didn't work:
-The digital look of the film I felt detracted from it at times. Yes I get why you do it, but it hurt some of the action sequences.
-As much as the movie left smiles on my face, I felt some of the action WAS poorly edited. It's minor, but there's a sequence or two where it's noticeable.

Overall, I enjoyed it ten times better than Thor and both Iron Man films. It also is the first one that feels like it can truly stand on it's own instead of being a giant set-up for The Avengers film.

9/10

King_of_Skid_Row · 07-22-2011, 11:41 AM

It sounds like Superman Returns just without the love story and kid angle.

Ewok Droppings · 07-22-2011, 12:12 PM

I'm reading some really mixed reviews. I've read that it's either so-so or the best movie yet of the comic book genre. Still want to check this out, but not at full price. $5 Tuesday showing maybe.

Nick1988 · 07-22-2011, 12:12 PM

Superman Returns was boring because there was hardly and action and we were tired of seeing Superman save people from buildings,robbers,planes what ever. We wanted to see him have a physical threat.

I heard this movie has plenty of action and is a great summer popcorn flick

saveus1011 · 07-22-2011, 01:40 PM

This movie and SUPERMAN RETURNS are on completely different planes.

MovieBuff801 · 07-22-2011, 03:01 PM

My expectations on this are mixed, to say the least. The trailers haven't really excited me all that much, but it still might surprise me. I'll probably see this when I'm down at the beach this coming week.

sshuttari · 07-22-2011, 03:18 PM

double post

sshuttari · 07-22-2011, 03:19 PM

Captain America

I didn't really like it all that much. Honestly Not enough of the movie felt like a Captain America film. But it did have some decent action near the end. I didn't feel like this guy is going to be the man that leads the Avengers.

Right now I would be okay with Iron Man or Thor doing it. But to be fair I thought Tommy Lee Jones and Stanley Tucci were awesome in every scene. Even Hugo Weaving as Red Skull was good for what he had.

I was hoping by the end of the film I would really like the character of Captain America but Steven Rogers was boring and not very heroic. Also the whole propaganda with Steven Rogers as sales man pitch WTF?? Are you kidding me!! All that time and money spent on making a super human and you have him run around and do stupid kids shows??? I don't care if it's in the comics or if it was a movie idea. It was dumb and that is all too it.

It's not terrible like "Green Lantern" but definitely not up to the caliber that is "First Class" or "Thor"

6.5/10

Daniel · 07-22-2011, 03:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sshuttari

Captain America
I didn't feel like this guy is going to be the man that leads the Avengers.
6.5/10

That's a good point I didn't really think of before, and I agree. I think his leadership was definitely hinted at when he rescued the prisoners, but I think them doing less of the origin/side show crap and fleshing out the Hydra Headquarter invasions would have been a much stronger direction.

I will also reiterate that I didn't say this sucks or was a BAD movie, that's why I have my rating system in my signature so people understand a 5/10 means it was OK and average.

MasterChief117 · 07-22-2011, 07:22 PM

Odd reviews for this. I'm not sure how some can claim this as the best comic book genre film and then it get poor reviews...but whatever.

sshuttari · 07-22-2011, 07:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daniel

That's a good point I didn't really think of before, and I agree. I think his leadership was definitely hinted at when he rescued the prisoners, but I think them doing less of the origin/side show crap and fleshing out the Hydra Headquarter invasions would have been a much stronger direction.

I will also reiterate that I didn't say this sucks or was a BAD movie, that's why I have my rating system in my signature so people understand a 5/10 means it was OK and average.

Yeah him being a hero and doing more stuff to get stronger and a better leader would have made much more sense. I think the main problems lies with the script it had way to much going on for a 2 hr flick.

Also him jumping around building and rooftops every 10 seconds near the end didn't really prove to me hes a better hero.

DarthVader 2004 · 07-22-2011, 08:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by krushgroove19

There is definitely a Swamp Thing movie. It is not good.

I meant in a reboot form. More like the TV SHOW only with a desent budget and so on.

View Poll Results: Rate it:
10	0	0%
9	2	7.69%
8	10	38.46%
7	6	23.08%
6	5	19.23%
5	3	11.54%
4	0	0%
3	0	0%
2	0	0%
1	0	0%
Voters: 26. You may not vote on this poll

07-20-2011, 11:32 PM	#1
Daniel Flawed Design Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 2,606	Captain America - Review Thread Captain America - Review Thread It's a curious thing... Today I was watching a walk-through of the new "Captain American" video game by a guy who goes by the moniker Ghostrobo. I was having a hard time getting into it like I have some of his other walk-throughs and, when I gave it some thought, I realized my problem: it was just kind of generic. And then I thought about the character of Captain America, and I realized that, honestly, he is just a pretty generic superhero altogether. Back around World War II, Captain America was a patriotic creation, something to kind of generically market the idea of American bravery and patriotism to the masses. Cap was a watered down product, more or less, but has manage to survive throughout history, as well as evolve into other markets as a member of the Avengers and as a protagonist in a number of video games. Still, every time I see the Avengers, Cap was always the one who struck me as the most one-dimensional, and the least interesting. Even his inclusion in games such as "Marvel vs Capcom 2" and "3" were pretty unremarkable and easy to look over; he simply was never a character I was interested in using. Sure, his shield is pretty cool, but at the end of the day he is really just a generic, unremarkable guy who can jump, run, and punch a little higher, faster, and harder, respectively, than other people. That said, the film really didn't do Cap any favours and really kind of kept the generic theme going. The background story was drawn out far too long and quite boring, and he action was surprisingly sparse. I was literally yawning, and kind of waiting for the action to just get going. Hugo Weaving turned in a rather lazy performance as the Red Skull, and I was rather disappointed, since we have seen how menacing he can be in "Matrix" series, to see him playing such a generic villain. The scenes all kind of plodded along with a lot of heavy segues that really served to do little other than to bog it all down. Even the Hydra agents all reeked of "generic bad guys" throughout. I think movies like "Hellboy" and even "Thor" had far more interesting villains, to be honest, and "Captain" really never gave me a sense of danger or intrigue. One thing I found particularly insulting was the middle portion of the film when Captain America is leading a series of attacks on the Hydra headquarters. The film had spent so much time on the origin that they literally reduced the scenes of these attacks to a series of montages, very similar to the montage of action sequences in "Wolverine" when we see Logan and Sabretooth fighting through the various wars at the beginning of the film. It all hinted at some very wicked scenes of action, but that's all we really got. I did like that the love story took a backseat here, and that Cap's sense of duty to his country and the war always took precedence over giving the woman his attention. This is probably where "Captain" won over "Thor," and while "Captain" felt disjointed and dragged out a bit, it still wasn't quite the agony that was the majority of the Earth scenes in Thor. While I have probably made this out to be a terrible movie, I do think the sum of all the parts wasn't so terrible. The few action sequences are quite pretty cool as "Cap" is a very agile and capable fighter, and I did like the makeup job they did with Red Skull. Tommy Lee Jones was, of course, the comedic relief in this film, and he breathed some much-needed life into this. There was also a funny plot line involving what the government used Captain America for before they realized what a military asset he truly was. Still, I kept thinking "this is a waste of movie, this is kind of funny, but man he could already be out there kicking Hydra tail and entertaining us more than this literal sideshow." I will say this: Evans was spectacular in this. He wasn't a prick, and he embodied the strong, nice-guy character that is Captain America. I thought he did great, and the love story was done perfectly: non-obtrusive, and seamlessly crafted into the story. Also, the doctor who created the super serum was a cool guy and part of some of the better scenes of the film. And, as I stated earlier, Tommy Lee Jones provided some great comical relief. And, really, the fact they were all so capable and good ended up being the demise of the film in that they were never properly utilized. They could have done so much more or better with this film given the characters and the actors, but it just fell so flat. The only remarkable shot I remember was a guy falling into a propeller and turning into a spray of red, but the rest of it was just so damn lifeless. Obviously Captain has to make it to modern times in order for "The Avengers" to work, so I don't think it is spoiler-ish to mention that the end of the film addresses him making it to present day, and that showed a lot of promise as it takes Good-ol Boy Captain America out of the drab 40's, and sticks him in a much more intense and slick environment. I honestly think this would have worked better if they had brought him to present day early in the film and gone from there. Just a fair warning for those of you true "Captain America" fans: you're going to hate what they did to Bucky in this. But, in the end, I think it was just another generic plot point to give "Cap" a textbook, cliched (unnecessary) reason to push even harder in the fight against Hydra. Stay after the credits because they do indeed show the teaser for "The Avengers." 5/10 __________________ Only fear can make you feel lonely out here Last edited by Daniel; 07-21-2011 at 08:27 AM.

07-21-2011, 02:39 AM	#3
Brenzi51 Remember My Predicessors Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: MASS Posts: 2,008	Thanks for the review. Your thoughts seem to go against everything I have read so far, so I am interested to check this out for myself. __________________ Marlon Brando (Terry): You don't understand. I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been someone Charley, instead of a bum, which is what I am, let's face it. I'm a bum. It was you, Charley.

07-21-2011, 08:16 AM	#4
Daniel Flawed Design Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 2,606	http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/captain-america/ I saw a lot of reviews that looked an awful lot like mine... The only people I saw gushing over this, so far, were a couple of dudes (Henry Knowles, who was there last night) at AICN who are, historically, some of the worst reviewers in all of history. This guy actually ripped off my review, lol: http://www.miami.com/039captain-amer...-pg-13-article Other review blurbs on RT that resonated with me: "A capable, if somewhat unremarkable, affair, beset by origin-story shortcomings." "The details in Captain America deliver, but the big moments fall flat - you can tell that we're intended to cheer here, to weep there, but the scenes that try hardest to elicit emotions just feel deflated." "Captain America: The First Avenger neither commits any terrible storytelling offenses nor takes any significant creative risks. If the director and the script took more chances with the material, Marvel could have had their best movie ever." "Red, white and bland." __________________ Only fear can make you feel lonely out here

07-21-2011, 08:21 AM	#5
Daniel Flawed Design Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 2,606	del __________________ Only fear can make you feel lonely out here Last edited by Daniel; 07-21-2011 at 08:24 AM.

07-20-2011, 11:53 PM	#2
DarthVader 2004 Executive Producer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: West Virginia Posts: 13,556	Your Review sound more like a 6 or a 7/10 then a 5/10.

07-21-2011, 12:56 PM	#6
Nilade In glorious Technicolor Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: West Hollywood Posts: 3,952	Got my tickets for the midnight showing at the Arclight in hollywood. Can't wait!! __________________ Dattebayo!!!

07-21-2011, 01:53 PM	#7
DarthVader 2004 Executive Producer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: West Virginia Posts: 13,556	To be honest this years Marvels movies haven't been bad at all and I am optimistic that this is better then 5/10 rating. It looks different and I like a patriotisum film and Cap is the Top Go Army greeting card.

07-21-2011, 02:39 PM	#8
Daniel Flawed Design Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 2,606	I suspect this will mostly get review scores higher than mine, RedVader - I'm OK with that. I'm just not the biggest Cap'n America fan, so I came into this prepared to be underwhelmed. Also, our premiere was in 3D. It was no good. See it in 2D, as Ebert said. __________________ Only fear can make you feel lonely out here

07-21-2011, 02:59 PM	#10
DarthVader 2004 Executive Producer Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: West Virginia Posts: 13,556	My favorite hero which would make a killer movie that no one has done is Swamp Thing. There is many more low key hero films comics could do then just The AVengers and I will take a look at your thread Doom.

07-22-2011, 12:02 AM	#11
krushgroove19 I am a classy gentleman. Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Salt Lake City Posts: 7,500	There is definitely a Swamp Thing movie. It is not good. __________________ Hey guys! Download my podcast on iTunes! Cat Fashion Show: The Podcat! Twitter Facebook Tumblr Youtube

07-22-2011, 12:16 AM	#12
FranklinTard Damn,ThatsAColdAssHonkey Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 15,731	swamp thing is a pure guilty pleasure. watched it a ton as a kid. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJf0Sr1Ktmk __________________ Of all the preposterous assumptions of humanity over humanity, nothing exceeds most of the criticisms made on the habits of the poor by the well-housed, well- warmed, and well-fed. -Herman Melville (1819 - 1891)

07-22-2011, 02:14 AM	#13
Neverending sex Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 18,115	It was okay. __________________ "Would you like some boob action?" -Conan O'Brien July 13, 2004 12:55 AM "We’re No. 1 in TBS’ key demographic: People who can’t afford HBO." - Conan O'Brien May 18, 2011 "I honestly don't know who gives me a bigger boner: Zoe Saldana OR Chris Pine. Star Trek Into My Pants!" - Kevin Smith February 24, 2013 The Batman Appreciation Thread

07-22-2011, 05:10 AM	#14
saveus1011 Directive 4 (Classified) Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 3,713	Couple of issues with it, some that tried to mangle my enjoyment of it, but damn did I love this movie. From the production design to the acting, to my new wife in Hayley Atwell, this movie fired on all cylinders. Yes, some parts are a bit hokey, but I went with it for the time period. And even with the warts, when this movie is firing, it's red hot. What didn't work: -The digital look of the film I felt detracted from it at times. Yes I get why you do it, but it hurt some of the action sequences. -As much as the movie left smiles on my face, I felt some of the action WAS poorly edited. It's minor, but there's a sequence or two where it's noticeable. Overall, I enjoyed it ten times better than Thor and both Iron Man films. It also is the first one that feels like it can truly stand on it's own instead of being a giant set-up for The Avengers film. 9/10 __________________ Glory Glory Man United Steel Curtain Films

07-22-2011, 11:41 AM	#15
King_of_Skid_Row Dodgers rock! Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 2,612	It sounds like Superman Returns just without the love story and kid angle. __________________ I rule where the losers roam. IRON MAN= The pinnacle of all that is cool. "When you're pushed...killing is as easy as breathing." ~ Rambo

07-22-2011, 12:12 PM	#16
Ewok Droppings Executive Producer Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Endor Forest Floor Posts: 14,441	I'm reading some really mixed reviews. I've read that it's either so-so or the best movie yet of the comic book genre. Still want to check this out, but not at full price. $5 Tuesday showing maybe. __________________ The flat Earth myth is one of the greatest errors in modern history.

07-22-2011, 12:12 PM	#17
Nick1988 Executive Producer Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 1,401	Superman Returns was boring because there was hardly and action and we were tired of seeing Superman save people from buildings,robbers,planes what ever. We wanted to see him have a physical threat. I heard this movie has plenty of action and is a great summer popcorn flick

07-22-2011, 01:40 PM	#18
saveus1011 Directive 4 (Classified) Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 3,713	This movie and SUPERMAN RETURNS are on completely different planes. __________________ Glory Glory Man United Steel Curtain Films

07-22-2011, 03:01 PM	#19
MovieBuff801 Fringe Division Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Walter's Lab Posts: 10,886	My expectations on this are mixed, to say the least. The trailers haven't really excited me all that much, but it still might surprise me. I'll probably see this when I'm down at the beach this coming week. __________________ AFI Top 100 Movies (1998) Seen: 67 out of 100

07-22-2011, 07:22 PM	#23
MasterChief117 I believe in you Jim Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Gotham City Posts: 13,346	Odd reviews for this. I'm not sure how some can claim this as the best comic book genre film and then it get poor reviews...but whatever. __________________ "I have no idea what I'm supposed to do. I only know what I can do." "There's greatness in you. But there's not an ounce of humility. You think that you can't make mistakes, but there's gonna come a moment when you realize you're wrong about that. And you're gonna get yourself and everyone under your command killed."