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Review

Captain America – Alternative Movie Review

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Captain America: The First Avenger is the movie that sets the final piece in place for the impending Avengers movie in May of 2012.  So, how did America’s hero do in his big screen debut (of the current continuity)?  He red, white, and blew me away… okay, sorry about the pun. [EDITOR'S NOTE; You're fired]

I’ve been a long time fan of Cap and knew quite a bit about his origins into comics.  The movie sticks pretty close to the concept, if not working shot for shot with the original comic strip of his actual origin.  Surrounding Captain America with some original characters as well as the ones we came to expect being by his side (Bucky Barnes, Dum Dum Dugan) was exactly what was needed to push the movie from being a train wreck… which is what typical Hollywood tends to do with comic book heroes.

We start in modern day with a mystery, ending with the iconic shield before being zapped into the flashback. (basically 95% of the movie, to tell how that shield got where it did.)  I was a little disappointed that I knew how the movie was going to get me from 1942 to 2011, but I let that go and went along for the ride.  I’m not normal in that aspect because I tend to accept movies for what they are rather than what I expect them to be.

Anyway, we get to see a scrawny Steve Rogers get beat up a bit and establish he’s a wimp with a heart of a champion before he is recruited by the man who would change his life.  Bringing in a bit of the Marvel Universe for the injection of the super soldier serum, Howard Stark was present to help turn Steve Rogers into Captain America.

Then the movie got weird.

Rogers was put into what we know today (for all intents and purposes) as the modern day Captain America suit so he could sell war bonds all around the country.  This part I wasn’t thrilled with; it was corny and dragged on a little longer than was actually necessary in my opinion.  When he does the same schtick with the troops though, he gets a much different reaction.  His attention gets drawn to a rescue mission when he learns his hometown buddy, Bucky, is possibly still alive in the clutches of Hydra, the Nazi Science Department.  Captain America dons a slightly altered suit to go in to get his friend and save 400 soldiers… with a pointy prop shield. Brave guy.

We were introduced to the Red Skull in his actual visage by this point, which (even after seeing spoiler images) did not disappoint.  I’m glad about that part, it could have turned out really corny.

Captain America gets the more familiar shield, and we get a montage of him leading troops to destroy all of Hydra’s secret research facilities.  When the last one is up, they break in, battle it out in over-the-top dramatic fashion and get us to a plane with only the Red Skull and Captain America on it.  This is where the movie started essentially and it was where we’d go from past to present (after a big crash and a nice cold sleep for Cap).

I skipped the part about [Redacted for spoilers], but at least they didn’t alter history there.  I’m hoping they take this and run with it in a sequel because there is some potential here.

Over all, I’d give the movie a full 5 stars as a review.  This one is the best of the Marvel Studios movies to date, only slightly better than Thor. It also sets up the Avengers just nicely.  If you’re looking for a comic book movie done right, this is the one… for sure.

This review was done by DJ of LimeFlavored.com for Cool Shite on the Tube (exclusively).

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Has Dj Nailed it folks?  Or has his shot been ricochet’d off the Cap’s shield and into a passing motorist?  Feedback and tell him what you think!

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About The Author

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DJ founded and runs LimeFlavored.com, a website for entertainment purposes (mainly his own). He is from Bismarck, ND, USA; has been married for 13 years to a wonderful entrepreneur (triciasbakery.com); and plays the part of the diabolical Dr. Shark Thunder on Cool Shite's Shark Repellent podcast. He also loves movies.

Article Information

  • Posted: Thursday, July 28th, 2011
  • Author: LimeFlavored
  • Filed Under: Film,Review
Tags: , , , ,

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