If they can fit this quote into the movie somewhere, I could die happy. Well, happier.

 

Awesome quote, but I doubt it. Quite a long quote. Probably was cut to shorten the movie.

 

Iron Man was created by Stan Lee as a challenge to himself during the height of the Cold War when Vietnam was in full swing - he wanted to create a likeable superhero who was also a war-mongering asshole.

Although, I do agree Cap, while originally a 'Super-American', evolved into the ultimate freedom-fighter - because America was "the Country of Freedom", the ideals meshed.

Cap wasn't respected just because he was a patriot; he was respected because he always held to his ideals, never compromised on anything he felt was important, and embodied trustworthiness, dedication, optimism and yes, patriotism.

In short, the character has always been popular because he was the guy everyone wanted to be, or wanted to know. Every wimp who ever wanted to be bigger, everyone who ever didn't have the strength to stick to their guns, every dreamer who ever wanted to contribute, but didn't know how... Basically, everyone, could aspire to be this guy.

He's not as badass as Wolverine, not as tech-savvy as Batman, not as OTT as Superman, not as smartass as Spiderman, but he's a singularly decent person, willing to do whatever he had to for what was right. He's the type of guy you could kill Nazis with in the morning, share a beer with at lunch, then introduce to your parents that evening, and be equally comfortable in each setting.

Hat's off to you, Cap. Looking forward to seeing what you can do.

 

I can't help anticipating your ever-lasting rage when/if this movie falls on its face/shield.

"There is no hater like one who has greatly loved."
-John Steinbeck
(relevant!)

I hope I'm wrong, of course, but I just have a feeling it's been overestimated by everyone who's ever been a comic book geek.

Note: this will not suck as badly as will Green Lantern.

 

Trailer #2.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaJxk8Cwg_E

It seems they are actually having the female love interest and Steve bond before he gets drugged up, so it will probably have like an hour build up before he takes the super serum, and atleast the romance won't be instant from the moment he gets buffed up...

It looks like it has some humor like most hero films, and a bit philisophical like GL...

 

I like that they take their time to show Stave Rogers as a man with heroic traits before he gets the Super-Solider serum.

Also, 1:12 - she so wants to touch his body.

 

The first trailer was, "Oh God, they're going to seriously going to fuck up Captain America."

The second trailer was, "Okay, it might not be a steaming pile of dogshit like I first thought, but what's up with the damn helmet chinstrap thing."

Yeah, I get that they're probably going to revamp the suit for the Avengers movie, but it still looks silly. And I want to see some serious shield rebound action going on, you know, like bouncing off three bad guys, a tree, Red Skull's head, and a missile or something, all in one shot.

I'm just sayin'.

 

This. So much this.
The first trailer was horrible, this one seems kinda decent, but it does have some costume flaws. I mean sure, it would have, it's unavoidable, but either wait until he finished the war before strapping him with the bright blue/red/whatever costume or at least make it as good as possible. They could have him don the suit once he stars his crime fighting career instead of the Nazi fighting one.
Was kinda dissapointed at he lack of tiny wings on is temples, though I suppose they would look worse than the chinstrap.

 

Bumping for my review. Short version: it's pretty damn good, definitely worth seeing, there are flaws that will annoy comic fans, but overall it's probably the best Captain America movie we were ever going to get, particularly considering the previous Captain America movies (count yourself lucky if you haven't seen them, 'cause I have and they are AWFUL).

Long version... tl, dr, as usual...

Okay, you know when you have a puzzle and you've got nearly all the pieces in the right position, but somehow, it just isn't fitting together in the best possible way? Well, for me, there are some movies that feel a lot like this. Maybe it's a bit of dialogue, or some iffy cinematography, or a bad score, or moments that just go flat when they could have been epic. It doesn't make the movie bad, it just means it's not quite as good as you were hoping - and sometimes, this can even be more frustrating than just a bad movie.

Unfortunately, at least for me, Captain America is one of those films. Don't get me wrong, for the most part, it's really, really good, but to me, it seems like it's missing something to make it a true, classic superhero movie. And the most frustrating thing is how damn close it is to that edge of greatness.

But here's the biggest problem, particularly when it comes to this film and even the very basic premise of this character: Thor may have been the most difficult premise to pitch to a studio, but Captain America is perhaps the most difficult premise to sell to an audience, particularly an international audience. I mean, take a look at the character's name and costume, and tell me that this superhero is easy to sell to an international audience in modern times, many of whom don't have quite the same rosy views of the US that they once had. And worse still, like Batman before him, Captain American has to deal with the weight of prior installments on its shoulders. Granted, the three Captain America movies aren't nearly as well-known as Batman & Robin (yeah, most of you probably haven't seen the three previous movies that thsi movie thankfully ignores the hell out of, but trust me when I say they're AWFUL), but you can bet the movie-makers haven't forgotten those movies and how they nearly crippled the franchise for decades.

For instance, one of the reasons the previous three movies have sucked royally is because, well, they fail in every area that this movie succeeds in, most specifically in the presentation of the origin of the character. And let me make this very clear - the first third of this movie, introducing the origin story of Captain America, is fucking brilliant. It's excellently written, creating great drama and setting up some great characters. Next to X-Men: First Class, it's one of the best origin arcs I've ever had the pleasure of seeing on the big screen. The plot that follows after... you know what, it's pretty damn good too. It's dramatic, it's action-packed, it's extremely entertaining... but at least to me, it's not as epic as it could have been, and I'm really struggling to figure out why.

Because let me make this quite clear, the majority of the cast of this movie is great. Chris Evans is an excellent Steve Rogers, and the special effects used to create the 'pre-Captain' image are surprisingly good. And after the transformation, I couldn't imagine anyone else as the character. But funnily enough, the reason why Chris Evans is such a good Captain America isn't because he got ripped as all hell (seriously, it's pretty amazing), but because he plays the character with such sincerity and dignity. There's no irony in this performance: this is a straight-up honest good guy that I haven't seen in a superhero movie in years, and I found that really refreshing. Better yet, because he's being played straight, there's an additional layer of complexity built into his interactions with others, who aren't always expecting such a decent guy. And best of all, the way his character arc progresses allows him to be such a great guy without coming off as an unlikeable goody-two-shoes. Do I like him as much as Tony Stark? Well, no, but I've got a soft spot for brilliant, narcissistic engineers who build killer robots - that's just me.

It also helps that the supporting cast is pretty damn good too. Tommy Lee Jones just owns every scene he's in as the surly Colonel Phillips, and Sebastian Stan does a decent job as Bucky Barnes, and I'd argue that the chemistry between Bucky and Steve was one of the best parts of the movie (which made a later scene pretty emotionally affecting later in the film). Stanley Tucci definitely delivers as Dr. Erskine, and Dominic Cooper does a surprisingly strong job as Howard Stark, so much so that I actually wanted to see more of this guy. And Hayley Atwell... yeah, she's easily one of the best parts of this movie. Not only is she probably one of the strongest and most interesting female characters I've ever seen in a period movie, but she's also probably one of the most gorgeous actresses I've seen in a long time. I mean, if she was just in this movie for eye candy, that would be something, but the fact she's used as a smart, sympathetic character and happens to be amazingly hot... well, just damn.

Unfortunately, I do have some minor issues with the rest of the cast. The Howling Commandos aren't given the same development the rest of the cast gets, which I found a tad disappointing, but given how the movie had to end, I'm not exactly surprised either. And as for Hugo Weaving as the Red Skull... ugh, I really hate saying this, considering Weaving was trying so damn hard, but he doesn't quite pull it off for me. I know I'm nitpicking here, and I'm thinking this is just my issue and that everyone else will be able to overlook this, but I was a little disappointed with his performance. He just didn't feel truly menacing enough for me. It also really doesn't help that there's no German dialogue at all, and that most of the attempted German accents are just horrendous, and that just strikes me as disappointing. I really can't help think that Christoph Waltz would be so much of a better Red Skull than Hugo Weaving, namely because Christoph Waltz can act in German (we saw that from Inglourious Basterds) and because that guy has a real air of menace about him. Now, granted, it doesn't help the Red Skull has never been the most subtle of villains, but even with that, I think it could have been done a bit better.

Now let's move onto the technical details, and let me say this right away: this is one of the best photographed movies I've seen this summer. This is the way how a period action movie should be shot, with superb costuming, great set design, and excellent lighting design. The action choreography is excellent, and I for one was extremely pleased to see how awesome the 'shield-throwing' sequences were. Yeah, there was a little too much CGI in some spots, but for the most part, the CGI worked and made this movie awesome.

And special kudos must be given to whoever made the score for this movie - namely because it's the best score in any movie I've seen all summer thus far, particularly with a very certain number about a third of the way through the film that put a massive smile on my face (you'll know what I'm talking about when you see it). And yes, for those of you who don't know, that was in the comics.

So let's wrap things up and talk about the story and pacing of this movie, and let me make one thing very clear right from the start here: the first two-thirds of this movie is fucking brilliant. It's everything I would have hoped for out of this movie, and I loved it. It's immersive, it's deep, it's awesome, and most importantly, it's epic. I couldn't be more happy with it.

The problem becomes that the final third of this movie really can't live up to all of the promise of the first two acts. Don't get me wrong, the action is still great (there's one scene that's incredibly visceral and awesome - you'll know when you see it) and the dialogue's still smart and it's still well-photographed... but to me, everything feels a little light, without enough substance to keep going. Part of this comes down to the fact that the Red Skull just isn't that deep or complex as a villain, but I've got to think that they could have made things a little meatier, added more to this film, maybe by building up the personalities of the Howling Commandos or delving into the complicated politics of having a patriotic superhero character like Captain America - it could have added some real food for thought in this film. And it really doesn't help that this movie is only just over two hours long - it really should have been a lot longer, if only to buoy up the rest of the story. For instance, while Captain America is an extremely patriotic soldier and superhero, there's a segment in the middle of the movie that does an excellent job taking the piss out of the gung-ho, jingoistic millitary philosophy. And I fucking loved these scenes, because they were both hilarious and awesome and completely historically pertinent... but I can't help but feeling there wasn't as much of a pay-out on this particular subplot as there could have been. And while I don't have any real problems with the ending of this film, I do think a more drawn-out ending sequence could have been far more dramatic and epic than the one we were given.

And here's the most frustrating thing about this movie, particularly for me: while I recognize this was probably the best way they could have made a Captain America film, I don't feel it utilizes all of the potential that this character has to offer, and this harkens back to the comments I made about Steve Rogers as a character and how he interacts with the rest of the world, both past and modern. The best Captain America stories are always set when he's dealing with problems in America, not his supernatural foes, and this movie didn't really touch on that, which disappointed me.

But here's the thing: I'm fully aware I went into this movie with very, very high expectations that were probably not very fair, and those expectations were namely based on expecting a film that was considerably smarter and deeper than they were probably willing to go. But Marvel Studios isn't marketing films for me, and I can accept that. And yeah, while this movie isn't quite as good as X-Men: First Class in my opinion, it's still probably the best Captain America movie I could have reasonably hoped for out of Marvel Studios, and it is a pretty damn good movie. Definitely worth your time to see, and certainly a great movie to lead into The Avengers for next year.

Actually, you know what? This whole process can be simplified down to one easy decision: if you ever wanted to see a man wearing the colours of the American flag punching Hitler in the face, see this movie. Because there's not much that's more awesome than that.

 

My only disappointment with this film is that he didn't punch the "real" Hitler.

 

Since were not doing spoiler tags anymore,

Silens hits it on the head mainly.

I think where the movie slowed down was when they had that montage sequence of the Cap and his team going on missions. I can't imagine what they could have done differently but I think it lost some audience neccessary character developement. We only ever saw the initial meetup, but the team building and personality developement over the subsequent missions, was kind of lost there for me.

I would have liked to have seen old timey beard face and asian american guy quip back and forth a bit more.

It was higly effective at staying true to the origin story interms of world war cap and then transitioning to Future Cap.

I completely saw that as logical and believable.

And also notice how when Cap rescued bucky he was strapped in that chair with medical instruments, and then they had him fall into a frozen river.

They are so planning ahead for the return of Bucky. If they will use plot or not I'm not sure.

I look forward to the Winter Soldier.

Keep in mind I'm not a die hard captain america fan, but even I know a little back story from reading Spiderman, and the ultimates universe.

As for the International market. It may take a hit interms of political appeal between certain nations, but still all the die hard comic book fans out there, or those who are keen to watch the Avengers, will go watch this, so I think it will still do decently.

For some reason I think England will really take a liking to it. Don't know why?

Also Fair Warning to those of you who will go watch it.

Wait till the end for the Avenger trailer.

Its worth it.

 

Hell yes; it's been a long time since I've seen a trailer that made me that eager to for an upcoming movie.

As for the film itself, I'll echo what Quazi and Silens said; it's good, go see it.

Similar to the Thor movie, I think it's one weakness is that try trimmed it down a bit too much; giving the film some more running time would have helped flesh out the Howling Commandos a bit more, for example. Personally, I think there was more than enough story potential to have carried the film out to the two-and-a-half hour mark. I like my movies long and epic.

Also, I really liked the way the movie succeeded in making it feel like the 1940's. Between this and First Class, I'm starting to think that the superhero period piece has serious potential for unexplored awesomeness.

 

I'm really glad they didn't go with the Ultimate Marvel version of it, with those aliens working with the Nazis. I much prefer the Asgardian route they took in this.

I don't think they even mentioned the names of the Howling Commandos, which was a little disappointing. And I don't actually know that much about them or the Captain America mythos, compared to some other characters, so diehard fans will no doubt be highly disappointed with that.

In order to avoid retreading old ground, I'll just say I mostly agree with Silens. And with this:

 

Just came on here as IMDB posted how it's got the highest viewers out of all the decent films this year...

By the trailer, do you mean the after the credits trailer like where Thor had the bit with Loki?

 

Yeah... after the credits where they normally have some extra tidbit to relate to the next avenger installment.

Instead you get the leaked trailer for The Avengers. Its better on big screen than that dull cam we got posted somewhere.

 

I'm not much of a Cap'n A fan. I went in the movie theater to see an action flick and I got that, the mission montage sequence was awful and the outcomes were cliched in the sense that they win and there is no character development, how the Cap's best friend died and had merely a "meh" effect.

Rant:
Not having read the comics and because my suspension of disbelief got destroyed early on, my mind couldn't help but wander... Redskull was Hellboy's father, the turrets on the plane struck me as R2d2's until they fired, how every hydra soldier shoots once and dies whereas Redskull gets 5-6 shots accurately in quick succession (I realize they are henchmen and therefore unimportant, but these guns are every time shot once slowly giving the impression that they have a cool down period until Redskull grabs one) and why none of the american soldiers pick up these advanced guns, and as soon as I saw Agent Smith I was also expecting the whole time to see Neo, and at the end Steve Rogers wakes up from the Matrix, meets Morpheus and gets offered the red/blue pill off camera in the middle of Times Square. The End.

tl;dr
If "The Avengers" is going to be like this one, I rather spend those $15/180 minutes purchasing n52 rare earth magnets and skimming the wiki page on the comics.

Does anyone who watched the movie know why I have this sudden urge to join the Army?

 

Why?

They pretty clearly do during the prison break scene.

That's pretty fucking dumb.

 

They clearly do during the break scene because they don't have guns, they already used hydra's guns and know their capabilities by the time they get their main factory/base.

And yeah it's pretty fucking dumb because it could have happened. The casting was spot on for having Hugo Weaving as Redskull, however the movie having similar reality shifts such as Rogers gaining his body and waking up in the future, as expected, have a Matrix tinge to it which is brutally amplified by having Hugo in it.

 

Weaving was the weak link in the movie... hate to say it about the actor but I think he's done way too many villains now.

And apparently you knew absolutely nothing of the Avengers timeline. Even a quick glance at Wikipedia explains the time-skip.

 

I enjoyed it for the most part but there were two things that kept aggravating me throughout.

The first is, like Teks said, the way that the U.S. soldiers seemed to prefer to use their standard issue guns instead of the more advanced weaponry. Would have made it a lot easier to swallow if they'd mentioned there being a power supply issue, or really any reason at all rather than just preferring projectile weapons to a weapon that would disentegrate a body in one shot.

The second was the Hydra goons. I don't really think its Hugo's fault that Red Skull seemed to be a weaker element of the movie. Most of the scenes that he was in also included these mindless fucks that were apparently incapable of any dialogue other than, "HEIL HYDRA!" Even silence would have been much preferred. In general they seemed extremely cheesy and I felt like rolling my eyes every time I saw them. I really doubt that any actor could have came across as menacing with these extras around him.