Movie Review: Captain America

Miss Abigail Taylor has been down this past weekend to attend our county fair, which was a blast, until it rained. Then it was still a blast, but we deemed it best not to go see the bull-riding in all the mud and mist. Instead, Daniel took Abigail, Sarah, and I to see Captain America. I had heard about this movie from my brother and cousin and several other people, and I thought it would be fun to see. I like super-hero movies just fine...Spider-man wasn't memorable enough for my selective memory to remember it. Batman was good to watch once or twice, but then I was set for a long time. But once I heard that Captain America was set in World War II and chock full of 40's costumes, I knew I wanted to see it, if for no other reason than as a historical fiction film.

But I wasn't prepared to love Captain America. (Movie and Hero) The movie surprised me, made me laugh, almost cry, and leave feeling that I had seen a slice of noble manhood still alive. The ideals in the movie are commendable: Truth, self-sacrificing love, honor, nobility, diligence, courage.

 

There was 40's fashion...and red lipstick. :)

The film starts when a very (and I mean *very*) scrawny Steve Rogers is trying to enlist in the military. The only problem? He has a list a mile long of conditions, not the least of which is asthma, that make him unfit for duty. Everyone says he'll die if he ever even leaves New York City. Steve's a little guy with a big vision, and a bigger heart, and he has the right idea about war: When asked if he wants to go to war to kill Nazis, Steve replies that he doesn't want to kill anybody...he just doesn't like bullies, and he's out to save his country. It's a simple answer, but Steve Rogers is a simple guy.

Through much pleading and repeated attempts at enlisting, Steve is befriended by a German scientist  who gets him into an army boot-camp.

One of my favorite scenes in the movie is when the scientist and Col. Phillips are arguing about which soldier to pick for their "lab-rat". Dr. Erskine (the German scientist) is arguing in Steve Rogers' favor. When asked why, Dr. Erskine throws a grenade (turns out to be a dummy) into the midst of the line of men. Everyone scrambles for cover. Everyone, that is, except Steve. He dashes to the grenade, throws himself on top of it and yells for everyone else to get to safety.

That's the kind of man Steve Rogers is. That's the kind of man it'll take to save the world.

After a series of events scrawny little Steve Rogers is transformed into a tall, powerfully built man, with the new name of Captain America.

It sounds cheesy, but this is one hero that doesn't disappoint you. He's a nitty-gritty hero. He doesn't blast people to oblivion with super-powers. Sure, he's abnormally strong and can jump rather long distances, but he's in the trenches, so to speak, with his fellow soldiers, and is working as hard as anyone. Harder, even.

 

(I would ditch the hermes-wingy-things on the side of his helmet...makes him look like an owl.)

Then we come to the Bad Guy. A Big Bad-Guy who is every bit as strong as Captain America, and dastardly into the bargain. He calls his group of soldiers "Hydra" and his goal is to "harness the power of the gods" which was, supposedly, Hitler's goal. He's an evil character, and that is portrayed to a T. Everyone cheers when this guy *is* blasted into oblivion through his own (inadvertent) doing. And hey, I always knew Elrond's eyebrows were mean for a purpose. ;)

The lady in the movie, Peggy Carter, was on my good side. She is beautiful, poised, and deep. She isn't one of those pretty girls who get mad at their man every scene, won't talk to them, slap them once or thrice, and then kiss them at the end. She is the milk to Captain America's cookies. Or something to match the cheesiness of this amazing hero's name. ;)

 

I felt like the nobility of Captain America penetrated even to his relationship with Peggy. I loved it. And it's because of a certain date he missed with her that I teared up. Ahem. *clears throat* 

Over all, I give Captain America a high rating. Hero's with the self-sacrificial "AW!" factor are high up on my list. It was a great (perhaps a tad idealistic) American Hero movie, but who really cares? There are dozens of quote-able quotes. There was some great humor, and fantastic one-liners. I laughed as often as I caught my breath and wriggled with anticipation. Captain America is the kind of guy I felt like could, perhaps, exist somewhere on this earth. He was more realistic than most super-heroes. (Okay, sorry to those of you who like Spider-man, but seriously? Shooting webs out of your hand? Not so much.) I'm dubbing this movie with Four out of Five Stars. It would have been 5 stars complete were it not for a couple of things. And those I will address now:

• 1. There was some language. Granted, it's an army movie so it's not surprising, and the language is certainly not quite so bad as Batman, but it was there.
• 2. There are some chorus girls in short little outfits that are doing a patriotic bond-selling show with Captain America...I'd have your little pieces of paper ready to cover that part of the screen if any brothers are watching. ;)
• 3. Apparently (and I looked away because Daniel said it was coming) there is one rude part. 
• 4. I thought the evil bad-guy's red face and head was a little freaky. I don't much like skull-ish things...I liked him with skin better. ;) But that's just a preference, not a moral issue. :)

But if you can fast-forward or look away during these few parts, I highly recommend Captain America for it's values, it's gung-ho Americanism, and it's red-white-and-blue appeal. After all, what's not to like about an under-dog with a huge heart who suddenly gets gunt-wrenching strength and saves the country? ;) As we walked out of the mall and over to Daniel's little car I said, wistful, "After watching such a movie, I feel like we need to ride away in a nicer car." Daniel laughed, not too offended by my frank analysis of his Subaru and replied, "Let's just call it the Super-ru."

And so we are. We even played Captain America and zoomed over the high-rise bridge to effect rocket-booster noises. It was a good movie, a good time, and a good night. :) ~Rachel