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Thanks to my best mate Nerdfest09 (who's partner works in the marketing and events dept at our local radio station) I was able to take my wife along to see an advanced screening of Captain America. The jury is in and and I have to say it was fantastic! Wasn't sure how this one was going to stack up against the likes of Iron Man, Thor and the recent Batman (Batmen?) but it truly holds it's own.
Chris Evans defied my admittedly low expectations to breathe the right amount of life into this iconic character, without being too typically over the top. He added a very real sense of self awareness to Cap that could have quite easily come across as arrogance and blatant uber-patriotism.
Hugo Weaving was his typical awesome self, if he's not already then he should be at the top of Hollywood's 'I need a bad guy with some depth' list.
Has anyone else seen it yet? If not, get in as soon as you can it's well worth it. Also, like all Marvel Studios films, stay till the end of the credits, you will not be disappointed!
"Tread softly and carry an armoured tank division" Col. Nathan R Jessup
I thought it was good. I liked the idea of summerizing all the battles with the different Hydra production facilities instead of showing one big fight and losing a bunch of people. I also liked the idea that Cap went on a year long promotional tour at the start along with doing movies. It explains why America knows him and loves him even though he was just around during the war and all his exploits were top secret.
However I thought the Red Skull character could have been better written. I think there was an opportunity to turn him into a more compelling villan instead all we got was him running around or running away from the destruction Cap was inflicting. He typically would kill a lacky here or kill a lacky there, but his faceless army seemed more inept than stormtroopers and he came off as a bad version of Dr. Evil. I think there was more than could have been done if his organization was smaller, more behind the shadows and he had a more hands on approach. More like the Joker, but not crazy.
As for the Avengers trailer at the end we see a few more superheroes including Hawkeye. It looks like the Shield Helocarrier will be prominently featured and at least Loki is one bad guy whose in it. I always thought a good idea would be for the assembled Avengers to have to go out and capture the Hulk before the bad guys can and it turns into a free for all with both sides getting in the way of the rampaging green monster. There was one short scene in the trailer of a room with green lights glowing through the windows. That could be the Hulk or the Leader who seemed to be created towards the end of the Edward Norton Hulk remake.
Enjoyed it, solid B (as in rating) action/adventure. It doesn't take any chances but what it does it does well. I liked alot of the vehicles they created for the movie, which was a lot, surprisingly. Chris Evans nailed the role and I have to disagree with Darth above about Red Skull. Red Skull is a mastermind type villian so he rarely will actually get to confront the protagonist until the end. The only really serious misstep I had was with the way the handled the end of the movie.
Spoiler:
First cap 'dies' to save New York and you see all the people effected and it is sad. Next SHIELD revives him and he realizes everyone he knew is dead. You wait and it shows the trailer for Avengers which has Joss Whedon humor all over it. Tonally it goes somber, somber, then for yuks and it is just disorienting. I get the impression the revival scene was originally the stinger at the end but they realized they had enough footage to toss together a so-so teaser so they bumped it up.
Amidst the mists and coldest frosts he thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts.
I thought it was fairly decent as well. I'm an old-school Marvel fan, and I thought that captain america had the biggest chance of being cheezy crap. But, I agree with the comments above, Evans and Weaving did a good job, and the movie was well-paced and fairly action-packed. The worst thing about it was some of the lines meant to get a laugh - I think I laughed at one, groaned at the rest, although the audience seemed to eat them up on cue.
Knowing what I know from the cast; it's going to be Cap, Iron Man, Hawkeye, Thor, "and" Nick Fury against a Hulk being deceived by Loki. Don't hold me to it, though.
I've never feared Death or Dying. I've only feared never Trying.
It struggled a bit in the second half in my opinion. Too much "Vee haff harnessed ze power of ze gods!" Blue lazors nonsense, then getting stomped with very little trouble. It turned into a shlockfest of bad guys running into bullets and gunfights at 10 feet. It took the second half entirely out of World War Two for me, replacing the Nazis with bland stormtrooper wannabees. Then there was all the overly cinematic and basically pointless fight stuff. Like Cap's final charge at the front door of the facility; when apparently they could have just sneaked in... like everyone else on his team did. Seems like they were counting a bit too much on the Red Skull monologing, and not just ordering him shot immediately. That said, I thought the acting was good all around.
Honestly, I was pretty disappointed. For the first half, nothing happens as they try to be all storytelling-ish, without really having an interesting story to tell. Then halfway through they ditch all that, throw in a three minute montage that has 80% of the movie's action, and wrap up with some over-the-top scenes that make little to no sense when you really think about them. The Avengers series (Iron Man, Hulk, Thor) have really just been going downhill since the first Iron Man, hopefully Whedon can pull the series out of its nosedive...
Eldar shenanigans are the best shenanigans! DQ:90S++G+M--B+IPw40k09#+D++A++/areWD-R++T(T)DM+
Anpu42 wrote:I enjoyed the heck out of it. I just wish they could have don somthing with Wolvarine or Union Jack II, but that was hoping for two much.
Wolverine rights are still held by another company, like Spider-Man. It would have been awesome though, like in the Ultimate series when Cap and Wolverine run into each other in the modern day and comment on how neither has changed.
Bromsy wrote:It struggled a bit in the second half in my opinion. Too much "Vee haff harnessed ze power of ze gods!" Blue lazors nonsense, then getting stomped with very little trouble. It turned into a shlockfest of bad guys running into bullets and gunfights at 10 feet. It took the second half entirely out of World War Two for me, replacing the Nazis with bland stormtrooper wannabees. Then there was all the overly cinematic and basically pointless fight stuff. Like Cap's final charge at the front door of the facility; when apparently they could have just sneaked in... like everyone else on his team did. Seems like they were counting a bit too much on the Red Skull monologing, and not just ordering him shot immediately. That said, I thought the acting was good all around.
If you actually think you are going to post spoilers, use the spoiler tags. They are there for a reason.
Spoiler:
It wasn't supposed to be a straight up WWII movie so the fact that it showed the secret war within the war wasn't an issue for me, and I think we were supposed to get the impression that HYDRA was even worse than the Nazi's, since they found Nazi's to soft, and thus a suitable replacement. As for "Blue laser nonsense", well, welcome to the Cosmic Cube, or comic books in general. The last part the only reason the group was able to break in was because Cap had all the security forces focused on him. Cap created a diversion which allowed the allies to gain the advantage.
Amidst the mists and coldest frosts he thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts.
That was just a quick response, sorry I didn't use spoiler tags to save all the people who went on a thread about a movie from learning about said movie; This is my apology to all of you who found Spoilers >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> to be insufficient warning of spoilers. I will endeavor to use the proper format to make you all more comfortable in the future. Here you go.....
Spoiler:
So all the guys standing at the front gate with the 'super weapon' blue lazors were so focused on Captain America, who had been captured already and was no where near them, that they missed the US human wave attack that could have been stopped by one guy with an MG42? Or Cap's distraction created the giant frikken window they rappelled through? Y'know, the one in Red Skulls office? Why didn't they just all go in that way? Or even better, put a bullet in the SOB from where ever they shot the grappling lines from? Or the other team that just kinda popped up in the middle of the base; go that way. Or do ya think they had patrols out on that mountain and in the tunnel that got called back in when they captured Cap? I mean, I understand that Cap was making a diversion, but having the soldiers attack the front and then going through the window or the secret tunnel just works better, and would create a tighter story. I know it's a comic book movie and all, but that doesn't mean stuff can't make sense. At any point the Red Skull could have just radioed down to kill Cap, or shot him as soon as he was brought in. Too much Plot Armor for a simple guy like me, take the easier road.
Bromsy said it well, though I liked the first half better. This movie didn't have to be "welcome to Comic Books" like it's a magical adventure. Iron Man 1 and Batman are both comic book movies that have stories with character development and more than a touch of realism. Cap could have taken that path instead of the Michael Bay route.
Don't get me wrong, overall it was a good movie, just not that good. I think this movie was better than the more recent comic book movies, which were bad, makes this one seem better than it actually was.
Bromsy wrote:That was just a quick response, sorry I didn't use spoiler tags to save all the people who went on a thread about a movie from learning about said movie; This is my apology to all of you who found Spoilers >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> to be insufficient warning of spoilers. I will endeavor to use the proper format to make you all more comfortable in the future. Here you go.....
Spoiler:
So all the guys standing at the front gate with the 'super weapon' blue lazors were so focused on Captain America, who had been captured already and was no where near them, that they missed the US human wave attack that could have been stopped by one guy with an MG42? Or Cap's distraction created the giant frikken window they rappelled through? Y'know, the one in Red Skulls office? Why didn't they just all go in that way? Or even better, put a bullet in the SOB from where ever they shot the grappling lines from? Or the other team that just kinda popped up in the middle of the base; go that way. Or do ya think they had patrols out on that mountain and in the tunnel that got called back in when they captured Cap? I mean, I understand that Cap was making a diversion, but having the soldiers attack the front and then going through the window or the secret tunnel just works better, and would create a tighter story. I know it's a comic book movie and all, but that doesn't mean stuff can't make sense. At any point the Red Skull could have just radioed down to kill Cap, or shot him as soon as he was brought in. Too much Plot Armor for a simple guy like me, take the easier road.
You seem a little upset. Do you need a moment to cool down? Do you always react in such a manner to those that disagree with your personal assessments? You seem to have odd expectations, such as the hero being just shot by a henchmen and not brought to the villian? I mean, how often does that happen? What kind of movie would it have been if Pvt. Johnson just shot Cap in the head and they ended it there? I also didn't say they explained or executed that scene perfectly, just that I believe that the idea was that he caused enough of a ruckus (like taking out all the motorcycles and getting guards out of their posts) that the other forces were able to take more advantageous positions before the assault. If the complaint is that it isn't realistic, well, durr.
Amidst the mists and coldest frosts he thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts.
I wasn't expecting much but I was still dissapointed. It was a fun movie but when I thought about it more I just kept finding parts I didn't like.
Spoiler:
The Stormtroopers were just pathetic, they outnumbered the americans, had far superior technology and were better trained but were beaten in every battle. In the first battle we see about 5 Us soldiers die and the entire factory goes up in flames. There were meant to be a bigger threat than the nazis but the film didn't show it. If the US soldiers need to beat Hydra at least come up with some explanation. The US soldiers acted more like Hydra than Hydra did. Red Skull was just as bad, for a supervillian who is meant to be extremely intelligent he made some stupid mistakes. Just killing Capt at the first oppurtunity would have made a better film because that is what he would have done. If they want him to keep the Capt alive come up with a reason.
The hover car was IMO stupid. It's far beyond what stark has in modern times- what happened to that technology. Putting it in had no purpose and just distanced itself from reality when the setting is meant to be close to real life.
I found the first half of the movie to be far to slow. It makes sense and helped the plot but IMO it was focused on too much.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2011/07/27 12:47:03
The hover car was IMO stupid. It's far beyond what stark has in modern times- what happened to that technology. Putting it in had no purpose and just distanced itself from reality when the setting is meant to be close to real life.
Spoiler:
The hover car is beyond the suit of armor with beams of plot device that is powered by the artificial heart of contrivance?
Life does not cease to be funny when people die any more than it ceases to be serious when people laugh.
I enjoyed it. I like that they kept the "origin story" parts pretty concise, instead of dragging it out like a lot of the movies lately have done. And they managed to avoid the "oh no, I have superpowers now, what a burden they are" slowing things down too. The jokes and the action kept things mostly lighthearted, and I felt like Hugo Weaving kept up a good act in playing Red Skull as condescending enough that he didn't take too many things seriously.
And yes, Hayley Atwell was indeed very hot in that dress.
I give it 6/10, it was far better than I expected it to be.
While the vaporising laser beams were ridiculous for the 1940's, i found the fact that all Caps men had hats on funnier. Who the feth wears a bowler hat on combat operations?!
And the British airborne guy had to have his maroon beret on so people would recognise him, so he was even wearing it in the cells as a POW?
And Cap wore a show girls helmet!
Do none of these soldiers know how easy it is to suffer head injuries in combat situations?!
If I was their CO i'd have some harsh words.
We are arming Syrian rebels who support ISIS, who is fighting Iran, who is fighting Iraq who we also support against ISIS, while fighting Kurds who we support while they are fighting Syrian rebels.
Dogma- Yeah IMO antigravity technology is far beyond iron man has. If you look hard at the suit it clearly doesn't make sense but at a glance nothing is too out there. While no neccessarily using the same technology we could do something similar in the future (it would be very impractical but that's irrelevant). Antigravity technology is too much IMO. It's out of reach now, it certainly doesn't belong in the 1940s. My main prblem is if they had a close to functioning antigravity device in 1940 where has it gone. It's an extremely useful device but it's just disappeared.
They probably never got it to work any more than you saw in the film. Later on Tony creates that new and more powerful energy source that can actually power the things. The theory is good but they just don't have the technology to back it up. It was an idea before its time.
Amidst the mists and coldest frosts he thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts.
4M2A wrote:Dogma- Yeah IMO antigravity technology is far beyond iron man has. If you look hard at the suit it clearly doesn't make sense but at a glance nothing is too out there.
The suit has particle beams embedded in the palms. Particle beams that both help it fly, and cause serious burns, but apparently not both at the same time.
4M2A wrote:
While no neccessarily using the same technology we could do something similar in the future (it would be very impractical but that's irrelevant).
We could, in the near future, build a suit of armor that defies the laws of physics while being powered only by what is basically a glowy pacemaker?
I think you're confusing plausibility with familiarity. Iron Man's suit is iconic, but as comic book technology goes, its one of the more obvious examples of contrivance.
I mean, you're free to disagree, but it strikes me as odd to complain about suspension of disbelief in any medium related to comic IP. We're talking about the genre in which it makes sense to dress up as a bat and fight crime.
Life does not cease to be funny when people die any more than it ceases to be serious when people laugh.
No as I said the technology would be different but we could build a personal suit. As far as we know antigravity are impossible.
As I also explained whether it's possible isn't my main problem. The issue I have is that a technology which could be very useful has dissappeared. If they introduced it in Capt America and they had people driving grav cars in ironman I would have no issues. I understand it's a fantasy setting but I would like it if they could keep some continuity between movies.
Its worth noting that whether or not something is cool has no bearing on its cost, or usefulness. It is quite likely that anti-gravity cars would present too little benefit for too great a cost.
Sort of a niche product that the elder Stark enjoyed on a personal, rather than practical, level.
Life does not cease to be funny when people die any more than it ceases to be serious when people laugh.
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