Captain America: The First Avenger

I have a soft spot for Joe Johnston's films. Why? Watch Jumanji, Hidalgo and Jurassic Park 3 and you might understand... The guy's filming because he enjoys it. He has no problem mixing action, special effects scenes of all kinds and humor, which is his greatest strength. So three cheers for him directing Captain America. I can't imagine another director (except perhaps Spielberg or Sommers) who could make such a ridiculous hero so "believable" in the real world. All in all, this comic book movie has it all: A wonderful retro atmosphere in the style of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, likeable characters (big ones, with Chris Evans in the lead, and small ones, like the members of the Captain's team), ultra-evil villains, a really top-notch soundtrack by Alan Silvestri, action scenes like from a boy's dream (what does a soldier do when he runs out of bullets in an ordinary rifle? He grabs the nearest dead Kraut's ray gun, fires it away, and then takes it with him!), an admittedly forgettable love plot, but with a non-forgettable badass woman, good, eye-popping digital special effects, like in the fourth Indiana Jones, and thoughtful continuity with other Marvel movies (the big space given to Stark Sr. was a delight). In the closing credits you will not only see the Czech flag - you'll even see Jack Nicholson in there (I insist it's him)! (08/11/2011)

I wanted to believe in it after the good trailers and mostly positive feedback. But Joe Johnston and I once again don’t see eye to eye. I don't mind the poetics of Captain America as such, I understand the time period and why the comic was created, and how it got moving according to Hollywood rules is appropriate to all of that. Yet the whole thing is so perfectly staged, it has a lot of visual frills, and it overflows with insight that is delivered by precisely cast actors, until in the last third I stopped enjoying it just because of how perfectly it copies the classic template. It's not the failure that Green Lantern was, and the king of the naive comic book films this year was Thor (and the film made do with half the bombast!). (11/26/2011)

I’ve been a big fan of this project from the very start, so you can always take one star off, if you like, but just I can’t help myself. The Cap’n is exactly how I wanted him to be. Maybe it’s a little short, on the other hand it doesn’t lose any tempo anywhere. The intro with the puny young Steve is just great. Watching his futile attempts at joining the army and the training is even more entertaining that the elimination of Schmidt’s bases (the fantastic Hugo Weaving) thanks to the balanced doses of humor and selfless courage. Chris Evans did an excellent job with his portrayal of Rogers. Thanks to him, Captain America shakes off the image of parroting clown and turns into a convincing hero. But Peggy Hayley Atwell is equally important. Thanks to her, the romantic storyline is the strongest element of the movie. Neither the action, nor inventions, nor the demonic psychopath with the red face, but the sad ending dialog is what will get to you. I had a date. The lead-up to the Avengers is very obvious in this movie and it basically touches on all of the other worlds we have seen so far. Fundamental to this is the microworld of Thor and Iron Man, the Hulk is a side-effect from development of the serum. This excellent lead-up is topped off by the post-credits scene/trailer. (08/19/2011)

This stupid bullshit has better reviews than the brilliant Green Hornet? Poor taste rules the world :D… Captain America felt bland already from the trailers, so I didn’t bother going to the cinema – thanks God for that! It’s been long since an expensive Hollywood blockbuster made me suffer so much. I didn’t like the story, the visuals were very ugly; I really can’t find anything to praise. After the trailer for Avengers (that looks every bit as derivative as the Captain and the other origin stories), I’m now feeling almost certain that the Marvel Universe will not produce anything great. (10/24/2011)

He came last, but when things get worse, be sure that he will be standing at the front line. Steve Rogers stayed somewhat on the sidelines throughout the Avengers journey, but in the end, to my great surprise, it is precisely him who got under my skin the most. His loyalty, bravery, and naivety in the most positive sense, combined with his style of fighting, are simply unrivaled. When the dark Red Skull or the self-sufficient Agent Carter join, there is nothing left but to applaud. Marvel won this war, and I gained a hero who has been appearing on several t-shirts to me for almost a decade since the filmed origin. (08/13/2011)