Saw it last night, snippet-style thoughts. (SPOILERS in white — highlight to read)
Likes:
I think the means by which they got him in the costume and Captain America identity is the best route available. Quite a departure from any comic book version of his history, but made it more plausible. Spoiler:Being diverted as a stateside war effort propaganda symbol, starring in shows, comic books and movies was executed better than I expected. And when we cut to the jeers from the enlisted men, it felt pretty real.
Characterization of Steve Rogers: exactly right on the money and well done by Evans. With early concern that a Captain America movie necessarily be a “jingoistic, American military chest-thumping affair,” the “everyday stand-up guy”-ness of Rogers was a bullseye. A likable character.
The themes of the movie emphasize self-sacrifice and a “can-do” brand of resolve. Not only does this epitomize who Captain America is supposed to be, but on a personal level, an optimistic hero is exactly what I need, considering the news of the day.
The action scenes are cut from an Indiana Jones / Rocketeer model. Not surprising when you consider the director’s background.
Skinny Chris Evans: This was done better than I imagined it could be. Had I been going into this movie cold and not known Chris Evans was big and bulky in real life, I believe I would have believed he really was that skinny and small. This was a tall order, and think they did as good as could be expected.
A direct translation of Arnim Zola would would most likely have been outlandish. The subtle nod to this incarnation they created in his introduction was a nice acknowledgement, while preventing yet another sci-fi component to the movie (more on that below). That said, after seeing an image like this, I feel like this characterization could be doable if this character sees developement in the sequels.
Humor quotient: exactly right: just enough and not too much
Peggy Carter: on a hotness scale from 1-10, she’s a 13. (A fair portion of that might be my predilection for 40’s-era fashions.)
Dislikes:
The minimizing of the almost-absent Nazis (in a European-theater WWII movie!) was a major misstep. The SS were totally replaced with faceless Hydra stormtroopers covered in armor from head to toe equipped with sci-fi weaponry. This movie works well when it sticks closer to the real-world WWII world. This futuretech representation of Hydra pushed the sci-fi elements beyond the believability factor of the rest of the movie.
The film provided only the most superficial characterization of the Red Skull. Would have liked more Loki-level nuance to such an iconic villain, and his intentions towards the Third Reich are significant yet totally unexplained. Spoiler: The Skull double-crosses the Nazis for reasons underexamined, if not entirely unexplained. I think a better angle would have been for the Skull’s Hydra faction to rise up and carry on after the fall of the Nazis. That Hydra would enter the war as an independent force during WWII strikes me as head-scratchingly baffling. What is the Skull’s motivation? What does he seek to gain? We don’t know. It reeks of old-school, 1-dimensional, it’s-because-he’s-evil, bwa-ha-ha supervillain characterization that I hoped we have moved beyond.
Movie was burdened by having to do too many things at once — moreso than other her movies: tell origin story, fight a villain, include the ragtag Howling Commandoes, put Cap into the modern era, and set up the Avengers. For this reason, I feel this franchise has the potential for sequels to surpass the original, if they manage to keep it set either partially or fully within the WWII era.
The Howling Commados felt like “Token Squad.” While going out of it’s way to assemble a distractingly inclusive team of ethnicities and nations, the film then neglects the members without introducing the individuals or what makes them special.
Cap’s connection to Bucky was drastically lessened beneath his connection to even Peggy Carter. Spoiler: While Bucky did seemingly perish on a mission alongside Cap, it was on some routine mission rather than the poignant fateful drone plane suicide mission that put Cap into suspended animation.
No training sequence (apart from basic boot camp). How did this guy with no combat experience learn how to kick ass and become proficient with a shield?
Bringing Cap into the modern day felt like it was missing a scene or two. We never see him in a state of suspended animation, either during his “discovery” or any explanation as to the contributing factors that prevented any aging. Is the audience to believe he is immortal?
Acting had good moments, but overall was not as naturalistic as Thor or Iron Man.
That is all.
