Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) is directed by Joe Johnston and stars Chris Evans, Hayley Atwell, Hugo Weaving, Sebastian Stan, Samuel L. Jackson, Tommy Lee Jones, Dominic Cooper, Stanley Tucci, Neal McDonough, Toby Jones, Derek Luke, Richard Armitage, Kenneth Choi, JJ Feild, Bruno Ricci, Lex Shrapnel, Michael Brandon, and Natalie Dormer. The film takes place in 1942 and follows Steve Rodgers (Evans), a young Brooklyn native who dreams of becoming a soldier but is continuously turned down due to his uncommonly small size and litany of medical issues. When his best friend, Bucky (Stan), ships off to join the war, Steve makes one final attempt to enlist. This catches the attention of Dr. Abraham Arskine (Tucci), a German scientist working for the U.S. Army who sees Steve as the perfect candidate to test an experimental serum that turns ordinary men into super soldiers. When the experiment turns out to be a success, Steve finally gets the chance to serve his country — though not in the way he expects. Instead of leading men into battle, Steve is forced to sing, dance, and sell war bonds. Disillusioned by his role, Steve eventually decides to join to fight when he discovers that Bucky and his battalion have been taken prisoner behind enemy lines. With the help of British special agent Peggy Carter (Atwell), Steve attempts to rescue his friends while facing off against the Nazi Rouge Science Division led by the maniacal Johann Schmidt aka Red Skull (Weaving).

There are a lot of reasons why the MCU has had such staying power over the years, but I think the casting of their initial crop of heroes is one of their most important successes. When considering the kinds of roles Chris Evans was known for prior to this film, Captain America is uncharted territory. He trades laid-back, childish, and funny for wound-up, mature, and serious. This may sound like a less entertaining alternative, but it’s exactly the attitude that makes Captain America stand out. Similar to DC’s Superman, Cap is the boy scout of his particular universe. This kind of throwback morality/patriotism could’ve easily felt out of touch with today’s world, but the script does a great job of focusing on the more universal/timeless aspects of what drives Steve. Steve doesn’t want to be a soldier to simply kill Nazis or prove a point to the people who’ve doubted him; he wants to fight because he “doesn’t like bullies.” Steve isn’t a good guy because he’s American, he’s a good guy because of his choices/actions. Honestly, he’s a pretty tough character to balance without coming across as cold, but Evans pulls it off perfectly (and spoiler alert – he only gets better in future installments).

Although criminally underutilized, Hugo Weaving is actually one of the more unique and interesting MCU villains. His evil nature is held back somewhat by the PG-13 rating, but it’s hard not to appreciate a villain who even considers Hitler to be a softy. As for Steve’s allies, Hayley Atwell and Sebastian Stan provide likable supporting characters. Steve’s romance with Peggy is subtle, but also the film’s beating heart. This allows the ending to feel effectively tragic despite the fact we know Steve eventually survives. The tragedy isn’t his “death,” but instead the death of his and Peggy’s love. As Bucky, Sebastian Stan is uncommonly charismatic. Before I even knew that the character would eventually return as The Winter Soldier, I desperately hoped he would survive his tragic fall in this film. 

Although superhero origin stories are a dime a dozen nowadays, Captain America remains one the more effective and unique examples of the subgenre. First off, this is the MCU’s only WW2-set film – a setting that fleshes out the MCU’s alternate history and allows for some cool action sequences that are specific to the realities/technologies of the era. Unfortunately, this era specificity is often undercut by the futuristic technologies that exist within the timeline. In other words, the comic book sensibilities of the MCU don’t always gel with the more grounded historical setting. I’m not saying this was the wrong choice, it’s just not executed in a way that feels authentic. On top of this, a lot of the actual WW2-themed battles are shown in montages. Yes, they’re fun, but I would’ve much preferred one or two dedicated action sequences. It just sort of feels like they’re speeding through their only opportunity to show Cap in action during his formative years. 

Overall, this is one of Marvel’s better origin stories and features arguably the franchise’s best lead character (Cap > Iron Man IMO). It still suffers from some of the typical Marvel pitfalls such as a lack of visual creativity and misplaced comedic relief, but these are just small issues as opposed to things that ruin the film. Despite all of its various issues, the film retains a strong heart. This results in an effective underdog story that pulls at the viewer’s heartstrings a lot more often than they expect. It’s not going to change the minds of anyone who dislikes Marvel films, but everyone else is sure to have a lot of fun despite its flaws. B