Starring:
Chris Evans
Hugo Weaving
Hayley Atwell
Tommy Lee Jones
Stanley Tucci
Dominic Cooper
First impressions
To be honest the film wasn't quite what I expected, then again I wasn't sure what to expect. On the whole I thought it was a pretty fair adaptation of the comics but Joe Johnston's direction failed to depict the horrors of war and that is one of the reasons why it didn't live up to expectations. Of course it would be unfair to put down the film on that point alone and so I will look at some other bad points later in the review, and some good points too.
The good points
On the whole The First Avenger is a pretty decent action film with plenty of well thought out fights and some witty dialogue. The script was good enough to keep me watching which can't be bad. Right then, what about Chris Evans performance? Well, he is certainly not Johnny Storm in fact he is far removed from that character which is a good thing. The casting of Chris Evans did leave me thinking that it was a wrong choice however there is nothing to fear as he was spot on as the star spangled avenger. He character is worth rooting for as it is easy to warm to the underdog especially when he takes a beating in an alley but refuses to back down.
Other performances of note are Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark who showed that he was just as eccentric as his son. Stanley Tucci pulled of the friendly German act pretty well. He is a likable character and was much departed from his role in The Lovely Bones (Thought I'd mention his role in that film as I watched it for the first time the weekend before).
The effects are worth noting particularly the mind blowing early sequences which show Chris Evans as a skinny individual. The effects team definitely had their work cut out pulling off that effect. There are also plenty of decent action sequences which help to demonstrate Caps enhanced strength and ability.
The bad points
What didn't I like about this film? Personally I would have preferred to have seen Captain America mucking it up with the average soldiers, storming the beaches of Normandy for instance. The horrors of war are not explored in this film and I feel that if they're where it would have given the character of Captain America more depth. I just wanted him to endure what many young soldiers would have endured in the war. Hugo Weaving as the Red Skull didn't quite cut it. Think Agent Smith with a German accent and you'll have an idea of how he played the part.
Final thought
I kind of liked this film, in fact I preferred it to X-Men First Class and Thor. It had a bit of character, a good performance from Chris Evans and an endearing period setting which set it apart from other superhero movies. I just thought that we could have seen more of the war, instead it was slightly glossed over for the sake of taking a safe approach.
