DAY 5
By the end of 2011, it seemed as though the movie studios
responsible for churning out superhero movies were scrambling after Marvel’s
success. Sony, after recently scrapping a third Spider-Man sequel in favor of a reboot (a term that makes my skin
crawl), had been largely absent in the cinemas since 2007. DC, who only had one
film left in Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy, tried in desperation to use the
“kitchen sink” method with Green Lantern
in the hopes of starting another monumental franchise. If you’ve been keeping
up with my posts, you already know my feelings towards Green Lantern.
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| Just... Goddamn it! |
All of this to say that with a lack of serious competition,
it is disheartening that Captain America:
The First Avenger did not receive more love at the time of its release. It
is equally disheartening that this film continues to be perceived as “just
another cog in the Marvel machine” instead of being seen for what it truly is. Captain America: The First Avenger is a
near-perfect Marvel movie, and marks the point at which the studio raises its
own bar for quality with regards to all of their films.
*WARNING*
This article, more than the others I have written thus far,
is going to be tripping over myself or orally service this flick. In addition,
from here on out, I’ll mostly be writing gush pieces, as the quality of the
Marvel Studios films continues to rise from this point. If that is not
something that interests you, please tune back in with my retrospective of Thor: The Dark World in which I will
(probably) be vicious.
What They Did Right
Steve Rogers
Are you ready for the most long winded love letter in existence? Here we go!
As much as I love the on-screen personas of Tony Stark,
Bruce Banner, and Thor, Steve Rogers stands far-and-above the rest due to his
humble origins and necessity to do what is morally right. But before we get to
that, let’s start with the casting. When Chris Evans (aka The Human Torch, aka
Lucas Lee) was announced to play Captain America, everyone lost their minds.
Some people thought that Evans had his chance with the Fantastic Four franchise, which was not considered a success for
any of the parties involved. In addition, Evans was known as “the funny guy” in
every movie he was a part of (Fantastic
Four, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World,
The Losers, Not Another Teen Movie). Was the kid who stuck a banana up his ass really the kid to bring Captain America to life?
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| Hahahaha. That's actually hilarious. |
Cap isn’t the wisecracking
character that Stark is, and we needed someone who could play a serious role.
In hindsight, it is a wonder that we ever doubted Evens. He brings the
earnestness and vulnerability to make Steve Rogers a real character instead of
an over-the-top caricature. Evans being cast in this role allowed me to never
again question Marvel’s casting process.
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| There is no replacement for perfection. |
So now that I’m done fawning over Evans, let’s move along to
Steve Rogers. As I referenced above, it could have been very easy to cross that
very thin line and make Steve Rogers an adrenaline-fueled, chest-beating symbol
for the United States of America (which, honestly, I was kind of hoping for).
Instead, rather than seeking these qualities out, Rogers has them thrust upon
him (the costume, the fame, the symbolism, etc.). This is most evident in two
specific scenes in the movie. The first is when Dr. Erskine asks Rogers if he
wants to join the army in order to kill Nazis. “I don’t wanna kill anyone,”
says Steve. “I don’t like bullies.” In the second scene, Rogers jumps on (what
he thinks is) a live grenade in order to save the lives of the rest of the platoon (a scene that literally makes me teary-eyed every time I watch it). In
these two scenes, it is clearly expressed that Rogers isn’t trying to join the
army to be a hero or to prove something to his peers. Rather, Steve Rogers is
the person that will put everybody else’s needs before his own out of the pure
goodness of his heart. More than any of the other Avengers, Captain America is
a true hero.
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| "Not a perfect soldier, but a good man." - Dr. Erskine |
I could go on talking about what a good job they did
bringing Steve Rogers to life well into my Guardians
of the Galaxy retrospective. Instead, I ask you to please watch the movie.
Trust me, you’ll be a better person for it.
The Badass Villain(s)
Two-for-two! Marvel is able to present us with another
villain that is a ton of fun to watch on screen. Unlike the sympathetic, highly
developed Loki, Red Skull (Hugo Weaving) is evil for the sake of being evil.
Right now, you’re probably asking yourself how I can justify counting Johann
Schmidt’s one-dimensional character on a list of badass villains. After all, I’ve
done nothing but bash the other movies’ lack of complex villains at length.
Really, kids, this comes down to one very simple rule of filmmaking: Nazis get
a pass.
Nazis are the embodiment of pure evil, which means that they don’t
necessarily need extensive back stories or strong characterization. Red Skull
relishes his power, and wants nothing more than to rain fire down upon the
world. It is the most ridiculous motive and the closest thing to an actual
super villain we have seen so far, which works incredibly well for this movie
(a little more on that later).
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| The boy who lived, come to... wait... wrong noseless villain. |
In addition to Johann Schmidt, we have Dr. Arnim Zola:
weapons designer and engineer. Dr. Zola is a human potato who is always in the
wrong place at the wrong time, and whose only goal is self-preservation. When
Red Skull kills the Nazi officials (yay Nazi killings!) that pay him a visit,
Dr. Zola decides that it is in his best interest to side with the clearly
psychotic super villain. Later, when Zola is taken in for questioning, he
reveals all of Schmidt’s plans to Colonel Phillips (Tommy Lee Jones) in order
to save his own skin. While we discover later that Zola does have allegiance to
H.Y.D.R.A., all he seems concerned about is saving his own skin. Does this make
him a badass villain? Perhaps not, but it gives Zola a level of dimension not
typically seen for a main villain’s henchman.
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| Tell me he doesn't look like a potato! |
Indiana Jones and the
Power of the Gods
If Captain America was wearing a fedora and carrying a whip
instead of wearing a helmet and carrying a shield, this film would fit right in
with the rest of the movies in the Indiana
Jones Saga (yes, I count Crystal
Skull, no, that movie wasn’t that
bad, hey, don’t give me that look, and yes,
you can look forward to me writing about it in the not-too-distant future). We
have the ancient relic that is based in mythology and eventually the downfall
of the villain.
We have Nazis. We have completely impractical modes of
transportation. We have a time period, meticulously recreated down to faded
colors and the musical number to sell war bonds. We even have a reference to
the Fuhrer “digging in the desert for trinkets.” Everything in this movie gives
off an Indiana Jones vibe, and the
movie is so much better for it.
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| But let's be honest, this man could FUCK UP Captain America in a fight. |
The Sidekicks
From Tommy Lee Jones to Sebastian Stan to Stanley Tucci,
most (not all, sorry Howling Commandos) of the secondary characters are developed in a way that we have
not seen in a Marvel film before. However, Hayley Atwell is the real stand-out
of the movie. Atwell came out of nowhere, and ended up creating one of the
strongest female characters thus far. She spoke with authority and was able to
kick major ass, while at the same time was able to project a level sweetness
and sexuality.
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| The perfect Marvel lady. |
Moreover, the love story that she shares with Steve is the
strongest in the MCU. They don’t fall in love in a day, but rather, start out
with a mutual respect for each other before trying the whole dating thing. You
know, like a relationship. The final scene makes it actually feel like Agent
Carter has lost someone important to her, and the unfinished love story between
Peggy Carter and Steve Rogers is one of the most heartbreaking scenes of the
universe.
While close to a perfect Marvel film, Captain America: The First Avenger is not without its flaws. If you
haven’t passed out due to boredom yet, let’s move along to the (short) list of
things that piss me right off.
What They Did Wrong
World Building
At the releases of each of these films, I couldn’t
understand why critics were so up-in-arms about the moments related to the
larger universe. However, with Captain
America, it is this world-building mindset that inhibits it from ever being
discussed in any conversation regarding “greatest Marvel Films.” First, we have
the subtitle. I know that most of the world hates us as a country, and I
understand that the studio needed a way to market this overseas, but as a
title, The First Avenger produces
nothing but eye rolls from the general public. If anything, it’s condescending,
like Marvel thought we were too stupid to figure out Cap was going to be an
Avenger.
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| How Marvel perceives us. |
Besides the subtitle, the opening and closing scenes of the movie have
NOTHING TO DO WITH THE REST OF THE PICTURE! Their only reason for existing is
to connect us to the larger universe. If the first scene had been cut, we would
have started right in the action of Red Skull storming Tonsberg, Norway (plus,
we get the explanation of him being frozen in the ice in The Avengers). If we cut the last scene of the film (which felt
like the post-credits scene anyway), the film would have ended with a much more
poignant and perfect scene featuring the end of the war and a remembrance of Captain
America. Instead, we get Marvel force feeding us to the point of looking
like the fat guy in Se7en.
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| No, seriously, just one more bite. |
The Valkyrie
My issues with The Valkyrie are all addressed in this video.
Cap has control of The Valkyrie, yet doesn’t think to turn
it around or land it safely in the water. There is no bomb with a timer, or
some sort of collision course programmed in. I guess there could have been
other agents of H.Y.D.R.A. on the ship to fly the last of the bombers, but that
also would have been solved by simply TURING THE FUCKING PLANE AROUND! Steve
Rogers was never the most intelligent Avenger, but it seems a little silly to
have him sacrifice himself for no goddamn reason. But hey, he had to end up in The Avengers somehow! World Building!
Unfortunately for The
First Avenger, Marvel once again sacrifices the heart of the story in favor
of continuity. However, as you should all well note, my only two complaints
from this flick are directly related towards the expanding universe. The movie
is virtually perfect.
Final Thoughts
While the midnight showing was fun, it’s the showing I saw
later with my parents that is the most memorable. After Evans’ transformation
from “Skinny Steve” to the hero we all know and love, my dad leaned over to me
and asked if his muscles were computer generated. “No,” I replied, “that’s his
real body. His skinny body was CG.” My dad had this look of amazement on his
face; a look I recognized as my own when I watched Jurassic Park for the first time. It was at this point that I realized
that Marvel had the potential to awaken the imagination of a person in the same
way that the movies I grew up watching could. Captain America: The First Avenger stands as one of my favorite
Marvel movies ever, and was a giant step forward for the studio in with regards
to storytelling.
1.
2.
3.
4. Iron Man
5.
6. Captain America: The First Avenger
7.
8. Thor
9. Iron Man 2
10. The Incredible Hulk
I would love to put this much higher, but, as stated, Marvel really steps their game up.
END OF DAY 5
Whoo! Halfway done, and The Avengers is next! Thank you to all of my readers! Do you agree with my ranking? Are there any great moments or errant flaws that I missed? Who is your favorite Avenger? Do you think Chris Evans will call me? Let me know in the comments below! #bringbackjustinhammer
Be kind to each other.
-James
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