Captain America: First Avenger (2011) --- "Scientific Enhancements Turn A Scrawny Guy Into An American Icon."

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Plot Summary

It is 1941 and the world is in the throes of war. Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) wants to do his part and join America's armed forces, but the military rejects him because of his small stature. Finally, Steve gets his chance when he is accepted into an experimental program that turns him into a supersoldier called Captain America. Joining forces with Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) and Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), Captain America leads the fight against the Nazi-backed HYDRA organization. (1)

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     Director Joe Johnson (The Rocketeer) has demonstrated before that he is capable of portraying the old times perfectly and he does so once again. Captain America: The First Avenger is a pretty decent film and displays the retro style of the 40’s with great costumes (Anna B. Sheppard) and amazing production design (Rick Heinrichs). Some of the action scenes are a bit anti-climatic at times because a lot of them are montages but the CGI effects were great - The pre-serum 98lb weakling Steve is not only an amazing CGI feat but perfectly hooks the audience.  The film ends with true patriotic heroism, as it excellently captures the USA’s patriotic spirit during WW2 and the brutality of the war. This was both welcoming and very much needed because it grounded the film with realism. Obviously, at times the film felt more like a 2hr military recruitment ad from the 1940’s but that is to be expected when the film is called Captain America: The First Avenger. There is an area of concern that I have for this film, two characters feel underdeveloped.

     First, I enjoyed the first time Steve Roger (Chris Evans – Fantastic Four, Snowpiercer) used his powers because the circumstances demanded it but after that they never actually show Roger’s training or learning hand-to-hand combat. In origin films, what always works is the hero learning how to use their new powers and coming to grips with their new reality. It’s almost like as soon as he gets his powers he automatically knows how to fight. In addition, it would have been nice to see more back story or at least explain why he has such a high ethical and moral code. Nevertheless, Chris Evans is very convincing as the patriotic hero, Captain America, and his costume fits in with the time period. Throughout the film, Steve carries a sense of vulnerability and this makes him very relatable as it adds heart to the film.

     Second, Hugo Weaving (Lord of the Rings, V for Vendetta) is a great actor because he always manages to give his characters a quality personality. Unfortunately here he is playing a cheesy and un-menacing villain with a very vaguely hinted at background story. His intentions are a little cliché, I mean "world domination" that's it nothing else in between. His followers are faceless drones with the brains and aim of a Star Wars Stormtrooper, despite having advanced weaponry. However, I was waiting for Weaving to say “Mr. Anderson” and I have heard that his look as the Red Skull is straight out of the comic books. The rest of the cast is great and it was nice to see a couple faces from some of the other Avenger films or at least in one case the father of an Avenger. Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper – Dracula Untold, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) plays an important role in the film and audiences get to see where his son, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr – Iron Man, Sherlock Holms), gets his charm. Tommy Lee Jones (Space Cowboys, Coal Miner’s Daughter) as the gruff but lovable, Colonel Chester Philips stole his scenes and added comic relief to the film.

     Overall, Captain America: The First Avenger is a very good and entertaining film. This was probably one of the toughest Marvel/Avengers characters to bring to life and the producers did a great job at keeping his story simple but with heart. The pace is nice, the cast is perfect, and even though it has its flaws I don’t believe this is a film that can be overlooked. Of course, The First Avenger is a film with an old fashion style but it does get a bit messy in terms of the action sequence. All in all, there is something for everyone in this film and the ending, as with any Marvel film, declares there is more to come and it will be worth the wait.

***Marvel Cinematic Universe (In order of how you should watch them)***

Iron Man (2008)

The Incredible Hulk (2008)

Iron Man 2 (2010)

Thor (2011)

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

Marvel's The Avengers (2012)

Iron Man 3 (2013)

Thor: The Dark World (2013)

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Ant-Man (2015)

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Doctor Strange (2016)

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

Black Panther (2018)

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)

Captain Marvel (2019)

Untitled Avengers film (2019)

Untitled Spider-Man: Homecoming sequel (2019)

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (TBA)

“Whatever happens tomorrow you must promise me one thing. That you will stay who you are. Not a perfect soldier, but a good man.”

- Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci)

Final Vote

Worth Seeing:  4 of 5 star

Worth Buying:  4 of 5 stars

I hope you liked this post, subscribe to my blog via email HERE, send in your comments, and watch Captain America: First Avenger (2011).

Movies Similar 

Ant-Man (2015)
Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
Avengers (2012)
Avengers 2: Age of Ultron (2015)
Avengers 3: Infinity War (2018)
Avengers 4: Untitled film (2019)
Black Panther (2018)
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
Captain America: Civil War (2016)
Captain Marvel (2019)
Doctor Strange (2016)
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (TBA)
Hulk (2003)
Incredible Hulk (2008)
Iron Man (2008)
Iron Man 2 (2010)
Iron Man 3 (2013)
Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Spider-Man: Homecoming 2 (2019)
Thor (2011)
Thor: Dark World (2013)
Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

Cast & Crew

Directed by Joe Johnston

Writing Credits:

      (Screenplay) Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely.

      (Comic Books) Joe Simon and Jack Kirby

Produced by 

     Victoria Alonso          ---     co-producer

     Mitchell Bell               ---     associate producer (as Mitch Bell)

     Stephen Broussard    ---     co-producer

     Louis D'Esposito        ---     executive producer

     Kevin Feige                 ---     producer

     Alan Fine                     ---     executive producer

     Nigel Gostelow           ---     executive producer

     Joe Johnston              ---     executive producer

     Stan Lee                       ---     executive producer

     David Maisel               ---     executive producer

     Richard Whelan         ---     associate producer

Music by Alan Silvestri

Cinematography by Shelly Johnson

Film Editing by Robert Dalva and Jeffrey Ford

Casting By Sarah Finn, Randi Hiller, and Priscilla John

Production Design by Rick Heinrichs

Cast:

Chris Evans                 ---      Captain America / Steve Rogers

Hayley Atwell             ---      Peggy Carter

Sebastian Stan            ---      James Buchanan 'Bucky' Barnes

Tommy Lee Jones     ---      Colonel Chester Phillips

Hugo Weaving            ---      Johann Schmidt / Red Skull

Dominic Cooper        ---      Howard Stark

Richard Armitage     ---      Heinz Kruger

Stanley Tucci              ---      Dr. Abraham Erskine

Samuel L. Jackson   ---      Nick Fury

Toby Jones                   ---      Dr. Arnim Zola

Neal McDonough      ---      Timothy 'Dum Dum' Dugan

Derek Luke                  ---      Gabe Jones

Kenneth Choi              ---      Jim Morita

JJ Feild                         ---      James Montgomery Falsworth

Bruno Ricci                 ---      Jacques Dernier

Lex Shrapnel               ---      Gilmore Hodge

Michael Brandon      ---      Senator Brandt

Martin Sherman        ---      Brandt's Aide

Natalie Dormer          ---      Pvt. Lorraine

Marek Oravec             ---      Jan

David Bradley            ---      Tower Keeper

Leander Deeny           ---      Barman

Sam Hoare                   ---      Nervous Recruit

Simon Kunz                 ---      4F Doctor

Kieran O'Connor       ---      Loud Jerk

Jenna Coleman          ---      Connie

Sophie Colquhoun    ---      Bonnie

James Payton             ---      'Adolph Hitler' 

Salt (2010) --- "A White Crystalline Substance That Gives Seawater Its Taste As Well As Seasons & Preserves Food Can Also Be Someone’s Last Name."

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Plot Summary

When Evelyn Salt (Angelina Jolie) became a CIA officer, she swore an oath to duty, honor, and country. But, when a defector accuses her of being a Russian spy, Salt's oath is put to the test. Now a fugitive, Salt must use every skill gained from years of training and experience to evade capture, but the more she tries to prove her innocence, the more guilty she seems. (1)

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     Salt is about Evelyn Salt (Angelina Jolie – Lara Croft Tomb Raider, Wanted) a CIA agent who is accused of being a Russian espionage spy, whose mission is to assassinate President of Russia during the funeral of the American Vice-President. Salt is a cross between the Jason Bourne films and No Way Out (1987, with Kevin Costner). The plot is interesting because we never know exactly where Evelyn Salt’s loyalties lie or better who she really is. Sometimes this works in the movie but there are some moments that make it a bit hard to root for her. For instance, the plot idea that it's Jolie against the world feels a little unrealistic and a bit cliché. Of course, this plot idea is used in Jason Bourne and Mission: Impossible (MI) but at the same time it is used differently in both films. Perhaps it is because Bourne and Ethan Hunt (MI) always had a sidekick or a help, maybe not throughout every film but at least they had one person they could rely on for a few moments. Maybe it would have worked better if Salt knew about a certain character’s loyalties (which we won’t find out until the end) early on then it would have made for a better film. The film’s ending is not exactly an ending, perhaps it is because they were planning on doing a sequel. However, that has not happened and as such the ending ends up reduces the height of the climax, which doesn’t help out the film overall because the climax is already stretched out between fighting and information dump.

Blade Runner (1982) --- “You Might Have To Watch This Movie More Than Once To Figure Out Which Characters Are Humans.”

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Plot Summary

Deckard (Harrison Ford) is forced by the police Boss (M. Emmet Walsh) to continue his old job as Replicant Hunter. His assignment: eliminate four escaped Replicants from the colonies who have returned to Earth. Before starting the job, Deckard goes to the Tyrell Corporation and he meets Rachel (Sean Young), a Replicant girl he falls in love with. (1)

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      Blade Runner, directed by Ridley Scott (The Martian)  is based on Philip K. Dick’s  Sci-fi novel “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep”. Set in the decrepit setting of 2019 Los Angeles, both novel and film follow Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) a cop – a Blade Runner – whose job is to "retire" genetically engineered cyborgs known as "Replicants". Some of these Replicants have returned to earth from exile on an off-world colony with the intentions to force their creator into expanding their pre-determined four-year lifespan. Blade Runner flopped in its original 1982 release but over time the film became a widely acclaimed classic sci-fi film. This is partly due to the release of a ‘Director Cut’ version of the film and the film’s ability to operate on different levels at one time.

Taken 3 (2014) --- "Guy Framed For Killing Ex-Wife Uses Skills To Hunt Down The Real Murderer."

Plot Summary

Ex-covert operative Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) and his ex-wife, Lenore (Famke Janssen), are enjoying a reconciliation when Lenore is brutally murdered. Bryan is framed for the crime and flees, with the CIA, FBI, and police all in hot pursuit. For the last time, he channels his rage and a particular set of skills into hunting down Lenore's real killers, taking his revenge and protecting the one important thing left in his life: his daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace). (1)

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     Plot recap, ex-covert operative Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson – Non-stop) shocked when the long awaited reconciliation with his ex-wife, Lenora, (Famke Janssen – X2) is tragically cut short when she is brutally murdered. Framed for the crime and consumed by rage, Mills goes into hiding and once again must use his special skills to track down the real killers. His intention is not only to clear his own name but to also exact his own version of ‘justice’ and protect the only one left that matter to him, his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace – Knight & Day).

Taken 2 (2012) --- "Daughter Uses New Set Of Skills To Rescue Mom And Dad From Kidnappers."

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Plot Summary

Two years ago, retired CIA agent Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) used his "particular set of skills" to rescue his daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace), from kidnappers. Since then, Kim has been learning self-defense from her father, and Bryan has been on a personal mission to reunite with his ex-wife (Famke Janssen). In Istanbul, Bryan and his family cross paths with Murad (Rade Serbedzija), whose son died at Bryan's hand during Kim's rescue. Murad wants revenge, and he'll stop at nothing to get it. (1)

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     Taken 2 (2012) was amazing. The first film was great and I was excited when I heard that there was going to be a sequel coming out.  Now, it’s quite common for any sequel film in a series to come off as being worse, sometimes a lot worse, than the first film. However, Taken 2 does not fall into that category, it’s not as good as the first film but it is very darn close. The amazing writers of the first film, Luc Besson (The Fifth Element) and Robert Mark Kamen (The Fifth Element), return for this follow up the sequel. This time we are set in Istanbul where the families of the men Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) killed for kidnapping his daughter are now back for revenge. And there will be no mercy. The tagline for the film is, “First they took his daughter, now they are coming for him.”