Steve Rogers is a scrawny kid from Brooklyn who wants nothing more than to join the war and fight to defend his country. His small size and his numerous health issues prevent him from being shipped off to war, but one scientist, named Erskine, allows Rogers to enlist into the Strategic Scientific Reserve. An act of self-sacrificing bravery shows the scientist that Rogers has what it takes to receive an experimental serum which transforms him into a supersoldier. Proving his mettle in battle, he is enlisted to square off against Hydra and the Red Skull, who wields a relic called the Tesseract, which grants him immense power.
Captain America was originally created as a patriotic supersoldier who fought the forces of the Axis during World War II, which is also when this film is set. The movie takes place in the early 1940s, while World War II was going on. Captain America is called the first avenger because he was the first hero created (intentionally or unintentionally). At the end of the film, Rogers finds himself frozen in ice for roughly 70 years which brings him into the modern era of superheros. As the film takes place in the 1940s, it doesn't happen necessarily at the same time as Hulk or Iron Man 2, but at the end of the film, while Henry Stark is searching the ocean for Captain America, he finds the Tesseract, which is held by S.H.I.E.L.D. until the events of Thor, in which Nick Fury asks Dr. Selvig to study the Tesseract, although Captain Marvel recently retconned in that the Tesseract wound up in outer space, being guarded by a group of Skrulls in an invisible lab ship. The Tesseract, we'll later come to find out, is the first of the six Infinity Stones that Thanos is going to attempt to locate.
Watching this again (for the third time) for this review, I actually forgot just how great Tommy Lee Jones is in this movie. He plays a colonel in the army, and he has some great lines. He was perfect for that role. The filmmakers also did a really great job of recreating the atmosphere of World War II, including the way that old movies about that era look. It's a really great aesthetic for the film.
Themes
Despite Rogers' small size, he never gives up. He was constantly picked on in his hometown but he never let the bullies steal his spirit or his resolve. But of course it also leads to character flaws, such as Rogers feeling that he has something to prove to himself and to the world. His close friend, Bucky, is going off to war without him and tries to talk some sense into him, but Rogers will not be deterred. When Erskine gives him the serum to transform Rogers into a supersoldier, Erskine implores him never to lose the goodness that was inside him or the perspective he gained from always being the scrawny one, knowing what true power actually means.
Stan Lee cameo
Stan Lee plays a general at a ceremony Rogers is supposed to receive a medal at. Someone who isn't Rogers rushes out to explain that to the presenter, and Lee looks at the man next to him and says "I thought he'd be taller."
Grade: A+
I think this film, along with Iron Man, is one of Marvel's best films. Tommy Lee Jones is great in his role as an army colonel. The film is well-constructed and well acted. The villain is great. The aesthetic really gives you the impression of the 1940s. It's just an all-around great film.
Captain America: The First Avenger
Directed by: Joe Johnston
Written by: Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely
Starring:
Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America
Tommy Lee Jones as Chester Phillips
Hugo Weaving as Johann Schmidt/Red Skull
Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter
Sebastain Stan as James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes
Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark
Neal McDonough as Timothy "Dum Dum" Dugan
Derek Luke as Gabe Jones
Stanley Tucci as Abraham ErskineToby Jones as Arnim Zola
Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury (cameo)
Stan Lee as general (cameo)
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