Dir: Joe Johnston
Starring: Chris Evans, Hugo Weaving, Hayley Atwell, Tommy Lee Jones.
Synopsis: Steve Rogers, a skinny young lad from Brooklyn, becomes WW2's finest hero after being given a super-soldier serum.
Verdict: My high expectations for this film were not unfounded. From the captivating hints in Iron Man, the stills and trailers, the film lived up to everything I thought of it.
Chris Evans (you may recognise as the Human Torch from the Fantastic Four films) plays Steve Rogers, the scrawny kid who, despite best efforts, is refused entry to the US army for a list of medical problems and the fact that he's a bit of a wimp. This is, until he is spotted by a scientist working with the army who uses an experimental super-soldier serum to turn Rogers into Captain America.
This all happens with the help of Howard Stark - yep, ol' Iron Man's daddy - played brilliantly by Dominic Cooper, who puts together Downey Jr's Tony with what clips of Howard we see in IM2 to produce a really good character, and Colonel Philips, a wise ass and quite grumpy character played brilliantly by Tommy Lee Jones, who provides alot of the comic relief of the film. And of course, the love interest, Peggy (Atwell), a British agent who is over-seeing the experiment.
The good guys are then juxtaposed by Hugo Weavings' Red Skull. Weaving, who is known as a sort of 'king-of-the-geeks' for roles in films such as Transformers, V For Vendetta, and The Matrix, plays the villain really well, though his german accent isn't the most convincing ever to grace cinema screens.
This is topped off with some stunning special effects and though, again, I haven't seen the 3D - like with Harry Potter - it's blatantly obvious where they will have gone to extreme lengths with it. Hopefully the 3D will be better than what was produced in Thor, one of the reasons why I saw it first time round in 2D.
The film ties together so many of the loose threads left by the previous films which have all been working towards next years The Avengers. From the reasons behind the super-soldier program being put on ice (Incredible Hulk), the original Stark Expo as seen in IM2, and the snippet from the end of Thor's credits (I'll keep shtum about that one to avoid spoilers).
Of course with Marvel, there is a piece to wait for at the end of the credits, which is definitely worth waiting for. I say no more on the matter, go and see it for yourself.
Not quite the fantasy masterpiece that First Class was, but still a deeply enjoyable film though, of course, a little bit 'pro America' propoganda-ish.
