I’ve never seen Captain America: The First Avenger before.
We’ve met Tony, Natasha, Bruce, Thor and have only been introduced to Clint. Now it’s time to meet Captain America himself: Steve Rogers.
The first-time Marvel Cinematic Universe watches continue with “Captain America: The First Avenger.” Much like several of the other films I’ve seen on this journey, I knew basically nothing going into the 2011 film starring Chris Evans, Sebastian Stan, Hayley Atwell, Hugo Weaving and Tommy Lee Jones.
Here’s what I thought.
1. I am aware that Chris Evans is shirtless at least once in this movie and it’s what I’m looking forward to most.
2. Ominous music, a snow storm and some man waving at a truck in the middle of the night. Usually not a good start to anyone’s night.
3. With there being barely any light out and this being a huge snowstorm, how in the world did these two people find this guy in the middle of this field?
4. I’m on the edge of my seat waiting to find out what this cave/lab place is.
5. Cap’s shield!
6. Ah yes, World War II. Aside from the shirtless Steve Rogers scene, the only other thing I knew about this movie beforehand was that it was set in the 1940s..
7. Is that my boy Filch from the “Harry Potter” series?!?
8. There’s the Tesseract! Well, before it was shattered.
9. This secret underground lair is just a treasure trove.
10. Wait, is that Agent Smith from “The Matrix”?!? I bet he’ll bring a lot of mischief to this movie.
11. Chris Evans is shirtless and looks…awful. This isn’t THE scene I’ve been waiting for.
12. This CGI work is absolutely terrifying with skinny Steve Rogers. It’s so jarring to see.
13. Yeah, kick that bully in the butt, Sebastian Stan!
14. Well, well, Mr. Howard Stark has entered the building. And he’s as innovative as his son!
15. OK, pause. Where the heck are our flying cars!?
16. I’m a big fan of the Steve/Bucky relationship. It’s cute to see.
17. I need to see Steve Rogers buffed up, I can’t stand this CGI.
18. Stanley Tucci has joined the party. I’d love to see him in every movie.
19. “Maybe what we need now is a little guy.” Actually, sorry to interrupt, but what we really need is Steve with some muscles.
20. Agent Smith upgraded from traveling through telephone booths to having an evil lair on a snowy mountainside.
21. Loving Agent Peggy Carter already.
22. Awww Steve is getting bullied. We hate to see it.
23. Now that’s how you get the flag! Let’s see who tries to bully him now.
24. Steve is literally me trying to do push-ups/any exercise.
25. Am I really going to have to fight with Tommy Lee Jones to let me see a shirtless, buff Steve Rogers?
26. To the little guys!
27. They’re really not going to show us this dramatic portrait of Agent Smith?! What gives!
28. Oooooh, code words! How sneaky!
29. “Somebody get that kid a sandwich” LOL.
30. Can’t they give Steve anything to help knock him out during this procedure? This seems excruciating!
31. Nobody thought to bring glasses to this lightshow? Stark couldn’t have warned them?
32. Hello, hottie with muscles! There’s the money shot!
33. Not Stanley Tucci and the old shop lady! This man is a monster!
34. Legend Peggy Carter to the rescue.
35. Drivers in the 1940s were so reckless. Some things haven’t changed.
36. Steve’s first mission as a superhuman hottie is officially not going so well.
37. This guy has a crazy submarine just waiting for him? That’s quite impressive.
38. OK, instead of fighting in the war, Steve is now officially a traveling Captain America show. He looks great but wow do his acting skills need some work.
39. Serious question: How do I get my hands on one of these cute dancer costumes?
40. Tommy Lee Jones is grumpy in literally every movie, and I love that for him.
41. Their plane is being shot at and Steve decides to jump out of the plane. That parachute would literally be struck down in seconds if this was real life. Terrible plan.
42. I hate to break it to you, Steve, but that very bright and colorful American flag shield will make you stick out in this base that you’re trying to be so sneaky in.
43. Ah, casual racism. This is why we don’t miss the ‘40s.
44. You’re telling me the leaders of the base — Agent Smith and Dr. Zola – are the last to know that everything is falling apart? It took them like several minutes to realize people are escaping? I have to laugh.
45. Dr. Zola is like lol I’m outta here with his briefcase.
46. Bucky!!! He’s alive!
47. Agent Smith is just taking off his face!?! WHAT IN THE WORLD???
48. It is in my humble opinion that no car needs to be that long, not even a supervillain’s car.
49. Did Steve make the jump??
50. He did! And he’s got an entourage.
51. Ahhh Stan Lee sighting!
52. Agent Carter looks s-t-u-n-n-i-n-g in that red dress!
53. Dang Natalie Dormer is making some moves on Cap! But oh no! Peggy saw!
54. It’s the beginning of the real Captain America shield.
55. Do NOT mess with Agent Carter!
56. Awww Steve has Peggy’s picture!!! I’m swooning!
57. Why can’t we have heroes like Captain America in real life?
58. That train is speeding down these tracks way too quickly. I’ve got a bad feeling about this.
59. Bucky!!! No!!!!
60. Not gonna lie, I would love some steak, potatoes and broccoli right now.
61. I support Tommy Lee Jones stealing that steak.
62. If Steve’s metabolism burns four times more than the average person, he must be starving at all times. I guess that’s the price of looking so good.
63. It’s kinda cute that Steve has gotten to work with both Stark senior and Stark junior.
64. Steve is evading these motorists and getting through the base way too easily. Make him sweat a little!
65. Alright, being surrounded by 100 men should make him sweat.
66. Every time I look at Red Agent Smith it makes me think of Vision.
67. These villains always try to act so tough but they’re the first ones to run out of the room! I see you, Red Man!
68. Legend Peggy Carter is part of the storming agents. Love it!
69. The tension between Steve and Peggy is unbearable! JUST KISS ALREADY!
70. ABOUT TIME!!!
71. “I’m not kissing you!” Line of the movie goes to Tommy Lee Jones.
72. How convenient that these bombs have been labeled so well with their corresponding city names. Someone is Type A!
73. Yet again that was a super easy plane navigation fight scene. I bet Red Man will put up somewhat of a fight.
74. Alexa, play “Defying Gravity” from “Wicked.”
75. Woah the Tesseract is going crazy!
76. Steve didn’t really have to make such a nosedive landing if you ask me. I think if he just pulled up the plane a little, he would have slowed to a stop. But what do I know?
77. It doesn’t matter in the end though because he’s alright!
78. Woah he’s in the future! Now that was a fun twist. But seriously how crazy would it be to jump ahead like seven decades into the future? I think he’ll need some therapy.
79. That means he missed his date with Peggy! I’m distraught!
80. “I had a date.” I’M DEAD.
Overall Thoughts On Captain America: The First Avenger
Captain America: The First Avenger was good! I liked the idea of setting this story in the 1940s to set it apart slightly from the other modern-day Marvel movies up until this point. I also enjoyed their take on this hero origin story. It reminded me a little of The Incredible Hulk since Steve Rogers became Captain America through an experiment much like Bruce Banner became the Hulk.
But unlike the Hulk movie, this one actually took you through the beginnings of this hero, instead of skipping past those early days. That approach allows viewers to develop some sense of who this person was before and after their transformation, which is what any movie should do!
I really enjoyed the cast they assembled for the film as well. Evans as our chiseled hero fits perfectly, and I swooned over his chemistry with Atwell. She was also a total badass as Peggy Carter, and I loved all of her scenes. Weaving brought his usual mischievous side to the film, while Jones gave me a good laugh.
I do have to knock the movie down for the truly awful CGI work done on Evans before he became Captain America. I know they wanted to make his transformation dramatic, but the CGI is so distracting and over the top.
Also, I wish the film had a few more surprises like it did at the end with the time jump. It ended up following the same Marvel formula that is getting a bit old at this point. Overall, it’s a film that serves its purpose and gives us insight into another hero. I’m excited to see how all of these hot shots come together in The Avengers.
Rating: 3 out of 5
NEXT: I’ve Never Seen Iron Man 2. Here’s What I Thought.
About Captain America: The First Avenger
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.
