Captain America – The First Avenger

CAPTIAN AMERICA – THE FIRST AVENGER (Blu-ray)
Paramount Home Entertainment

Release date: December 5th, 2011
Certificate (UK): 12
Running time: 124 minutes

Director: Joe Johnston
Writers: Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely
Composer: Alan Silvestri

Cast: Chris Evans, Hugo Weaving, Tommy Lee Jones, Dominic Cooper, Stanley Tucci, Richard Armitage

When it comes to superheroes I don’t care much for the comics, I much rather see them on the big screen than on paper and ink; bigger than life and battling it out against the villains.

Captain America – The First Avenger is set in 1941 where Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is desperate to enlist in the army and do his bit for his country. Unfortunately, he’s too small and too unfit and he fails every medical. That’s until Dr. Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci) spots him and decides he’s the perfect candidate for a top secret military research project.

Erskine knows he’s right when Rogers throw himself on a grenade to save his comrades, not realising it’s a dummy. He’s the kind of guy who’ll take a beating rather than give in to intimidation or run away and he hates bullies more than anything else. He’s exactly what the army needs to help them win the war against Hitler and his henchman Johann Schmidt, aka The Red Skull (Hugo Weaving).

At a top secret base, Rogers is transformed into the Chris Evans we know, a towering, hulking piece of muscle. Armed with his star spangled shield and together with his best friend and fellow comrade, Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) and a group of mavericks they’re more than ready to take on the Nazis.

Meanwhile, Red Skull is determined to harness the power from a mysterious object he refers to as “the jewel of Odin’s treasure room”. Having undergone a similar transformation as Rogers, it seems have had the opposite effect on him. It’s amplified his rotten and greedy nature and turned him into a monster both inside and outside. Even the Nazis fear him as he threatens to overshadow Hitler.

As Red Skull unveils his plans for world domination, we know it’s not just about winning the war, but saving the world.

Captain America gets off to a great start. There’s a sense of mystery waiting to be awakened as we move from present time to a castle in Tønsberg, Norway during the Second World War. The set designs are impressive and the look and feel of the 1940’s is captured beautifully. The score composed by Alan Silvestri is sweeping at times but once the action starts it’s tense, exciting and like many superhero scores since Superman (1978) there are moments when it reminds me of John Williams’ theme.

Chris Evans fits into the role very well as the avenging hero. The visual effects team did a great job in showing him as a small, skinny guy, but once he undergoes the transformation and gets into his uniform, this is the Chris Evans I enjoyed seeing the most. Hugo Weaving isn’t as antagonistic as an antagonist should be, although he seems to have had a lot of fun with the German accent. He wants the world and doesn’t settle for anything less, he doesn’t even try to kidnap Rogers’ love interest, Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), which villains sometimes do to get the hero to give themselves up.

The supporting cast all did a great job and you can always rely on Tommy Lee Jones for some great one-lines, but I found Richard Armitage’s appearance too fleeting as Heinz Kruger, an assassin who works for Red Skull. Would have loved for him to stick around longer as he seemed like an interesting character.

Nevertheless, Captain America was enjoyable and fun, living up to and exceeding my expectations. Like Thor, it leads seamlessly into The Avengers movie and there’s a taster of what’s to come in a post-credits sequence.

Patrick Samuel

The founder of Static Mass Emporium and one of its Editors in Chief is an emerging artist with a philosophy degree, working primarily with pastels and graphite pencils, but he also enjoys experimenting with water colours, acrylics, glass and oil paints.

Being on the autistic spectrum with Asperger’s Syndrome, he is stimulated by bold, contrasting colours, intricate details, multiple textures, and varying shades of light and dark. Patrick's work extends to sound and video, and when not drawing or painting, he can be found working on projects he shares online with his followers.

Patrick returned to drawing and painting after a prolonged break in December 2016 as part of his daily art therapy, and is now making the transition to being a full-time artist. As a spokesperson for autism awareness, he also gives talks and presentations on the benefits of creative therapy.

Static Mass is where he lives his passion for film and writing about it. A fan of film classics, documentaries and science fiction, Patrick prefers films with an impeccable way of storytelling that reflect on the human condition.

Patrick Samuel ¦ Asperger Artist

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