Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Latest
    • Thank You
    • 4000. Scenes From A Marriage (1973)
    • 3999. The Pianist (2002)
    • 3998. Philadelphia (1993)
    • 3997. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)
    • 3996. The Green Mile (1999)
    • 3995. Doctor Zhivago (1965)
    • 3994. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)
    The Mad Movie Man
    • Home
    • Blog
      • All Posts
      • Best Of The Year
        • Best Of 2015
        • Best Of 2016
        • Best Of 2017
        • Best Of 2018
        • Best Of 2019
        • Best Of 2020
        • Best Of 2021
        • Best Of 2022
      • The Decade In Review
      • Box Office Analysis
      • James Bond
      • Oscars
      • RANKED
      • Star Wars
      • The Big Questions
      • Top 10
      • World Cinema
    • Ratings
      • Top 250
      • Top 100 Foreign Films
      • Bottom 50
      • 0 – 1.9
      • 2 – 3.9
      • 4 – 5.9
      • 6 – 7.9
      • 8 – 10
    • Genres
      • Action
      • Anthology
      • Animation
      • Christmas
      • Comedy
      • Crime
      • Documentary
      • Drama
      • Fantasy
      • Film-Noir
      • History
      • Horror
      • Kids’
      • Musical
      • Psychological
      • Romance
      • Sci-Fi
      • Short
      • Silent
      • Sport
      • Superhero
      • Survival
      • Thriller
      • Western
    • Release Year
      • 2020s
      • 2010s
      • 2000s
      • 1990s
      • 1980s
      • 1970s
      • 1960s
      • 1950s
      • 1940s
      • 1930s
      • 1920s
    • Country
      • Afghanistan
      • Argentina
      • Australia
      • Austria
      • Belgium
      • Brazil
      • Cambodia
      • Canada
      • Chile
      • China
      • Colombia
      • Costa Rica
      • Czechoslovakia
      • Czech Republic
      • Denmark
      • East Timor
      • Faroe Islands
      • Finland
      • France
      • Germany
      • Georgia
      • Greece
      • Hong Kong
      • Hungary
      • Iceland
      • India
      • Indonesia
      • Iran
      • Iraq
      • Ireland
      • Israel
      • Italy
      • Japan
      • Latvia
      • Lebanon
      • Laos
      • Malaysia
      • Mexico
      • New Zealand
      • Nigeria
      • North Korea
      • Norway
      • Paraguay
      • Peru
      • Philippines
      • Poland
      • Romania
      • Russia
      • Saudi Arabia
      • Singapore
      • South Korea
      • South Africa
      • Soviet Union
      • Spain
      • Sweden
      • Switzerland
      • Syria
      • Taiwan
      • Thailand
      • Turkey
      • Uganda
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
      • Uruguay
      • Vietnam
      • Zambia
    • About
    The Mad Movie Man
    You are at:Home»Review»861. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

    861. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

    0
    By The Mad Movie Man on February 18, 2015 120-129 mins, 2011, 6 - 7.9, Action, Feb 15, Movies Of 2015, Review, Superhero, United States
    6.7 Not a great superhero flick
    • Acting 6.8
    • Directing 6.7
    • Story 6.7
    • User Ratings (0 Votes) 0

    Starring: Chris Evans, Hayley Atwell, Tommy Lee Jones

    Director: Joe Johnston

    Running Time: 124 mins


    Captain America: The First Avenger is an American film and the fifth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A young aspiring soldier, Steve Rogers, frustrated by numerous rejections from the US Army to serve in World War Two, becomes part of a ground-breaking project which turns him into the superhero Captain America.

     Now, this is a bit of a slow film, a superhero movie without very much action or a really cool story, but it is an origins story more than anything, so you can forgive the makers for making it that slow. However, there were still some really interesting things about the whole film, such as its 1940s period setting, cool visuals and different approach towards the origins of a superhero.

    Let’s start with why this isn’t such a good film. Firstly, in a film called ‘Captain America’, you’ve got to wait up to 40 minutes before you see the superhero Captain America in any shape or form, whilst it’s another 20-30 minutes before he becomes involved in any proper big blockbuster action, so although there are some plot lines in the first half of the film that can keep you interested, it’s eventually quite tiring sitting through these establishing stages of Steve Rogers’ character without seeing the actual hero you want to watch.

    And then, when it comes to the action, it’s a little bit disappointing. There are flashes of the battles you’d normally expect to see, but in truth, they either don’t go on for long enough, and therefore aren’t exciting, or go on for too long, and end up drying up and boring you.

    Of course, it’s an origins story, so you do need some time spent on the exposition of the character, but it goes on for so long, and it’s not until an hour in that you get some genuinely interesting story lines tied into the actual superhero Captain America, and with so little action in that time frame, there’s often very little to keep you properly engaged.

    On the other hand, what does keep you engaged is that this film offers a refreshingly different approach towards the superhero genre as a whole by setting in its original time of the 1940s and the Second World War, which makes total sense given the origins of the superhero.

    The most interesting part of the whole film for me is when they explain how the character Captain America comes to prominence, through use in US propaganda for WWII, and that does give a very easy and believable transition into him becoming an actual superhero, and I was not expecting to see a genuinely convincing superhero story at all going into this.

    Finally, the visuals are all very good too. The action is all well-made, but the most impressive thing to look at in this film is the excellent cinematography, which gives the film a slightly beige-tinted look to just heighten the sense that you’re firmly in the 1940s, not the present day, and that was not only a very good-looking element of the film, but also a properly effective tool to increase the sense of realism.

    Overall, this gets a 6.7, because despite its successes in using its different historical context to its advantage, this film is too slow and boring initially, and ultimately lacking in the necessary action.

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    The Mad Movie Man
    • Website
    • Facebook
    • Twitter

    The Mad Movie Man, AKA Anthony Cullen, writes articles and reviews about movies and the world of cinema. From January 1st, 2013 to December 31st, 2022, he watched and reviewed a movie every day. This is the blog dedicated to the project: www.madmovieman.com

    Related Posts

    8.2

    4000. Scenes From A Marriage (1973)

    7.8

    3999. The Pianist (2002)

    8.2

    3998. Philadelphia (1993)

    Follow Me Online!
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Tumblr
    New Releases
    8.2
    December 25, 2022

    3994. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)

    5.6
    December 10, 2022

    3969. Falling For Christmas (2022)

    6.9
    December 4, 2022

    3956. The People We Hate At The Wedding (2022)

    5.4
    December 3, 2022

    3954. Disenchanted (2022)

    7.4
    December 3, 2022

    3953. Meet Cute (2022)

    7.6
    November 23, 2022

    3934. Do Revenge (2022)

    7.0
    November 18, 2022

    3929. The Wonder (2022)

    6.7
    November 13, 2022

    3924. See How They Run (2022)

    Recommended Movies
    8.6
    Review
    December 6, 20180

    2374. Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse (2018)

    8.0
    Review
    April 14, 20210

    3316. Another Round (2020)

    8.0
    Review
    October 4, 20210

    3501. Sunshine (2007)

    8.1
    Review
    November 29, 20130

    364. Quiz Show (1994)

    8.4
    Review
    October 28, 20180

    2328. The Perfect Crime (2004)

    Popular Posts
    December 31, 2022

    Thank You

    8.2
    December 31, 2022

    4000. Scenes From A Marriage (1973)

    7.8
    December 30, 2022

    3999. The Pianist (2002)

    8.2
    December 29, 2022

    3998. Philadelphia (1993)

    7.5
    December 28, 2022

    3997. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)

    9.1
    December 27, 2022

    3996. The Green Mile (1999)

    7.6
    December 26, 2022

    3995. Doctor Zhivago (1965)

    © 2023 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.