REVIEW-Captian America; The 1st Avenger

Viewing MARVEL STUDIO's latest installment in the "Avengers" saga made me feel good about the impending franchise and well assured that Hollywood understands the importence of making better movies.

Hopefully, the star-studded ensemble in "The Avengers" (coming May 2012) will be well worth the wait, if "Captian America" is any indication of MARVEL's continued excellence in scriptwriting, acting, editing and production design.

The film's premise centers on (our hero) Steve Rogers (played by CHRIS EVANS ; Fantastic Four) a puny-yet-determined Military enlistee who is deemed unfit for service.

After being noticed by a compassionate U.S. Scientist (played with heart by cameo Stanley Tucci), our man Steve volunteers for a top secret research project that turns him into Captain America, a superhero dedicated to defending America's ideals.


What better actor to play the diabolical villian RED SKULL than our favorite MATRIX bad guy HUGO WEAVING (V for Vendetta) who potrays a disfigured Nazi official-gone-rouge, hellbent on harnessing the power of ODIN (Thor's father, for those of you playing at home) which is embedded in a desert artifact that crashed on earth years before.

Expect huge explosions, great car chases, amazing stunts and above average special effects. Also expect a bit of corny chiches and obvious comedic relief - but hey, it's summer, it's MARVEL and the word 'America" is in the title. Shut up and chew ya twizzlers.

Not only was it good to see Hugo Weaving chizel his mark in the movie villian's hall of fame (with Jack Nicholson's "Joker", James Earl Jone's "Darth Vader" and Terrence Stamp's "General Zod") but it was also refreshing to see Chris Evans in a role where he doesn't play a smarmy playboy with a cocky attitude.

I wonder if he begged for that role as a way to further develop his personal best as an actor. Maybe it fell in his lap. Either way, you can see him working from a different performance energy center, and that's a good thing.

Best wishes to MARK RUFFALO (The kids are alright, Shutter Island, Date Night) as he takes over the role of BRUCE BANNER in the Avangers movie. EDWARD NORTON is no longer huge and green.

Directed by popcorn vet JOE JOHNSTON ( Jumanji, Hildago, Jurrassic park 3) this film has the feel of a classic movie like "Raiders" with breakneack action sequences and slick production design. The costumes and shots of New York in the 40's were top-notch. Great use of REAL 3d tech from the first frame to the last. Worth the admission price.


TICKET WORTH: Full price (2D and 3D)
RENT THIS MOVIE?: Hellz yeah! Watch it with the kids.
BUY THE DVD?: Hellz yeah. Blue-ray, 3D - all the bells and whistles.

J/A