Captain America: The First Avenger

[Rage187]

I'm amazed that our drive-in has mostly first run shows - and for the most part, quite popular movies opening on the same night as they open in other theaters. Plus, extremely affordable concessions - two people (me and wife) - dinner and 2 movies will cost under $25. (Large pizza, drinks, and maybe a large popcorn ~$13, plus admission = $12)

Lol, I was just in Olcot Beach NY and was going to either the sunset drive in or the transit drive in.

 

[Rage187]

nationalistic bullshit, not worth it

WTF did you expect from a movie called Captain AMERICA? That's like going to see Aliens and complaining that it had too many scifi elements.

 

[slag]

It is SOOO not worth staying for the Avengers trailer, in case anyone was thinking of doing so. The credits rolled on forever (or maybe that's the usual length; I don't ever wait around for the credits.)
And, with tax, it was $13.37. Add on 2.10 for two 1-liters of cold bottled water we got on the way. We had a pizza (horrible compared to usual), enough french fries to stuff me, and popcorn.

Ditto. The ending trailer was a major letdown.

 

[tboo]

WTF did you expect from a movie called Captain AMERICA? That's like going to see Aliens and complaining that it had too many scifi elements.

LOL, so true.

 

[RaistlinZ]

It was o.k. Not as good as the latest "X-Men".

Spoiler

Final fight scene was rather disappointing though.

 

[IGemini]

I heard it's good but not worth the 3D

Seconded. There weren't many scenes actually shot in 3D. It's pretty easy to tell when they just did 2D conversion.

It's about what I expected, they handled the material pretty well. Though there was a lot of WWII and modern technology overlaid. Seemed longer than 2 hours but was actually a bit shorter.

 

[waggy]

nationalistic bullshit, not worth it

and the name Captain America didn't give you a clue? ..damn.

 

[BoredWork]

It was o.k. Not as good as the latest "X-Men".

Spoiler

Final fight scene was rather disappointing though.

id have to disagree here. i thought it was way better then the latest Xmen.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

WTF did you expect from a movie called Captain AMERICA? That's like going to see Aliens and complaining that it had too many scifi elements.

I dunno, I thought the Brats movie was a documentary about prostitutes...

 

[GodisanAtheist]

Taking down Hydra wasn't coherent enough? The one thing I think you could complain about in that regard is that it seems Red Skull was really underutilized in the movie. It's almost like the newer Star Trek movie... the bad guy may have been menacing, but I just didn't care much.

-Understatement of the century.

Spoiler

The movie really failed miserably at building any tension, and walked all the tried and true tropes of the superhero/action movie genre in such a by the books sort of way that it almost seemed bored with itself.

The Red Skull has NO victories against Captain America at all in the whole damn movie, you get no sense that Cap'n is fighting someone worthy of his stature. From the minute Cap'n dons his suit to the end of the film, it is just one series of failures after another for the Skull until you wonder why the hell he's even such a threat by the end of the film, and where the hell he's getting his resources if he's renounced Hitler but can't ever seem to get the leg up on the rag tag band of Americans tailing him. For god's sake the one casualty suffered by the Capn's squad was at the hands of some faceless goon, and was then plowed over and forgotten in the span of 30 seconds.

A good guy is measured by the level of adversity he faces and the stature of the evil he overcomes. The Red Skull is such an INEPT villain in this movie that he actually serves to undermine the hero's heroism and make all of his deeds and accomplishments LESS inspiring.

So yeah, there is one thing you can complain about and it can ruin the entire damn movie.

Throw in the crowbar'd romantic subplot plus the weird pacing/jumps in continuity and you have a grade A shit sandwich fooling everyone that its a good movie thanks to stellar production values.

 

[Rage187]

-Understatement of the century. The movie really failed miserably at building any tension, and walked all the tried and true tropes of the superhero/action movie genre in such a by the books sort of way that it almost seemed bored with itself.

Spoiler

The Red Skull has NO victories against Captain America at all in the whole damn movie, you get no sense that Cap'n is fighting someone worthy of his stature. From the minute Cap'n dons his suit to the end of the film, it is just one series of failures after another for the Skull until you wonder why the hell he's even such a threat by the end of the film, and where the hell he's getting his resources if he's renounced Hitler but can't ever seem to get the leg up on the rag tag band of Americans tailing him. For god's sake the one casualty suffered by the Capn's squad was at the hands of some faceless goon, and was then plowed over and forgotten in the span of 30 seconds.

A good guy is measured by the level of adversity he faces and the stature of the evil he overcomes. The Red Skull is such an INEPT villain in this movie that he actually serves to undermine the hero's heroism and make all of his deeds and accomplishments LESS inspiring.

So yeah, there is one thing you can complain about and it can ruin the entire damn movie.

Throw in the crowbar'd romantic subplot plus the weird pacing/jumps in continuity and you have a grade A shit sandwich fooling everyone that its a good movie thanks to stellar production values.

fixed that for you

 

[Aikouka]

-Understatement of the century. The movie really failed miserably at building any tension, and walked all the tried and true tropes of the superhero/action movie genre in such a by the books sort of way that it almost seemed bored with itself.

Along with the remark in which you quoted, I'd like to ask what you thought of the Star Trek movie which had a lot of the same "qualities". I hear that movie typically referred to as more of a "character exposé" more than an action movie.

 

[classy]

id have to disagree here. i thought it was way better then the latest Xmen.

It was definately better than the latest X-Men.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

Along with the remark in which you quoted, I'd like to ask what you thought of the Star Trek movie which had a lot of the same "qualities". I hear that movie typically referred to as more of a "character exposé" more than an action movie.

- Star Trek did suffer from the same issue as capt america and was definitely a worse movie for it. Nevetheless, Nero managed to wipe out a federation fleet and destroy vulcan. While Nero was underutilized, they clearly and unambiguously demonstrated why he was a threat and has to be stopped. Nero was also presented as a somewhat tragic character, having lost his family.

Nero was certainly a weak villian but he was still in a different class than skull, who was not only an empty suit but failed to even provide a requisite level of comic book villany his character.

Thats what I think about the star trek movie, which I liked much more than capt america but still thought fell short of its overall potential. Hopefully Abrams will learn feom his mistake next time around and make a bettet movie.

 

[KeithTalent]

It was definately better than the latest X-Men.

I very much disagree. X-Men: First Class was the best of the superhero films this summer as far as I'm concerned.

KT

 

[Aikouka]

- Star Trek did suffer from the same issue as capt america and was definitely a worse movie for it. Nevetheless, Nero managed to wipe out a federation fleet and destroy vulcan. While Nero was underutilized, they clearly and unambiguously demonstrated why he was a threat and has to be stopped. Nero was also presented as a somewhat tragic character, having lost his family.

Nero was certainly a weak villian but he was still in a different class than skull, who was not only an empty suit but failed to even provide a requisite level of comic book villany his character.

Thats what I think about the star trek movie, which I liked much more than capt america but still thought fell short of its overall potential. Hopefully Abrams will learn feom his mistake next time around and make a bettet movie.

I can see how Red Skull was more of a "bad guy on paper" than Nero. With the exception of the beginning, all you really see in the movie is the outcome of stuff that he does.

But to me, what I like in my superhero movies are typically endearing traits in the heroes. That's why I liked Green Lantern more than others may have... once he stopped whining and manned up, he had a more endearing personality.

I very much disagree. X-Men: First Class was the best of the superhero films this summer as far as I'm concerned.

KT

I've never really understood what people saw in that movie. I didn't think it was a bad movie, but for it to receive as much praise as it does makes me wonder if I accidentally went into the wrong theater and saw the wrong movie. I've talked about this in another thread, but the biggest problem was the inclusion of the "red shirt mutants." The script simply did a poor job of making us actually care about their plight as mutants or engineering them as characters that we find endearing. The movie only had a few good moments in it, and most of the action was very sub-par.

I actually almost laughed out loud at the absurdity of the "nein!" scene at the beginning... it was just carried on so long that it reminded me of Anakin's "NOOOOOOOO!!" in Star Wars: Episode 3. As an amusing aside, the meme-ization of the phrase "DO NOT WANT" actually came from a Chinese dub of Star Wars: Episode 3 that also had English subtitles in which during that "NOOOOOO!!" scene, it was translated as "DO NOT WANT!!"

Anyway, I actually had rather high hopes for the movie and was rather let down. I thought a few scenes could have been handled better... maybe even added some more drama into it to spice up the action.

 

[KeithTalent]

I've never really understood what people saw in that movie. I didn't think it was a bad movie, but for it to receive as much praise as it does makes me wonder if I accidentally went into the wrong theater and saw the wrong movie. I've talked about this in another thread, but the biggest problem was the inclusion of the "red shirt mutants." The script simply did a poor job of making us actually care about their plight as mutants or engineering them as characters that we find endearing. The movie only had a few good moments in it, and most of the action was very sub-par.

I actually almost laughed out loud at the absurdity of the "nein!" scene at the beginning... it was just carried on so long that it reminded me of Anakin's "NOOOOOOOO!!" in Star Wars: Episode 3. As an amusing aside, the meme-ization of the phrase "DO NOT WANT" actually came from a Chinese dub of Star Wars: Episode 3 that also had English subtitles in which during that "NOOOOOO!!" scene, it was translated as "DO NOT WANT!!"

Anyway, I actually had rather high hopes for the movie and was rather let down. I thought a few scenes could have been handled better... maybe even added some more drama into it to spice up the action.

Well it was a low bar to be the best superhero film this year, don't get me wrong, but I thought the first half of X-Men was better than anything I saw in any of the other films. In fact I could have watched an entire film of Fassbender getting revenge on Nazis; that stuff was fantastic. The young X-men were definitely the most annoying part of the film, particularly the party scene which was just stupid, but for me there was enough surrounding it to make the film enjoyable.

So yeah it is flawed, but I was never bored in First Class like I was in Captain America or even Thor.

KT

 

[MiataNC]

nationalistic bullshit, not worth it

In many ways it was a period piece.

All of the "Rah Rah Rah" Pro-America stuff really did happen during WWII. Soldiers that distinguished themselves (such as pilots that reached "Ace" status) were sent on tours all around the US, and newsreels were made and shown in theaters. All in order to drum up support for the war effort.

People viewing today (like yourself) are easily turned off by such displays, because we are a MUCH more educated and jaded society. When Captain A. finally did his shtick in front of real combat troops he got a dose of reality. It is a shame the movie glossed over that part, because it was a pretty decent payoff for all of the period flavor that preceded it.

 

[MagickMan]

nationalistic bullshit, not worth it

From a movie called Captain America?!? Whodathunkit?!

I saw it. It was okay, 3/5 stars.

 

[classy]

Well it was a low bar to be the best superhero film this year, don't get me wrong, but I thought the first half of X-Men was better than anything I saw in any of the other films. In fact I could have watched an entire film of Fassbender getting revenge on Nazis; that stuff was fantastic. The young X-men were definitely the most annoying part of the film, particularly the party scene which was just stupid, but for me there was enough surrounding it to make the film enjoyable.

So yeah it is flawed, but I was never bored in First Class like I was in Captain America or even Thor.

KT

I didn't even see Thor. But I just don't see how Xmen 1st class was better than Captain America. The only drawback with Captain America was the fact it was crammed into one movie. To much was kinda skimped over. But it was a better storyline and more enjoyable than 1st class. I liked both, but Captain America was a bit better.

 

[classy]

KT are you a huge movie goer to? I watch a lot of movies both at home and in the movies. Go to about 30 films a year.

 

[KeithTalent]

KT are you a huge movie goer to? I watch a lot of movies both at home and in the movies. Go to about 30 films a year.

Yeah, I watch quite a few movies in a year, both theatre and at home.

Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I saw Captain America last, but by now I am pretty damn tired of the whole superhero origin story and this one did not really do anything all that interesting from that perspective. This is why I am still quite interested in Avengers because most of the characters have been established, so they can, in theory, just proceed with a story that involves all of the characters. I guess for X-Men I already felt slightly attached to Xavier and Magneto (and Mystique to a lesser extent) due to the previous films and that allowed me to enjoy it more.

KT

 

[foghorn67]

I saw it, and thought it was awesome knowing it's still a setup. I think only Iron Man is the only movie where it could stand on it's own.
My complaint, and only complaint is the villain. Red Skull was was awesome, Weaving awesome. But the movie banked on him being just bad and hell bent.
I think the movie was going for the sympathy of the audience being evoked by Hydra holding the 107th as experimental POW lab rats. The emphasis was on that, and not Hydra wanting to destroy the world, including it's Nazi founders.
Things I loved:
-Captain America, the perfect portrayal of America's can-do-all WW2 generation.
-Carter: I can't get over Atwell. A classic beauty with a pinup body and the tenacious attitude that defined England's resolve. And the chemistry between these two.
-The Colonel. Tommy Lee Jones doing what he does best. Need I say more?
-40's era Futura. As a huge fan of this "look and feel", finally a film that nails it.
Hugely disappointed with Sky Captain...was looking forward to that in a big way.

 

[0roo0roo]

http://www.ebertpresents.com/movies/captain-america-the-first-avenger/videos/245

 

[classy]

http://www.ebertpresents.com/movies/captain-america-the-first-avenger/videos/245

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: