Sunday 11 May 2014

Captain America (2011)



You know those pizzas where the extra toppings are just four or five extra types of cheese?  And you're like 'wow that's cheesy' but it's still pretty darn good?  Captain America is that pizza, in movie form.  In fact, it's that pizza with a side of cheesy fries, and a platter of cheese and biscuits to follow.  It's just that cheesy.

It's also very good fun.

It's World War 2 and sickly, scrawny Steve Rogers is desperate to enlist.  Not because he wants to kill Nazis, but because he hates bullies and believes the only way to stop them is to stand up to them.  His health makes his dream impossible, however, until he meets Dr Abraham Erskine, who needs a test subject for a top secret project and is more interested in the character of the man he chooses than his physique.

If successful, Erskine's process will transform Rogers, granting him superhuman musculature and reflexes, a heightened metabolism, and the enhanced neural pathways necessary to handle the changes.  Steve might actually be able to put his beliefs into effect.  But of course, there are enemies who are determined to see Erskine's project fail, and even people on Steve's side who do not understand what he's really capable of.

As I said above, this is a fun two-hour romp.  The script may not be subtle, but it's got heart, and it is helped immensely by good performances.  Leads Chris Evans and Hayley Atwell work well together, and they're ably supported by the rest of the cast.  In their hands, the cheesiness of the material becomes a plus, not a minus.

Well worth your time.

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