Well, not so Joe Johnston, who directed Captain America: The First Avenger. He has crafted a wonderfully earnest film, full of laid-back, old-world American charm. The beautiful set design captures the heart and spirit of the `40s, and the film itself is a nod to classical films its old-fashioned but solid first half will evoke a lot of nostalgia within anyone who watched classic Hollywood titles.
Gorgeously shot, the entirely film is easy on the eyes, as is its cast, especially the brawny Chris Evans, who plays the post-serum Steve Rogers. His face has been digitally grafted onto the puny frame of a ninety-pound body double, the special effects reminiscent of what you have seen in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which is actually the least ostensibly showy of all the digital effects in the film. In fact, it is the movie`s most impressive digital feat, precisely because it does not look and feel like a special effect at all.
The story isn`t particularly groundbreaking. In fact, at many points, it is really predictable, but what makes Captain America: The First Avenger so forgivable is that as an origins story (somewhat in the vein of this year`s X-men: First Class), it fulfills its mission in spades, padding out the backstory of Steve Rogers so well. We have to hand it to Johnston for not skimping on the scenes with the diminutive pre-juiced Steve Rogers. It was important to give him enough scenes to establish Captain America`s true strength: his courage, his integrity, and most of all, his recognition of power, coming from a place of weakness.
The plot, especially in the later bits of the film, does feel a bit rushed, and somewhat hackneyed, almost as if it was stumbling to come to a proper conclusion. As with most of the recent Marvel superhero movies, Captain America: The First Avenger is a setup for next year`s superhero all-stars, The Avengers, and the last few sequences of the film, if actually rather moving, exhibited very poor writing, as if rushing to tie in with the full-on franchise transition to the Avengers.
Nevertheless, Captain America: The First Avenger has much of the goods of the superhero movie, which is more that we can say for its other counterparts this summer. It has action good, cleanly directed, never over-the-top and humour, and a romance that is central to the story, which gives the film much poignancy.
Extras: Audio Commentary with director Joe Johnston, cinematographer Shelly Johnson and editor Jeffrey Ford; Outfitting a Hero; The Assembly Begins; Howling Commandos; Heightened Technology; The Transformation; Behind the Skull; Captain America`s Origins; Deleted Scenes; Marvel One Shot: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor`s Hammer; and The Avengers animated series trailer
Film: 3.5 Extras: 4 stars Raymond Tan