6/10
And thus, Feliciano Frontado, is now ready for The Avengers.
I try to see that score of mine as more of a "three stars out of five" rather than "plain mediocre" because the truth is that this is the best Marvel movie I've seen since the first Iron Man, yet, like all the other Marvel films, there's a certain point where it becomes a typical, generic, goin'-through-the-motions superhero movie straight from the assembling line (ha), there's a lot of virtues to this movie, even if it invests more time in the flaws.
The Good:
The retro aspect truly makes it unique, the athmosphere feels real and it's great how it takes advantage of being historical fiction. Now, I haven't read as much Captain America as some, but one of the best parts is when Cap is playing propaganda figurehead to the US government, it's something I didn't expect, and it builds great foundations and a natural flow to his eventual turn into the hero that he is to become.
The Red Skull...........................oh boy, did I not see this coming, in fact, I liked him so much in this movie that I could almost complain about how we didn't got more of his "We have left humanity behind" banter, very little I felt came from Weaving's performance actually, he is good, but he has done better. What's great is how the character takes the "Übermensch" aspect of Nazi philosophy and incorporates it to such a degree, that he already thinks the aryans themselves are inferior to him ! Awesome sauce, hope we get to see more of him in the future.
The Bad:
Generic, standard script, weak little fellow wants to do good --> (plot device) --> no longer weak little fellow --> Evil villain wants to destroy all the world --> (plot device) --> Evil villain has the means to do so --> Action scene --> Romance --> Action scene --> More action scenes --> Final action scenes --> Final confrontation with evil villain --> Incredibly noble, altruistic, self-sacrificing action --> The End.
As mentioned, the generic, standard action scenes which populate the second and third act, they're nothing special, and none of them ever amount to any tension or excitement, it made the movie feel more like just another mediocre blockbuster instead of the unique superhero tale it was trying to be in the beginning.
Finally...........sorry Brooklyn, I tried:
But Steve Rogers.................still sucks. I can honestly say that the tire in "Rubber" had far more pathos than him, and that "character" comes from a movie whose sole purpose is to exemplify to it's audience the concept of "no reason".
It's one thing when characters are written as mysterious and have obscure motivations that the audience has to figure out, it's a completely different thing when you have a blank slate of a person, and you insert into it a plethora of positive aspects and good characteristics, mixed in with some patriotism, and suddenly feel that's all it takes to make a character to be sympathetic and believable. Now I know how the patriotic aspect is inspiring to some people, I can understand that, but I hardly see how suddenly that replaces the need for plausible behaviors and substantial motivations, both of which Steve Rogers has none.
All in all, I thought it was an entertaining movie that could've been better, but whose virtues elevate it to a degree that merits at least some sort of mention...............
.............and dat Red Skull........oh boy !
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damn awesome movie
