'Captain America' is Good! —
I've been consistently impressed with the new series of Marvel movies, and Captain America lives up to the expectation. Not the greatest movie in the world, but I enjoyed it and I'm glad I saw it. They did a few unusual things that pleasantly surprised me, which by itself is noteworthy. If I had made the movie, though, I would have gone full-on WWII patriotic. "Stars and Stripes Forever" would have been my main theme. There were a few rousing moments here, but mostly not.
The Red Skull certainly LOOKED great, for a change! There wasn't much of a fight between him and Cap, though, and I don't know where they're going with the whole 'cosmic cube' thing. My own history as a comics collector is closely tied with the cube, and I can already see them failing to capture the grandeur and the terror of it. They've already gotten its origin wrong.
My other complaint, as might be predictable, is the lack of homage to Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. They created Cap in the 1940s. Stan Lee and Marvel had NOTHING to do with it. Diehard collectors won't be able to miss a smiling tribute to Jack's 1976 'Bicentennial Battles,' but of course it's lost on the average viewer. Simon and Kirby are buried in the end credits. You have to look for them. Stan, of course, gets his cameo.
Other tidbits for collectors include the Howling Commandos, Bucky Barnes, Arnim Zola, the vibranium shield, and even a sighting of the original Human Torch. (No Submariner, though.) I also noted that audiences have finally learned to sit through the credits. We were greeted with usual "stinger" at the end, but it was different this time. Just a commercial, really.
Tommy Lee Jones was a hoot!
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Hmm, missed the Human Torch sighting. :( Really enjoyed the movie too and, as you said, Tommy Lee Jones was a hoot!
ReplyDeleteAs usual I sat through the credits to see the teaser at the end. Wasn't what I was expecting but it was a good commercial and got me excited for May 2012.