REVIEW: Captain America: The First Avenger 3D

 REVIEW: Captain America: The First Avenger 3D

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has come so far in the past decade that it's easy to forget its early beginnings. Long before there was this vast and ever-growing cinematic universe, there were a measly six heroes sharing the same world - one of whom was recast after his one and only solo feature. Captain America: The First Avenger occupies this early space, and it makes for an interesting film to rewatch with the hindsight of later developments within the tapestry of the MCU.

I chose to rewatch this feature on 3D Blu-ray, and I'm well aware that I'm in the minority when I say that I  still hold a genuine love for stereoscopic 3D. I believe it adds a certain immersion to a given movie that's missing when you watch in plain old 2D. Good 3D leaves you feeling involved in the story, as though it's a hidden doorway into another world, and the action is taking place right in front of your very eyes. Captain America: The First Avenger's 3D is by no means the most mind-blowing 3D release I've seen, but there are some impressive moments, mainly revolving around Captain America's shield, which pops out of the screen when tossed as you would expect. The underwater sequences work particularly well also, conveying a true sense of aquatic submersion.

One of the most iconic aspects of the film is the scene in the alleyway. This sees Steve Rodgers (Chris Evans) cornered by a bully (Kieran O'Connor), who proceeds to punch and torment Steve. It perfectly epitomises the spirit of the character, especially as he utters the line 'I can do this all day', which later in the film he repeats during his confrontation with Red Skull (Hugo Weaving). This is who Steve Rodgers is; he's this man with this dog-eyed determination and courage. He doesn't just give up when he's knocked aside like a rag doll, he gets back up and fights for what he believes is right. His greatest superpower is not his super soldier serum and the crazy amount of strength it gifts him, but his persistence in the jaws of danger.

In fact, the movie as a whole does a really good job at showing why Steve Rodgers is Captain America and not a stronger and more capable soldier. Take the scene where Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) and Colonel Chester Philips (Tommy Lee Jones) are visited during a soldier training session by the chief doctor behind the super soldier serum, Abraham Eskine (Stanley Tucci), for instance, who's looking for a candidate to become the first super soldier. There are so many men who would be more suitable to become this more beefed up version of a soldier in this training montage, but Steve is the man who Abraham picks despite not being the most physically capable candidate, because Steve's the one who thinks outside the box and acts on instinct, to protect those around him. When the colonel tasks the soldiers with taking down the flag, Steve unscrews it so that the flag pole drops to the ground rather than trying to scale it like his fellow men, and later when he chucks what he claims to be a grenade into the training ground, Steve throws himself on top of it to shield everyone else rather than fleeing like the others. What he lacks in strength, he makes up for with his tactical mind, and his quick-thinking compassion in potentially fatal circumstances. As the doctor later tells him, it's about being a 'good man', and not a 'perfect soldier'. 

It's well documented that this film contains a cameo from Jenna Coleman as Connie, and it's weird seeing the actor before she became internationally famous for her role in Doctor Who as Clara Oswald. She only gets two lines here, where she puts on an extremely convincing American accent, as a one-time date of Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) at the Stark expo. It's nice seeing her in this big film, as I've been impressed by Jenna Coleman ever since I saw her in Emmerdale, and her presence makes this film a joy to rewatch. It would be nice if Marvel Studios could find a way to bring her back and give her a bigger role in the MCU, although somehow I doubt that will ever happen.

The main romantic relationship is of course, that between Steve Rodgers and Peggy Carter. They're easily one of the greatest romances in the MCU, despite this being the only film where we get to see them together, bar a brief scene at the end of Avengers: Endgame. Their love for one another feels truly genuine, and the actors have this great amount of chemistry together; they feel like two individuals who are meant to be together, which only makes the ending when Steve ends up in the ice all the more tragic. It's almost quite Casablanca in its final conclusion, as these two star-crossed lovers find themselves thrown apart by circumstances beyond their control. Poor Peggy is made to believe her boyfriend is dead, but in reality he's just frozen in ice and defrosted in the Present Day. It's so cruel on Peggy Carter, the emotional ramifications of such an event later being something we get to see in her TV solo series Agent Carter. 

America itself is shown to have this very romanticised view on Captain America. In this narrative we witness this entire country fall in love with this guy who has become a symbol of hope for Americans during the Second World War, as he puts on these cheesy theatre shows and even stars in his own war films. It's a really deep and layered dive into propaganda, and how it can create this idealistic iconography of a country's hopes in the midst of a major global conflict, even to the point of referencing the real life Captain America comic where Steve Rodgers punches Hitler in the face. It's such a great way of communicating to the audience the wartime spirits and optimism of the time, something which we know with hindsight will pay off, as the threat of Nazi Germany is eventually vanquished and Hitler defeated when the war comes to an end.

As Peggy tells Steve himself however, he's not supposed to be a mere propaganda machine. Steve is supposed to be so much more than that. This talk with Peggy is what inspires him to properly take up the 'Captain America' mantle and become the hero we all know and love. Both Captain America costumes by costume designer Anna B. Sheppard are absolutely fantastic; the first one conveys the rougher feel of an early costume nicely, which we also got with the first Iron Man costume which Tony Stark created out of scraps in 2008's Iron Man. The costume does its job for Steve, but it's not quite there yet; it feels thrown together, which is how it should be during this point in the narrative, as nobody has had the time to make him something especially for his war efforts yet due to it being a very last minute decision sparked by Peggy, The second costume is the more traditional 'Captain America' suit, and it effortlessly conveys the comic costume with such raw authenticity, whilst also avoiding the potential pitfall of looking ridiculous in the lens of a HD camera. It's probably the most perfect screen adaptation of his comics suit that you could expect, as it really evokes the look and feel of Captain America.

One of the most important aspects regarding the MCU's first three phases was the friendship between Steve and Bucky. The First Avenger gives us our first glimpse at this, as we see the pair during the war times, and it brings so much of the film alive. Their relationship feels so natural and raw; you can feel that camaraderie practically oozing through the screen, which only makes the scene where Bucky falls off the train hit harder. In hindsight we know that he later returns in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and subsequent other films in the series, first as a brainwashed Hydra assassin and later as a more reformed figure, but it doesn't lessen the impact of this development at all. It's just devastating seeing Steve lose this man who he fought so strongly to save earlier in the film through such a tragic circumstance as this. It's a death that could have been avoided had Bucky managed to grab Steve's hand, but he didn't, and so he becomes yet another assumed fatality within this grand war.

Unfortunately this film suffers from a flaw that would come to characterise much of the MCU's earlier offerings. The MCU for many years had an issue with its antagonists, which too often were lacking character or substance. The Red Skull (Hugo Weaving) had potential, possessing such a rich comics history, but he doesn't quite manage to live up to it. For most of the film he essentially just comes across as a generic clone of Adolf Hitler, which is a shame because Hugo Weaving is a great actor who could have made the Red Skull a more memorable MCU villain had he been given more to work with. The Hydra organisation as a whole is much more interesting, demonstrating a totalitarian regime that feels separate enough from the Nazis to not feel like a direct copy. It's no surprise that Hydra would go on to play a significant role within the MCU whilst the Red Skull wouldn't appear for another seven years, as it's Hydra who feel like the more compelling threat.

The Howling Commandos are also a little under-served here, feeling largely under-written and thinly sketched compared to the other guest characters in this film. They consist of Dum Dum Dugan (Neal McDonough), Jim Morita (Kenneth Choi), James Montgomery Paisworth (JJ Feild), Gabe Jones (Derek Luke) and Jacques Dernier (Bruno Ricci), and they don't feel distinct enough from one other as individual characters to feel like separate entities. To be fair the group are later fleshed out considerably in Agent Carter, which has more time than a two hour movie to explore them in greater detail, but here their lines all feel like they could be said by any member of the Howling Commandos, and it doesn't feel as though the film has a grip on what sets them apart as a group.

Overall, 'Captain America: The First Avenger' is a strong MCU debut for Captain America. It offers a thrilling war movie within the superhero sub-genre, offering a compelling central hero and one of the franchise's most captivating romantic relationships in Steve and Peggy Carter. Whilst its villain may suffer from the same failings as other antagonists in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the characterisation of the Howling Commandos may leave a lot to be desired, Captain America: The First Avenger offers a hugely entertaining superhero blockbuster from start to finish, and is a film that left many audiences craving more from the star spangled man with a plan.

What are your thoughts on Captain America: The First Avenger? Let me know in the comments.