"CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER" — ★★★ — Chris Evans, Tommy Lee Jones, Hugo Weaving, Hayley Atwell; PG-13 (intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action); in general release
It may be cliché, but you should never judge a book by its cover. The same is true when you are searching for the right man to become a test subject for your super soldier program.
Just ask Dr. Abraham Erskine. He is trying to find the first super soldier who will march into Berlin and take out Adolph Hitler, but it must be the right man.
Thus beings the saga of "Captain America: The First Avenger.
Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is a small, some would say scrawny, man who doesn't measure up to the government standards to enter the military. His list of health problems is longer than most grocery lists.
But he keeps trying. He is so intent on getting in that he has gone to five induction centers hoping to be accepted. On his fifth try, he meets Dr. Erskine (Stanley Tucci), who gives him a chance.
Rogers is strapped in and emerges as a much different person. Thus is born Captain America.
Luckily the filmmakers don't stop there. There is another man who has received the super soldier serum. His name is Johann Schmidt (Hugo Weaving), a brilliant scientist in his own right but also a megalomaniac out for world domination. When he took the serum he was changed into the maniacal Red Skull.
In almost all of the recent comic book origin movies, the filmmakers have decided to bring the story into the present day. It was the right choice to leave this film set in the 1940s during World War II. Not only was it good for this film, but it's a great setup for "The Avengers."
Knowing Marvel is using this film as part of the setup for next year's movie has made some people skeptical about what they will get from "Captain America." For all the skeptics out there, don't worry. Whether you are a comic book fan or not, you will not be disappointed.
One of the questions going in was whether Chris Evans could carry the film. He was in the "Fantastic Four" movies as the Human Torch, but that was an ensemble cast. As for this solo gig, Evans was spot on.
At the same time all the other actors do a fantastic job. Viewers will once again love to hate Hugo Weaving as the bad guy, this time with a German accent. Tommy Lee Jones (Col. Chester Phillips) has some of the best lines, but he's not there just for comic relief. Then there is Tucci, who was a surprise. Though he plays a thoughtful character, he is just as present on screen as the others in this action film.
There is a slightly cheesy factor that comes from Captain America being that clean-cut, all-American boy next door that we have heard of but never found, though it still works. One problem is the story jumping a little from scene to scene. The flow seems choppy in some places.
Director Joe Johnston really knew his audience and made a film that will please both the fan of the comic books and those who just came for the movie. Marvel's machine is really starting to work.
So when does "The Avengers" open? May 4, 2012. (I looked it up.)
"Captain America: The First Avenger" is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action); running time: 118 minutes
Shawn O'Neill is the Family Man Movie Reviewer on BYU Radio. His reviews can be heard on BYURadio.org and on SiriusXM Channel 143.
3 points for parents
Violence: This is a World War II setting and thus war scenes are prevalent, as is hand-to-hand combat. Men are seen being disintegrated and one flies through a plane's propeller.
Mild language: There is some language used by military personnel but nothing like most war films.
Nudity: A man shows his rear end to make a point, but it never actually appears on the screen.