Let There Be Movies

Review by Elliott

When this movie came out, I was not at all interested in seeing it.  In fact it wasn’t until my wife bought it for my birthday, that I watched it. I assumed that it was just going to be another one of those cheesy superhero movies. Now don’t get me wrong, I do like superhero movies, but there have been just as many good, as bad. I’ve never read any of the comics, so this was my first experience with his story. Needless to say, I’m sold. Captain America is now one of my favorite super heroes.

The year is 1942, America is in the midst of world war II. Johann Schmidt(Hugo Weaving), also known as the Red Skull, is the head of Hydra; a secret branch of the Nazi army, who use high tech, futuristic weaponry and vehicles. At the beginning of the movie, Schmidt discovers the tesseract, an alien cube that possess virtually unlimited energy. (Yes, this is the same one that is in The Avengers.) They quickly figure out how to collect the energy from the tesseract, which is stored and then used to power all sorts of high tech equipment. Using this new high tech army, Schmidt makes plans to finish destroy America and complete the Nazi’s goal of taking over the world. But that’s when Captain America is introduced and the bulk of the story begins.

The other half of the story focuses on Steve Rogers, a puny kid from New York, who has more preexisting conditions than Melman, from Madagascar. Both of his parents were in the military, but have died in the war. The loss of parents is partially what drives him to join the army. Unfortunately due to his medical conditions he has been disqualified to serve. Despite this rejection, he attempts to join, by signing up under false names, but this also fails. It isn’t until he meets Dr. Abraham Erskine, that his desire to serve comes to fruition. At this point in the movie he goes off to boot camp. This isn’t a normal boot camp, the whole purpose of it is find someone to become the first super soldier.

Only one person will be chosen and that person must meet very high standards. He struggles throughout boot camp, due to his small physical stature and health problems. However, what he lacks in physical prowess, he more than makes up for in high moral convictions and intelligence.Near the end training the colonel throws a dummy grenade into the middle of the recruits. Rogers first instinct is to jump on the grenade and use his body to absorb the explosion and protect the others. Thru the training he proves that it takes more than just strength to make a good soldier. It takes someone with strong character and morals. For this reason he is chosen to be the USA’s new super soldier. After being given shots of some chemical and then put into a machine that bombards him with special rays, (you know, the typical superhero stuff)his physical form changes. He’s now taller and has more muscle than Thor.Well maybe not, but he definitely ripped.

So to sum up the rest of the movie. Rogers who is now Captain America. He goes around taking out Hydra units and installations, until there is only one left. At this point there is a showdown between him and the Red Skull. I’ve left a bunch of plot points out, but that is why you should now go and watch the movie.

So a little about the quality of the movie. The acting won’t win any awards, but it isn’t bad either. Just about what I would expect. The action sequences and special effects are awesome and I love the fight scenes. Music is great. Is it cheese??? Well, yes, considering it is a superhero movie, there is a fair amount of unrealistic and impossible situations. But don’t worry about that, just remember that it’s a superhero movie. That’s how they’re suppose to be!!!

The reason I thought of this movie and decided to review it, is due to Captain America’s strong morals and excellent character. He has strong convictions to serve and doesn’t allow his weakness get in his way. In fact he uses he strengths to overcome his weakness. Growing up he was bullied a lot and it is that, that has molded him into someone who wants to defend the weak. He doesn’t join the military out of revenge for his parents, instead he is driven to help those (the world), who are being bullied by the Nazi’s.  I think this movie is a great movie to watch with your kids and then talk about some of the situations and character traits that we can learn from. As a final note, this movie is a must see before or after watching The Avengers. Along with Thor (the movie), much of the history of what happened before The Avengers is explained.

Rating: 4 of 5
Quotes:

Abraham Erskine: Do you want to kill Nazis?
Steve Rogers: Is this a test?
Abraham Erskine: Yes.
Steve Rogers: I don’t want to kill anyone. I don’t like bullies; I don’t care where they’re from.
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Abraham Erskine: Whatever happens tomorrow you must promise me one thing. That you will stay who you are. Not a perfect soldier, but a good man.