For the first 123 minutes of the surprisingly good “Captain America: The First Avenger,” I had somehow forgotten I was watching a Marvel Comics movie.
While lining their pockets with cash through an endless procession of their comic book heroes onto celluloid, Marvel Comics, more than any other company over the last few years, has spearheaded the overwhelming stupification of the American public. Yes, I’m aware that’s not a real world. What can I tell you, I’ve been watching too many Marvel Comics movies.
They started out well enough. The first Spiderman movie with Tobey Maguire was quite good. The second even better. Despite the stories cartoon origins, they took their stories seriously and spun a nice web (apologies to Spidey for the pun). But like Starbucks, the world only needs so many superhero movies. So even though some of the X-Men films have been mildly entertaining, hardly any of the films resulting from Marvel’s multi-picture distribution deal have really served any cinematic purpose at all other than to line the pockets of their investors.
The “Iron Man” series is loud and bright and gives Robert Downey Jr. a franchise of his own. But ultimately you’ve forgotten the entire story as soon as you leave the theatre. The X-Men franchise is steady, but has yet to ever rise to the level of greatness. They’ve tried twice to make “The Hulk” work. They’ve failed twice. And “Thor.” Oh, “Thor.” I imagine one day when Natalie Portman looks back on her long career while polishing her multiple Oscars, her great grandchildren will run into the room and sweetly ask her to pop in the “Thor” Blu-Ray for the thousandth time at which point Miss Portman will have to fight very hard from smacking them, or worse, smacking herself for ever signing up for such a monumental piece of junk in the first place.
So, along comes “Captain America: The First Avenger” starring Chris Evans as the patriotic soldier tasked with taking on a renegade Nazi (Hugo Weaving of “Matrix” fame) hell bent on world domination. Honestly, after the two hours of endless torture I suffered at the hands of “Thor” I don’t even know why I bothered to give this one a chance.
But I’m glad I did.
Like the early Spiderman movies, here the storytellers get back to, duh, telling a story. And like those early Spiderman films, our hero in the full body spandex is a regular guy. In the case of Steve Rogers (the real name of our tri-colored hero), he may even be less than regular. Height-wise at least. Repeatedly turned away from servicing his country during World War II due to his physical limitations, Steve constantly tries to make up for it by having the biggest heart. He never backs down in a fight. Proves during a training exercise that he has more courage than even the most striking soldiers in his unit. And shows that while not big on stature, he’s the best soldier in the Army.
Of course no one else can see that except the scientist Dr. Abraham Erskine (played with usual charm by Stanley Tucci) and the tough but beautiful British agent Peggy Carter (played by Hayley Atwell). Not sure if it’s the British accent or not, but I haven’t fallen this hard for a Marvel Comics heroine since Kirsten Dunst in “Spiderman.”
This all makes the events of “Captain America” that much more compelling. The hero of the film isn’t a Scandinavian God whose only real trouble in the world is wondering when he will ascend to the throne. Instead, Steve Rogers has to spend life wondering whether he’ll ever measure up at all. When will he get his chance to fight? Will he ever be the one who gets the girl?
So when he runs into danger to save civilization, on a basic level he’s getting a chance to prove his own worth and repay the faith of the one woman who actually believes in him. Forget the superhero angle, this is a solid love story. A rags-to-riches tale of a small town boy who makes good.
And then…. Marvel steps in.
The first 123 minutes of the 124 minute movie were wonderfully and honestly rendered. For a second, I’d forgotten I was watching a comic book.
But, sadly this is Hollywood. And, for the money men, this film is never going to be anything else than a prequel for the upcoming “Avengers” movie that joins Captain America with his Marvel brethren Iron Man, Wolverine, The Hulk, and damnit, Thor!
So after an effective and emotional climactic scene, it’s a tremendous letdown when we are treated to an epilogue that completely undoes all the goodwill engendered by the first 123 minutes. I won’t tell you what happens in that last tacked on scene. Actually, if you’re quick enough with the remote, you may want to just press stop on the DVD player after the initial fade out so you won’t even have to see it. Because what happens in the scene not only cheapens the authenticity of what comes before, but adds an unnecessary level of sadness while simultaneously nullifying the emotional truth of the scene that comes before.
But Bravo for those first 123 minutes. This is a comic book movie that works. Take that, you stupid Thor!
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