Captain America: The First Avenger Review

Synopsis
During World War II, Dr. Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci) creates a formula to create a super soldier. Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) was the first person selected to receive the serum. Before the procedure can be used again, Erskine is killed by a member of Hydra, a Nazi research division led by Johann Schmidt (Hugo Weaving). Now the only super soldier, Rogers goes after Schmidt to eliminate him and the rest of Hydra.

Review
Captain America: The First Avenger was the final stepping stone to the historical The Avengers. Each of the Phase One films have all been unique. What makes this film stand out is that it’s a period piece, something that none of the other films did or have done since. It takes place during World War II, separated from the Iron Man films, The Incredible Hulk, and Thor. It’s not without it’s faults, but like the other movies of Phase One, Captain America: The First Avenger serves as a good introduction to Steve Rogers.

Right away, I want to say Hugo Weaving was the perfect choice to play Johann Schmidt. He can just play the perfect villain no matter the situation (he is arguably the best thing from the later Matrix movies). He is cold and heartless, or at least he is great at acting to be. I can see him being the sweetest person in real life.

At first, I wasn’t sure about Chris Evans as Captain America. I still envisioned him as the lighthearted, whimsical Johnny Storm. I wasn’t sure if he could pull of the more serious and patriotic Steve Rogers. Thankfully, my reservations were misplaced. Evans ends up doing great. The same can be said for Hayley Atwell. I wasn’t familiar with her before Captain America, but she simply killed it as Peggy Carter. She’s strong, independent and sassy, the perfect complement to Rogers (and Evans).

When dealing with a character like Captain America, where patriotism is a huge part of his character, it can creep into being obnoxious. This film does great with showing Steve Rogers’ personality without shoving that aspect down your throat. He is a good person and his country is important to him, but it’s not overbearing on the audience.

Alan Silvestri is one of my favorite composers, so it’s no surprise I really enjoyed the score. It may be my favorite of at least all the Phase One films (maybe even all of the MCU films). I immediately recognize it whenever it comes onto my Film Scores Pandora station. You can’t help but be filled with excitement and gusto whenever you hear it.

Captain America’s costume from the comics is as hokey as they come. I’m glad that the final outfit didn’t go that route. It still had the color palette but was actually practical. But there was a throwback to his comic book garb when he was touring the country trying to sell bonds, which was a nice touch.

The tiny Chris Evens in the beginning kind of freaked me out a little. The effect was well done but knowing how Evens looks normally, seeing him so disproportionate threw me off. After several viewings I have gotten used to it, but is still was weird at first.

My biggest issue with this film is the inconsistent pacing. Captain America: The First Avenger loves it’s montages. Normally montages aren’t a bad thing, but this movie doesn’t use them sparingly. There’s a montage and then a few scenes, then another montage, followed by some more scenes and another montage. I understand that it was almost a necessity to for time jumping, but it just seemed irregular.

Captain America: The First Avenger distanced itself from the previous Marvel films by it’s setting in World War II, giving it the sort of freedom to tell the story it needs to. Even with it’s spotty pacing, Marvel’s strong casting choices once again carries their movie further than it would have otherwise.

Rating
3.5/5

Also check out my reviews for the other films in Marvel’s Phase 1: Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, and The Avengers.

Trailer

Cast & Crew
Joe Johnston – Director
Christopher Markus – Screenplay
Stephen McFeely – Screenplay
Alan Silvestri – Composer

Chris Evans – Steve Rogers / Captain America
Hayley Atwell – Peggy Carter
Sebastian Stan – James Buchanan ‘Bucky’ Barnes
Tommy Lee Jones – Colonel Chester Phillips
Hugo Weaving – Johann Schmidt / Red Skull
Dominic Cooper – Howard Stark
Richard Armitage – Heinz Kruger
Stanley Tucci – Dr. Abraham Erskine
Toby Jones – Dr. Arnim Zola
Neal McDonough – Timothy ‘Dum Dum’ Dugan
Derek Luke – Gabe Jones
Keneth Choi – Jim Morita
JJ Field – James Montgomery Falsworth
Bruno Ricci – Jacques Dernier
Lex Shrapnel – Gilmore Hodge
Samuel L. Jackson – Nick Fury

Anniversary Week: Walking Tall (2004) Review

No way, two reviews in one day?!  I love you guys that much I just had to give you another dose, even though I already reviewed Star Wars: The Phantom Menace earlier today.  When I was looking over all the reviews I have written, I came across the very first review I wrote when I started considering blogging.  I wrote a review for Iron Man 3 in May 2013 after it came out and then my Original Six were written in June and July .  But this review was written way back in March of last year where it has been sitting on my flash drive ever since… until recently that is.  I’m posting it completely unedited (with the exception of the added trailer and Cast & Crew sections at the end).  Enjoy!

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Synopsis
When US Army Special Forces Sargent Chris Vaughn (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) returns home after eight years in the service, he discovers it to be a very different place than when he left. The town is now controlled by the corrupt local casino, run by his old high school friend Jay Hamilton (Neil McDonough). After discovering the casino is a front for drug trafficking, Vaughn, with the help of his friend Ray Templeton (Johnny Knoxville) embarks on a war to regain order in his community.

Review
Walking Tall is one of those movies where the potential for a great film is there, but it doesn’t quite fulfill that potential. This is one of Dwayne Johnson’s earlier forays into acting (he was still going by The Rock!) and it shows. He doesn’t do a terrible job, but something isn’t quite there. However, when he and Johnny Knoxville are together is when he really shines. The chemistry between these two create some of the best scenes in the film. There is a scene where Chris tells Ray to protect his family while he is gone. The tonal shift between these two is well executed and the relationship between the two characters is really felt here through their portrayals by Johnson and Knoxville.

Neil McDonough plays a decent villain. However, he feels a little one dimensional, but I think that due more on the script than McDonough’s acting. The aforementioned Knoxville is, in my opinion, the star of this movie. He does a suburb job with his role as the loyal friend. Most of his scenes are with Johnson, who he plays off of quite well, but he shines in his own scenes and will make you laugh on several occasions. Besides Johnson, Knoxville, and McDonough, the other actors don’t have too much screen time. Which is a shame because it would have been nice to see several relationships, particularly between Chris and his nephew (played by Khleo Thomas), fleshed out a little more.

The fight scenes are the strong points of this movie. These scenes are where Johnson really shines and his wrestling background is a tremendous asset. When the main character’s weapon of choice is a 4×4 piece of cedar, you know you’re in for one hell of a fight. The camera work in these scenes is much better than a lot of fight scenes in action movies nowadays. Instead of a shaky camera to help portray the action, the camera work is more reminiscent of ‘80s action movies where the camera is steadier and allows the viewer to focus more on the fight than trying to keep their bearings. It is a most welcome change.

Despite its lack of characterization, Walking Tall is a straight forward action move that offers several good fight scenes. With a run time just shy of an hour and a half, it may not be one of the best action movies out there, but you could do much worse for an afternoon flick.

TLDR
Walking Tall has some good fight scenes and good chemistry between Johnson and Knoxville, but overall it’s just an average action movie.

Rating
3/5

Favorite Quote
Chris: “Where did you learn that?”
Ray: “Cops.”
Chris: “That’s a good show.”

Trailer

Cast & Crew
Kevin Bray – Director
David Klass – Screenplay
Channing Gibson – Screenplay
David Levien – Screenplay
Brian Koppelman – Screenplay
Graeme Revell – Composer

Dwayne Johnson – Chris Vaughn
Johnny Knoxville – Ray Templeton
Neal McDonough – Jay Hamilton
Michael Bowen – Sheriff Stan Watkins
Ashley Scott – Deni
John Beasley – Chris Vaughn, Sr.
Barbara Tarbuck – Connie Vaughn
Kristen Wilson – Michelle Vaughn
Khleo Thomas – Pete Vaughn
Kevin Durand – Booth

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Well, what did you think about my first real attempt at writing a review?  I forgot I included TLDR (too long, didn’t read) and Favorite Quotes section.  Would like to see these sections added into future reviews? Both or one or the other?  Let me know below.  My least favorite Star Wars film, Attack of the Clones, gets reviewed tomorrow and I will be introducing my last new feature for the week.  Cheers!