Nerds That Geek Movie Review – ‘Captain America: The First Avenger’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

When it comes to the vast number of comic book characters out there, I have to fully admit that there are some, whose stories I simply don’t get excited about in the slightest. That’s usually due in large part to the fact that the character and their adventures outright feel dated, meaning that there’s nothing new for me to find that will energize my imagination and my skepticism of their ability to carry an engrossing story is often extended to the moment when it is inevitably announced that they will be receiving their own motion picture franchise. Because I know that said movie will have some grounding in the comics that never quite caught my eye in the first place, and one such character that fits that particular mold, is Steve Rogers, a.k.a, Captain America.
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Because in reality, his character is pretty darn dated. After all, the super soldier hails from an era of America that is long gone and some of what he’s about, doesn’t jibe with the time times anymore, and that’s because that the character has never quite been updated by the folks at Marvel, making him quite the relic, which means, I had some concerns about Steve’s arrival in the MCU back in the day. Because there was a strong chance that the character’s flaws would be put on full display, potentially bringing forth the first cheesy entry in this budding and beautiful cinematic universe. But as it turns out, my fears and concerns were unfounded in the end, because Captain America: The First Avenger ended up being quite the magnificent film, one that found a way to make a character that doesn’t quite fit in anymore, as compelling as they come.

All of that was accomplished, by making Steve relatable and grounded and that’s quite the impressive feat when all is said and done. Especially when one considers that the audience gets to learn exactly what makes Steve Rogers tick in this movie and what we learn about him is quite compelling, since the man is driven by a big and genuinely good heart in this story and he wants nothing more than to be someone worthwhile in this world, and he wants to accomplish wonders and it really doesn’t get more relatable than that. Because there are so many people out there that have a dream of being more and feel trapped just like Steve does and this wonderful decision to bring him down to the everyman level, has you rooting for him through and through and the wonder of this motion picture doesn’t end with Steve.

For this particular tale has a lot to offer action and story wise as well since our villain is as sour as they come, and the Red Skull is someone that’s easy to despise and his machinations help set up some incredible moments as the story rolls along, including a magnificent showdown between good versus evil in the third act. But I made mention of plenty of action and that’s present here as well thanks to the Howling Commandos and their fight against Hydra and much of the fun in this motion picture is generated by their arrival and oddly enough, this another keystone film for the MCU since the Red Skull’s fate, Bucky’s apparent demise, and Hydra as a whole would turn out to be key plot points for the future, which is all quite amazing…

Either way, I’m quite glad this movie surprised me when all is said and done, because it served up the age old lesson to never judge a book by its cover and to give every single story out there a fair shake because you never know what wonders you will find. And when it comes to this movie, I ended up being reintroduced to a pure hero, one who truly wants to see genuine good be spread about in the world and we truly need more characters like Steve Rogers in popular media and ironically, thanks to this movie and the two Cap related movies that followed, I have to admit that Steve has quickly become one of my favorite MCU characters and I cannot wait to see how Chris Evans and Marvel will do him justice when it comes to his upcoming and final appearance in Avengers: Endgame.  

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