MOVIE REVIEW- Captain America

How much fun is a good surprise at the movies?

I love going into a movie with one set of expectations, and come out completely baffled by what I just saw. That is this weeks Captain America. On the surface, you may be thinking, "here we go, another comic book hero come to life." And you would literally be right. But your preconceived notions about how potentially silly this might be would be dead wrong.

CA is straight out of the 1940's comic book and right on the money. We go back to WWII. The Nazi's are starting up the war. And America is starting a huge recruiting drive as we enter the war. Steve Rogers is a 90 pound weakling who is rejected time after time by the Army for active duty. But he is then chosen for a biological experiment that the Army is spearheading. He will be injected with a serum stolen from the Germans, and will go through a procedure that will hopefully drastically change his body. The goal is to develop an army of "super soldiers."

The experiment works. Steve now is a huge man with amazing physical ability. But he is chosen to be a stage show for recruits. But as fate would have it, Steve is thrust into active duty, as Captain America! A mortal man with incredible strength and speed. He is then asked to go after an even more sinister villain than the Nazi's, but a rogue break off group that also has it's sights on world domination. Will he succeed? Well, he's Captain America, I hope so!

This is just flat out two hours of fun, and real good action. It's a great example of how good these kind of flicks really can be done, when more attention is being paid to what is being said, as opposed to what special effects can be conjured up to 3-D us to death. CA is so well done, with a bit of everything for everyone. First our hero is real, and doesn't have some silly ability to fly or shoot rays from his eyes or anything. He is a real person and that includes the whole package of emotions and shortcomings.

The supporting characters are terrific and breathe additional life into a wonderfully written script that successfully transports of back to 1943. It gives us a sense of the life and times, all the while walking a fine line between fantasy and reality. Great sets, great and simple effects, wonderful imagination, and a spot on musical soundtrack that adds a bunch. This movie is well cast, well thought out, and highly entertaining from start to finish. Fans of many ages should love this one. There is a fair amount of violence, but it is tempered. Extremely well done.

Captain America. One of the summers really good movies. Well, well done!