REVIEW: Captain America—The First Avenger

SIMPLETON WITH A SHIELD

There is the Marvel Comics universe waiting to be explored, and retro is ‘in’; but one can also understand America’s nostalgia for the good ol’ days, when the enemy was right out there; mom-and-apple-pie soldiers could face any threat to the country, and come out winners. No wonder a 'simpleton with a shield' could become Captain America and beat the Nazis. There is also a big wish-fulfilment fantasy of every young man happening here; a reedy little fellow, Steve Rodgers (Chris Evans) is injected with a serum that turns him into a muscular hulk.

The time is during World War ll, which makes for some good period recreation. When Steve is rejected for military service, and can’t get onto the battlefield to kill Nazis as he badly wants to, he is picked up by a scientist (Stanley Tucci) as a human guinea pig to test his serum. Steve, the kind who was beaten and bullied as a kid and didn’t even know how to speak to girls, becomes a hero, wins the affections of pretty, ruby-lipped Agent Carter (Hayley Atwell).

Captain America: The First Avenger is marked by simplicity, old-fashioned innocence and superb CGI. The production design lovingly recreates a pre-computer world, where science labs are full of bulky gadgets that work with levers.

The villain, Schmidt (Hugo Weaving) wants to out-Nazi Hitler himself. He had taken the serum earlier, and a side-effect turned him into a cartoonish Red Skull. With his army of Darth Vader like soldiers carrying guns that vaporise the targets, he has created a network of Hydra bases to launch his destroy-the-world campaign. Captain America is made to wear a silly superhero costume, carry a stars-and-stripes shield and sell war bonds with high-stepping chorus girls. He chooses to chuck his performing monkey role and get into the thick of battle, much to the annoyance of Colonel Chester Phillips (Tommy Lee Jones). Captain America and his multi-racial band of merry men rally around to save the world.

Without giving away the end, it is safe to reveal that sequels are bound to follow,when Captain America will face the enemy in the modern world—maybe like Rambo with a shield. The world sure needs a saviour and the US needs a hero to help clean up its tarnished image. What the heck, Captain America is only a comic book character, but at least he is on the right side.