The Ninth Day of Classic Comics Christmas 2016
Dec 30, 2016 13:45:58 GMT -5
Cei-U!, Confessor, and 1 more like this
Post by Prince Hal on Dec 30, 2016 13:45:58 GMT -5
#4 Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
I haven’t seen this too much since I first saw it in a theatre on a warm July night when the boys and I grabbed a meal in Harvard Square, took the T into Boston and caught this at some big movie house on Tremont Street.
Even if it had been bad, I might have loved it just for those reasons, but I also love it because it captured the essence of comics, the character, and his time better than 99 percent of other super-hero movies.
I loved that director Joe Johnston took time for the set-up, the many touches of comic book realism (like Cap’s first fight against the Nazi spies), the Red Skull’s absolutely frightening face, the post-modern take on wartime propaganda, and the verisimilitude of Cap’s shield. (Johnston’s name will pop up again in a little bit.)
Now, take this with a swig of Moxie if you are a dyed-in-the-wool Cap fan. I was never more than a casual reader of Cap’s adventures; for me the reprints in Fantasy Masterpieces were better than anything I read in his 1960s -70s book, so this was right in my wheelhouse.
However, Cap as an idea, an icon, as a mythological character in comics like Superman, I am a huge fan of, and this movie got that, in large part due to Chris Evans’ acting. In less caring hands, Cap could have become a buffoon, but Evans struck the right balance between idealism and realism. You can’t help think there’s a moral center in his Cap, and that was a defining aspect of the story and the movie.
This movie is also further proof of my notion that setting super-hero stories in the 30s and 40s frees them of burdens that more contemporary takes on super-heroes have to struggle with. Oh, how I’d love to see a Batman movie inspired by Jerry Robinson and Bill Finger, set in Gotham’s dark back alleys in the 1940s.
Even better, a movie version of the excellent Batman-Cap team-up by John Byrne!
Anyway, First Avenger was fun enough, serious enough and slam-bang active enough to be nigh perfect.
PS: Only complaint: more Howlers, please!
I haven’t seen this too much since I first saw it in a theatre on a warm July night when the boys and I grabbed a meal in Harvard Square, took the T into Boston and caught this at some big movie house on Tremont Street.
Even if it had been bad, I might have loved it just for those reasons, but I also love it because it captured the essence of comics, the character, and his time better than 99 percent of other super-hero movies.
I loved that director Joe Johnston took time for the set-up, the many touches of comic book realism (like Cap’s first fight against the Nazi spies), the Red Skull’s absolutely frightening face, the post-modern take on wartime propaganda, and the verisimilitude of Cap’s shield. (Johnston’s name will pop up again in a little bit.)
Now, take this with a swig of Moxie if you are a dyed-in-the-wool Cap fan. I was never more than a casual reader of Cap’s adventures; for me the reprints in Fantasy Masterpieces were better than anything I read in his 1960s -70s book, so this was right in my wheelhouse.
However, Cap as an idea, an icon, as a mythological character in comics like Superman, I am a huge fan of, and this movie got that, in large part due to Chris Evans’ acting. In less caring hands, Cap could have become a buffoon, but Evans struck the right balance between idealism and realism. You can’t help think there’s a moral center in his Cap, and that was a defining aspect of the story and the movie.
This movie is also further proof of my notion that setting super-hero stories in the 30s and 40s frees them of burdens that more contemporary takes on super-heroes have to struggle with. Oh, how I’d love to see a Batman movie inspired by Jerry Robinson and Bill Finger, set in Gotham’s dark back alleys in the 1940s.
Even better, a movie version of the excellent Batman-Cap team-up by John Byrne!
Anyway, First Avenger was fun enough, serious enough and slam-bang active enough to be nigh perfect.
PS: Only complaint: more Howlers, please!
