Review of 'CAPTAIN AMERICA'

CAPTAIN AMERICA: The First Avenger.

It's 1942, and STEVE ROGERS, a scrawny, sickly Brooklyn boy, wants to join the army. He's classified 4F and turned down, but he is persistent and applies to six more recruiting offices.  Finally, at one center, he meets Dr. ABRAHAM ERSKINE, a German scientist who defected to the USA because of the Nazis's brutality. Erskine has developed a serum to create supermen; he tried it once with a Nazi, JOHANN SCHMIDT, but it had, well, side effects. Erskine believes Steve will be the perfect candidate. Steve agrees, undergoes the procedure, and, voila, becomes buff.

Meanwhile, Schmidt, back in Europe finds a magical tesseract, and uses it to create a powerful organization, HYDRA, with which he plans, not only to conquer America, but to rule the whole world, subjugating even Hitler.

Need I say that Schmidt is insane? Need I say that Steve and Schmidt will be fighting each other? Need I say who will win?

The movie is formulaic to an extreme. COLONEL CHESTER PHILLIPS, played by Tommy Lee Jones, is the stereotyped gruff officer with good intentions. Schmidt's assistant, ARNIM ZOLA (like evil Major Toht in "Raiders of the Lost Ark" but with thinner glasses) is a typical sidekick. The first confrontation between Steve and Schmidt is prolonged and detailed. Following clashes are quite brief until the last couple of fights, which become detailed again.

Two details in the film really bug me. First, they mention Nazi brutality with no reference to the Holocaust, and even portray Schmidt's Hydra as being worse than the Nazis. ('Where Eagles Dare' an otherwise wonderful workout film, likewise omits any mention of the Holocaust.)

Second is the portrayal of tesseracts in several Marvel movies as powerful, magic cubes. A tesseract is simply a four dimensional cube (like a cube can be considered a three dimensional square). There is no magic in it. Why not be accurate?

As a cinematic production, this movie is unremarkable in every way. But as a workout movie, it's pretty good with lots of fun (if unlikely) action. I give it ++++ - it will get your pulse up to a run.

Review of "THE AVENGERS"

THE AVENGERS:

A tesseract (four dimensional cube) found under the sea holds the potential for great power, but when it activates itself, a portal opens allowing the Norse god LOKI to land on Earth. Loki's plan is to bring an army through the portal to subjugate the world and get revenge on his brother, Thor, and others. NICK FURY, a forever youthful spymaster for Marvel Comics, assembles a team to combat Loki and save the Earth.  Among the heroes recruited are IRON MAN, THE HULK, CAPTAIN AMERICA, and THOR. In addition, two people without superpowers join - NATASHA, a super spy, and HAWKEYE, a master archer. The team is diverted when they start squabbling among themselves - probably due to Loki's influence - but Fury is able to reunite them, and together they manage to defeat Loki, close the portal, and save the world.

Regular readers of Marvel Comics should be familiar with all these characters, but I wasn't.

It's pretty exciting stuff, but I had some problems with the film. The episodes of fighting go on and on and on, and during this time, there is no advancement of the plot. You know someone is going to win, so why not get to it? Also, there is a lot of gratuitous, anonymous violence. For example, a snake-like alien machine flies through New York, destroying buildings and generally causing chaos. Presumably, people are getting killed, but you don't know any of them so you have no emotional investment in the carnage.

Several places had plot gaps. When Thor first appears, he could be either a friend or a foe. Then suddenly, he's a solid ally with no showing of how, when or why the others accepted him.  Other places have similar gaps.

The characters are interesting and are distinct. Natasha is delightful in her techniques for getting information from people who think they're intimidating her. Stark-Ironman provides good comic relief with his cynical, ironic comments. Fury, the leader, is great, but what else would you expect from Samuel Jackson.

The music is stirring and coherent.

This is a good workout movie.  It could be better, but it's still worth ++++ - it gets your pulse up to a run. If you see it, let me know what you think.