Captain America The First Avenger
Captain America: The First Avenger revolves around WW2, the origin of Captain America, and the rise of Hydra. While not a financial success as compared to more recent Marvel Cinematic endeavors, it does a great job of setting up the world in which Captain America lives in.
Before we begin, you need to know that the movie tends to be a little on the slow side, however, the movie does a great job of introducing the audience to Captain America. A team of researchers finding the shield of
It picks up with a team of researchers finding the shield of Captain America buried beneath the snow.
From here it shifts back 60+ years to introduce us to Johann Schmidt or the Red Skull. The Red Skull has long been looking to acquire the Tesseract (a device of unimaginable power) and as the scene unfolds, we see exactly how he does this. With the Tesseract in hand, he proclaims “and the Fuhrer digs for trinkets in the desert.” With those words, the audience knows that they are in for something very special.
If you don’t know, Steve Rogers grew up a weak, frail man. He grew up in a time where the world was in chaos because of the Second World War. All he wanted to do was join his fellow countrymen on the battleground, but because he was so frail, he couldn’t.
This would all change when he met a scientist named Erskine.
After the transformation, the laboratory is blown up by an undercover Hydra Agents. A chase scene ensues, only to have Captain America catch up. The agent takes out one of his teeth, bites it and poison begins to kill him. While dying he utters the words, “The first of many. Cut off one head, two more shall take its place. Hail Hydra.”
As the movie progresses, the audience learns that not only is Schmidt gaining uncontrollable power, he has used the Tesseract to create weapons, unlike anything the world has seen before.
I am sure you are thinking that the natural thing for the United States to do would be to send in Steve Rogers to take him out. Well, you’d think wrong.
This is where the movie tends to receive most of its criticism.
For what seems like an eternity, the movie follows Steve Rogers as he parades around on stage, singing and dancing in a desperate attempt to rally the American troops. Unfortunately for the rest of us, this is boring.
Eventually, Steve would get his chance to prove his worth but learning two very important things:
- His longtime, best friend, James “Bucky” Buchanan Barnes and some others had been taken captive by the enemy.
- The United States Army wasn’t going to do anything about it
Steve, now called Captain America, commandeers a plane with the help of Howard Stark (the father to Iron Man) and Peggy Carter (his love interest in the movie). Once on the ground, he rescues all of his allies except for Bucky. He asks a friend where Bucky is and the friend tells him that he has been kept in another room. Eventually, he would find Bucky (which sets up the next Captain America movie nicely) and rescues him. With everyone intact, they all make their way back to camp.
From here, Captain America is raised to a godlike status and can do no wrong.
He is immediately deployed, along with the men he rescued, now called the Howling Commandos, on the most dangerous of missions.
During one such mission, Steve and Bucky end up caught in battle on a train. During the battle, which they won, Bucky is blown through the side of the train, off the bridge, into the water below. Steve looks on in disbelief as his best friend is seemingly “dead.”
In just about the only funny moment in the movie occurs right about here, when Peggy Carter finds Steve drowning his sorrows in alcohol. He tells her, “Dr. Erskine said that the serum wouldn’t just affect my muscles, it would affect my cells, create a protective system of regeneration and healing, which means, um, I can’t get drunk.”
After Steve finishes sulking, he gathers his men and the proceed to obliterate Hydra.
The movie ends with the Red Skull piloting a plane away from all of the destruction, Tesseract in hand. Steve, unwilling to give up, makes his way to the plane and gets on board. He subsequently beats the Red Skull and plunges the plane into the ocean, saving millions of civilians below.
The movies wraps up with Steve waking up in a New York room, present day. He is approached by Nick Fury, told he has been asleep for 70 years and asked if he would like to take on a mission with worldwide implications.
Scott’s Notes:
- Semi-Successful movie in terms of finance
- Origin of Captain America and Hydra
- Introduces Red Skull
- Steve transforms into Captain America
- Steve’s friends are taken captive
- Steve rescues his friends
- Loses Bucky in a train accident
- Proceeds to unleash fury on Hydra
- Takes down Red Skull
- Plunges plane into ocean, saving millions
- Wakes up 70 years later
