My Review of "Captain America: The First Avenger"

Captain America: The First Avenger was the 5th modern Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movies. It came out back in 2011. It holds a spot in my heart because this was my favorite Marvel movie from the first phase of MCU movies. A lot has changed in 10 years. Each MCU movie has done things to try to one up themselves. I wasn't sure how I was going to react to this older movie. Heck, I wasn't even too sure if this movie would be politically correct anymore.

This movie starts off with some researchers in the artic. They're digging for something and through their research they find Captain America's shield. The movie then goes back into time during the second world war. There's a plucky little guy named Steve Rogers that wants to make it into the US army. Unfortunately for Steve he's not physically fit to join the army.

Still the guy is relentless and tries multiple times despite everyone telling him that it's probably best that he doesn't go to war in the first place. We see more of his character as people pick fights with him yet he won't back down. He's a little guy that we all wish we were if we were little. A fearless guy that won't take crap from anyone.

Then one day while going to a fair with his friend Bucky, he tries to enlist yet again. This time there's a doctor that notices Steve's resolve. He admires Steve's selflessness and believes him to be a good person. Little does Steve know that the doctor that's been watching him is looking for a candidate to create a new super soldier.

With the doctor's cosign, Steve finally enlists but for a special project. During the special project the selected soldiers would be put through a series of tests. Each test would be an attempt to observe their personal character. Steve would pass these tests with flying colors because he truly seemed to be a smart and caring person. That's why he was selected out of all of the soldiers to be the test subject. This is a shock to the colonel who is overlooking the special project.

The colonel was hoping for an obedient soldier but they instead chose the wimpiest looking guy out of the bunch. This is basically why the colonel takes quite a while to warm up to Steve. He has preconceived notions about Steve and he doesn't like to be wrong.

Steve then goes through the doctor's crazy experiment and becomes Captain America. The real bulk of the movie then begins from there. Still this origin portion of Steve Rogers becoming Captain America is quite fun because we get a better understanding of how great of a guy he really is. It's very much a fantasy because in reality we don't believe this sort of guy exists. It's kind of a romantic thought of how things were back in the day. I'm sure things weren't quite so simple back in the day.

It also got me thinking that maybe people though things were simpler back in the day because they didn't pay attention to all of the other existing problems around them. For example racism and sexism ran rampant in those times but there's small notions of sexism in the military in the movie and it doesn't go into race relations at all. Instead the movie portrayed all of the races helping each other harmoniously in an effort to win World War 2. Obviously it wasn't as rosy back in the day but this is a movie about superheroes with special powers. It's not supposed to be realistic.

This movie brought me back to a time when we didn't think of so many of these issues. It's basically good versus evil much like the original Star Wars movies. The simplicity of this is pretty much the added charm to this movie. It doesn't overcomplicate itself.

We understand Steve wants to help people and he's willing to sacrifice himself for what he believes is a greater good. That mode of thought basically follows Captain America throughout his stint in the MCU. This movie just shows you the most vulnerable and innocent version of Captain America.

Watching this after knowing the outcome of his character 10 years later made me think of just how innocent his character really was back then. He has no idea what he's going to witness next. His optimism is at its highest in this movie and from watching this movie you get a good understanding of why his character does what he does in later movies.

Overall, I still had a great time watching this movie. The pacing of the movie is still fantastic and enjoyable. This is still one of my favorite MCU movies because of its simplicity and its innocence. I have to give this movie an 8 out of 10. I don't know how many times I've seen this movie but I'm still engaged when I watch it. If you haven't seen it yet, I have no idea why you haven't. Get out there and watch it!