Counting down to Cap.

Captain America is my second favorite Marvel Comics character. He was actually my first, until I got into Sub-Mariner (or Namor), but anyway I have been looking forward to this for a while.


I actually liked the Cap made for TV movies – even though now they are pretty bad – and his suit in the first one was way off – and you gotta love the biker helmet and see-thru plastic looking shield. But I was a kid so what can you do. I was able to get some bootlegs of those movie and they are cheesy, but it is what it is. I never saw the old serial but I would buy it in a heartbeat! It’s cool too see pre-Marvel Comics Cap stuff.


Then the 90’s Cap movie came out and I was pumped. Cap looked good and Red Skull was amazing! Too bad after the opening sequence the movie falls into the “nothing much happens” category, but Cap was in the suit and he did fight in the end. One bad thing was that Red Skull got a make over and looked more like Jigsaw from Punisher, so Red Skull but with a human face – mmm – ok.


Anyway, that movie flopped and didn’t even make it to theatres – which if it had, it would have had the same effect on Cap and Batman and Robin had on Batman and Robin.


But this film, directed by Joe Johnston (director of The Rocketeer – among other greats) and starring Chris Evans (Human Torch – I know that’s odd – but they are rebooting FF anyway) looks like it’s hitting all the right points.


I always liked Evans and Johnston, so we are good there. I am also a Hugo Weaving fan and think he will be great as Red Skull. HYDRA is also in this film and I love that it’s set during WW2 – staying true to Cap’s origin. Of course we have Tony Stark’s father – just to add an Iron Man connection – which is cool I think and the new trailers are looking fantastic.


At first I was a bit tense over the costume and sort of still am – but I am willing to accept that this is his WW2 costume and shield looks great as does the triangular shield (which I always liked too).


I am basically super pumped for this now as I think it will be a good movie for fans, and a good film for movie-goers who don’t know much about Cap and want to learn


I also liked Evans in an interview in those free magazines you get a the theatre (the interview is in the one with Harry Potter on the cover). He says that character stands for justice and always does what’s right. He could’ve been called Captain Right – which is a great quote from that article.


Remember that Cap came out in the 40s and he represented what was good and decent in humanity, not necessarily “America” and by no means is anyone in this film saying America is the ONLY good country or the BEST country, they are simply saying that Captain America stands for all that is good in us. That is what has made the character last all these years. I hope this film does him justice.


J-Man.