Captain America: The First Avenger is a vintage superhero flick set in the Golden American age but with enough modern special effects and Nazi baddies to make it a load of fun. From the get go, we know that Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) embodies the American spirit, although his 90 pound shrimp-like body and short stature hardly make him a perfect candidate for the war effort. Even after multiple rejections, Rogers continues to try to enlist until his endless determination and little patriotic soul catches the attention of scientist Dr. Abraham Erskine (an amusing Stanley Tucci) who deems him the best candidate for his super soldier experiment. In a literal human transformation, Rogers gains a quick hundred pounds of muscle, six inches in height, the ability to spirit as fast as a car and jump like a squirrel, speedily earning the title Captain America.

Unlike some of Marvels other attempts, Captain America is given a world all of his own, a retro world where America is a sterling symbol, something to take pride in, to fight and to die for. While the tone of the film is very happy go lucky, its clear that Evans doesn’t see Cap as a joke. He’s a deeply motivated man who beneath his jests and silly suit is just a really great guy.

Since most of the film takes place in the 1940’s, it’s no great surprise when a scene is suddenly interrupted by spontaneous hooky dance numbers or punctuated by pro-Americana speeches to invest in war bonds. Nor is the posturing of a rogue Nazi villain and his nearly space-aged weapons technology obnoxious. If anything the overlap of advanced technology with typical 1940’s weaponry is an interesting and entertaining, juxtaposition. And yes, there may be more than one shot of Captain American slo-mo jumping away from an explosion, but it’s fun regardless. And while these parts are obviously silly, they don’t inspire disdain or make us want to scoff at them. Captain America: The First Avenger is aware of its Golden Age roots and inherent foolishness but instead of mocking them, it asks us to root for them.

While the stoic Captain America may seem like a relic at times, his pathologically heroic personality is actually what gives this character so much punch. He does have these old fashion ideals that provoke him to lay his life on the line for what he believes, but it never feels cheap. Even more so than other Marvel characters, Captain America could have easily been a lazy mock-up but Evans choose to play him like a real person with depth and feelings and that is what gives the movie life.

Another bonus to the film is the gorgeous Hayley Atwell as Cap’s love interest, Peggy Carter. Atwell and Evans have a very natural chemistry, as well as a nicely scripted relationship that seems more essential to the character’s story than incidental (see Thor). The supporting cast, for the most part, is equally entertaining. Tommy Lee Jones’ does his superiority-complexed, furrowed brow Tommy Lee Jones thing; Hugo Weaving as the Red Skull, especially when he’s in human-faced form, plays a fine maniacal villain bent on world domination; and Stanley Tucci steals the show as well placed comic relief.

At the best of times, the film is reminiscent of Raiders of the Lost Arc but with a looser story and better effects (speaking of effects, I’m still quite impressed with the scrawny version of Evans. I’m still baffled with how they made him so small.) At worst of times, it feels shoddy and poorly edited, especially in its jigsaw puzzle-esque second act. It allows itself to get a little off track and feels like it wasn’t nearly as focused as it should be, instead offering completely random tidbits of shoot ’em up action.

While some may tire of superhero origin tales, Captain America’s origin makes for a perfect first act; setting up the pathos of the character and his strong motivations. It’s endearing fun with just enough heart and drama to captivate an audience. It’s the last step before The Avengers and does a great job of putting the final pieces in place while getting us all really stoked for what’s next. Although it’s not nearly a perfect film, all in all, Captain America is just a lot of fun.

B

The latest in Marvel superhero movies, Thor is a surprisingly fresh take on the superhero movie. Our main hero, the god of thunder Thor, is an inherently silly character. He wields a giant magical hammer that has a name, wears a silly giant red cap, a thick plate of armor and sports a blond lion’s mane as hair.

If Kenneth Branagh, the director famous for directing/starring in Shakespearean films, has decided to approach the film seriously, it would have been really problematic. Thankfully, there is a degree of self-awareness, an element of taking this silliness, pointing it out and then just having fun with it. Since he is very aware of all the silliness at the heart of the Thor mythos, Branagh is able to use such to make the film comedic and fun, breezy and enjoyable, which has lead a lot of people to draw comparison between it and Iron Man.

Not knowing much of Thor’s mythology, I was impressed with the scope of the film, having hardly expected so much of it to take place in a fantasy realm. This made it feel more like a fantasy or sci-fi than a standard superhero movie and that was a welcome change; a nice change up to the standard fare. That is not to say that those fantastical parts weren’t super cheesy at times; the larger than life sets, the awesomely overdone costumes, evil Frost Giants…; but it was nice to see something entirely new. Chris Hemsworth was definitely a good choice as the titular character. He manages to be arrogant without being annoying, pulling off a hero who is both undoubtedly sure of himself but is fun to watch.

More importantly, we actually care about this character, we want him to succeed and this is largely due to Hemsworth’s performance. I mean how often does a superhero cry? And while many are saying that Thor little more than another piece to The Avenger’s puzzle, more than anything, I’m personally left wondering how they will fit these two worlds together.

Ultimately, we can thank Branagh for adding layers of complexity to a character that just seems downright difficult to translate into film, as Thor really had massive potential to simply be terrible. The high points of the movie were the constantly evolving family relationships, which admittedly got convoluted at points, and Thor’s initial inability to catch on to the mannerisms of Earth which resulted in some genuinely comedic moments. Although Thor was no great piece of art, it really was enjoyable, and a pleasant surprise. Congrats Marvel, I’m starting to become genuinely interested in The Avengers.

B