JayRo Watches: Captain America

I'm really an easy person to please with movies - deliver on what I'm expecting, and I'm satisfied. In that sense, Captain America was satisfying. However, there were a few big things that ended up bugging me a lot.

(Warning - kinda spoilerish stuff ahoy.)

The first was Steve Rogers' development into Captain America. He starts out as a skinny guy who is nowhere close to as gifted as other soliders. But as soon as he receives the super-soldier serum, he not only becomes a gifted athlete, he apparently also learns elite fighting skills as he immediately demonstrates. What makes it even more unusual is that the filmmaker makes sure to show Rogers fall while running really fast in a chase, demonstrating that Rogers doesn't fully understand and control his new found gifts. So why can he immediately fight like and elite fighter?

The other major thing that bothered me was the plot that got us to Captain America fighting on the front lines. In short, he was told that he couldn't fight in the war because he was the only super soldier that was created, and was much too valuable to be risked on the front lines. Instead, he is used as a propaganda tool by the US Government. When he goes to meet the troops, he finds that they mock him for not actually fighting in the war, including by the very people who banned him from fighting. What exactly happened in between thich allowed him to start fighting in the war?

These are basic plot points that could have been addressed but were either ignored or not even noticed. Either way, they drag down what is otherwise a decent movie.

The ending also felt more like a comic book ending than an actual movie ending. The serialization is expected, since this is essentially a direct lead-in to next year's Avengers, ubt it felt somewhat out of place in an actual movie.

(End spoilers)

The action in the film is pretty enjoyable, and the 3D is decently done. I don't feel it was necessary, but it was enjoyable.

I'd recommend this for a rental, unless you absolutely need to see it in 3D or want to geek out to the after credits part.