I’ve very happy to have used that Post Title, instead of something sad and silly like ‘Captain America, Fuck No!’ Because the Captain America movie kicks a lot of ass and lives up to all my hopes and expectations. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a perfect movie. Yes, Cap himself was fantastic, his supporting cast was great, Red Skull was badass… it was the movie itself that didn’t live up to the potential.

That is to say, it didn’t live up to the potential of the fan-made trailer that spliced Captain America with the song ‘America, Fuck Yeah’ from Team America: World Police.

That gets my blood pumping!

Oh the glory that could have been. While watching the scenes where Cap is kicking Nazi butt, I kept wanting the movie to play a more action-packed sort of song! I wanted to be jumping out of my seat and punching the air I was so pumped up by the Cap action! Alas, that moment never happened…probably to the benefit of those sitting around me.

Captain America: The First Avenger was a pretty awesome movie. It was an origin story, but thankfully Cap’s origin has a lot more story to go with it than most. The journey from skinny little nobody to war hero is a cool tale, and they don’t make it hokey or lame at all. In fact, the first half is the best part of the movie. Stanley Tucci is amazing as Professor Erskine, and the few scenes he gets with Steve are well-played and very touching. They really develop a bond during the first half of the movie, you really get a sense of  the importance of Erskine’s project, and why he wants Steve for the job. The first half of the movie is the better half.

And thankfully in the second half,  the moviemakers didn’t skimp on the war. I knew going into this film, back when it was first announced, that they essentially had to make Saving Private Ryan with a superhero at the center, and they did. It wasn’t as gritty and realistic as Saving Private Ryan, but it was a real war movie with realistic soldiers and the hardships of war. Granted, it was a little stylized, but not campy or overplayed. Everything stayed grounded, which was an absolute must for this movie.

The Captain is ready to kick ass

The movie nailed Cap perfectly. The skinny guy sections are a little weird, but they’re not impossible to get over to enjoy the movie. Like I said, the beginning is the best part. You really buy into the poor guy’s desire to be a soldier, to do his part. You feel for him. When he signs up with Erskine and proves his worth in boot camp, it’s a great feeling. You even sort of get behind him during the silly USO show section. It works for the movie, but poor Steve. When he becomes Captain America, he stays that loveable, friendly, nice guy. He’s courageous and strong-willed, but he’s not a jerk or arrogant. He does what’s right, and that’s a good thing.

Thank God he never spends any time wallowing in self-pity like the Green Lantern. Cap never questions himself or his power, he gets right in Nazi face and kicks some ass. He’s a hero from beginning to end.

Cap also has a great supporting cast. Top notch all around. Bucky is a blast. Recent issues of the Captain America comic gave Bucky a much needed upgrade. They retconned his tale from being just a colorful boy sidekick to actually being a military operative. Bucky was given skills as a scout and as a killer. That’s the Bucky that appears in this movie. He’ s Cap’s childhood pal turned soldier, and they bump into each other again in the war. Bucky is tough and cool, just like a soldier. He’s not at all the acrobatic kid sidekick. This movie shows the world exactly how to make a sidekick work in a comic book movie.

Being a sidekick knocks you for a loop

The Howling Commandos appear, but they’re little more than recognizable soldiers in the background. But that’s all they need to be. Too many characters would flood the movie. So they do just enough so that you root for them, but not enough to be a bother – perfect. As I said before, Erskine is fantastic. Tommy Lee Jones as the Army guy is phenomenal. He’s gruff and he’s funny, getting all the best one-liners. I’m glad he stays for the whole movie. Peggy Carter is a suitable love interest. She’s fun and firm, and not at all the damsel in distress. The romance is easy to feel. It’s rather sad how it ends, but I wasn’t brought to tears by it like the movie probably wanted.

As the villain, the Red Skull is a lot of fun. He’s not over the top and he’s suitably creepy. I kind of preferred him when he had the human face. The Red Skull makeup looked both realistic and fake at the same time. Hugo Weaving gave the character some wit. He wasn’t cracking jokes, but he had a certain style to him that I liked. He served his villainous duties well. Arnim Zola was fun too! A nice sort of cameo. He played a good henchman. I was a little disappointed, though, in the lack of Nazis. Cap and his group only went after Hydra. Sure they were  a branch of the Nazis, but they were Hydra. Which means that Capt’s entire WWII career had him fighting Hydra, not the Nazis. That kind of sucks.

We don't need no stinkin' Furher!

So this brings me to what didn’t work in the movie – the editing. This is a weird claim to make, but hopefully I can explain how I feel. The movie is fine, it’s better than fine. It’s a good movie.  The characters are great, the story is great, the action and set pieces are great – but the movie never seems to live up to the potential that it sets for itself. It never punches through that last barrier to being a truly spectacular and awesome movie. As we neared the end, it felt like the movie had barely even begun. The climax didn’t feel like a climax, it didn’t feel epic enough. It was everything I wanted in a Captain America movie, yet I kept thinking that I wanted more.

And for this I blame the editing. Scenes weren’t allowed to stretch or get comfortable. They cut too quickly to the next scene, the next moment, even the next line. There was a line from Erskine in the trailer, “Stay who you are: not just a soldier, but a good man.” For some reason, both the trailer and the movie cut between the words ‘good’ and ‘man’. It’s a great line, and it’s read brilliantly by Tucci, but the movie drops the ball by editing the line! Let the line flow!

Then when they introduce Cap’s new costume, it’s done in a poorly made montage. Rather than a cool reveal, he just sort of starts walking around in it as part of a montage set to terrible montage music. You need good, strong, catchy music for a montage. This one just felt awkward as Cap and his pals destroyed some Hydra bases. Parts of it looked cool, but it lacked a full, exciting feeling. The whole movie kind of did.

Oh, and I didn’t like the ending. Waking up in the present day, running into Time Square and meeting Nick Fury was far, far too rushed. They didn’t even explain that he was frozen in the ice all that time. That whole scene should have been given a lot more time to grow. It should have been fleshed out a lot more.

Captain America: The First Avenger was good, but it wasn’t fist-pumping, edge of my seat good. I kind of wanted to fist-pump.