To cap off building up to The Avengers, I have recently re-watched Captain America: The First Avenger, the (at the time of this writing) penultimate movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. When I first saw this movie in a theater, I did not see it in 3D due to my experience with Thor, but at the end I still found myself wanting to see it again. I have seen it again a couple times since its home video release, and each time I still found myself wanting more Captain America.
While I'm not too familiar with Captain America from the comics, I think they did a fantastic job telling the character's origin story before fast-forwarding to the present day. There's plenty of thrills, drama, and humor to go around to keep the viewer invested until the very end. Particular credit goes to Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America; when you see him on-screen, you get the sense that he wants to do good and protect people, even if he's short (at first) or has to sacrifice himself, which is why in the story he was made into a super soldier. Hugo Weaving also does a good job as the villain Red Skull, who wants to destroy anything in his path no matter what it takes, even if the one in his way is from his own country. That isn't to say the rest of the acting isn't good, since every named actor manages to deliver an amazing performance no matter what their role is.
One thing I enjoy about this movie is how they work in things about Captain America, though I only know them based on what I've read or heard. For instance, the movie manages to use his original costume in a way that it doesn't look silly (though it gets revamped later) and the very first issue of the comic makes an appearance, which, for the uninitiated, proudly displays Captain America punching Hitler in the face. There is also some clever foreshadowing employed at early points in the movie, mainly hinting at Steve Rogers obtaining his iconic shield and the identity of Red Skull. Seeing stuff like this is fun to watch, though I'm sure people much more familiar with the comics would enjoy them even more.
Having seen this movie multiple times, I can still say that Captain America: The First Avenger is an excellent comic book movie that should not be missed by anyone, especially if you plan on seeing The Avengers, for which the very first trailer is shown after the credits. If you own the Blu-ray of this movie, I would also suggest checking out a special feature, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer. As with The Consultant on the Thor Blu-ray, it is a short feature that is definitely worth watching. Now hopefully I can avoid any spoilers before I get to see The Avengers this weekend.
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