Captain America
Aug. 6th, 2011 04:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alias_sqbrQuite possibly the most boring superhero film I have ever seen. The film is basically some vaguely interesting setup, and then a whole bunch of Captain America blowing up sort-of-Nazis (and if you want to see a recent superhero film involving killing Nazis, watch Xmen: First Class)
After some discussion Cam and I decided that Wolverine, Xmen 3 and even Spiderman 3 were more interesting, they may have wasted their potential with some irritating choices, but at least they didn't run out of potential in the first 45 minutes.
Spoilers!
I did find Steve likeable. But for a story about a little guy from the 1940s who finds himself a big guy in the modern day, they did a lazy job exploring how he felt about becoming bigger and stronger, and made absolutely no effort at all to get across how different the 1940s are to now, meaning I feel very little interest in seeing him in the Avengers. There was some vague brief mentions of sexism and racism involving the (single) female and Japanese characters, with no references at all to racism towards the apparently integrated black soldiers. Yet I'm sure that if you asked the film makers why the film is so filled to the brim with white men (especially in all the major speaking roles) they would say it's for "historical accuracy".
As much as Hydra were boring villains, I did like that they made Hitler look like a nasty but irrelevant two bit leader who had no idea what was really going on. But it was all so lazy and empty. They weren't willing to critique or subvert typical World War Two movie imagery or ideals, but nor were they willing to engage too blatantly in manipulative jingoism and so it was just…flat. The Red Skull rants about superior beings taking over the earth, and the movie tried to look like it was about saving the little guy from bullies, but we never actually see Steve or the US army protecting anyone but other US soldiers. As tacky as it would have been, there needed to be a scene where Steve-as-Captain-America helps some Italian villagers or stands up to someone being racist or something, instead of lots of abstract "protecting America" and saving his friends.
EDIT: I know what's wrong with this movie (well, one thing) It only cares about soldiers. I don't mean "it glorifies the military", that's only to be expected, I mean that literally the only characters who are presented as relevant or interesting are soldiers and weapons scientists. There's a slimy money grubbing politician, some faceless secretaries and dancing girls (who are much less interesting as love interests than the lady soldier), and some random little white boys who one assumes will grow to up be soldiers themselves. And that's about it.
After some discussion Cam and I decided that Wolverine, Xmen 3 and even Spiderman 3 were more interesting, they may have wasted their potential with some irritating choices, but at least they didn't run out of potential in the first 45 minutes.
Spoilers!
I did find Steve likeable. But for a story about a little guy from the 1940s who finds himself a big guy in the modern day, they did a lazy job exploring how he felt about becoming bigger and stronger, and made absolutely no effort at all to get across how different the 1940s are to now, meaning I feel very little interest in seeing him in the Avengers. There was some vague brief mentions of sexism and racism involving the (single) female and Japanese characters, with no references at all to racism towards the apparently integrated black soldiers. Yet I'm sure that if you asked the film makers why the film is so filled to the brim with white men (especially in all the major speaking roles) they would say it's for "historical accuracy".
As much as Hydra were boring villains, I did like that they made Hitler look like a nasty but irrelevant two bit leader who had no idea what was really going on. But it was all so lazy and empty. They weren't willing to critique or subvert typical World War Two movie imagery or ideals, but nor were they willing to engage too blatantly in manipulative jingoism and so it was just…flat. The Red Skull rants about superior beings taking over the earth, and the movie tried to look like it was about saving the little guy from bullies, but we never actually see Steve or the US army protecting anyone but other US soldiers. As tacky as it would have been, there needed to be a scene where Steve-as-Captain-America helps some Italian villagers or stands up to someone being racist or something, instead of lots of abstract "protecting America" and saving his friends.
EDIT: I know what's wrong with this movie (well, one thing) It only cares about soldiers. I don't mean "it glorifies the military", that's only to be expected, I mean that literally the only characters who are presented as relevant or interesting are soldiers and weapons scientists. There's a slimy money grubbing politician, some faceless secretaries and dancing girls (who are much less interesting as love interests than the lady soldier), and some random little white boys who one assumes will grow to up be soldiers themselves. And that's about it.
no subject
Date: 2011-08-06 12:52 pm (UTC)