Captain America: The First Avenger

Rating: ****

HOW different can a movie about a superhero be? Try this one. Set in 1943,World War II,it involves a puny Stevens Rogers (a digitally,cleverly shunk Evans) who lost his parents in the earlier war and only wants to fight this one. Only,he is too tiny,weak,asthmatic to be selected. Despite five rejections,he hasn’t given up hope.

One such recruitment is held at a World Exposition sponsored by the Stark group,thus establishing the ‘Iron Man’ link. Here Stevens runs into former German scientist Erskine (Tucci),who had been high in the Hitler hierarchy and has managed to escape with a serum that can be a powerful weapon against the Third Reich. Erskine sees in Stevens the qualities he wants to enhance through the serum,in a potentially dangerous experiment. Hence is born the Chris Evans as we know him from ‘Fantastic Four’ — the one with the biceps and the eight packs.

However,more than being about superhero antics or one-man heroics,Captain America tries to give you as big a picture of the war as a film of its kind allows (down to the settings),as well as some idea of the many “little people” who fight it. So there is an Agent Peggy Carter (Atwell),who trains Stevens,and Colonel Phillips (Jones) who doesn’t trust him enough. Together they run a special projects unit for fighting the war.

In the beginning,nobody quite knows what to do with Stevens’s newly acquired special capabilities,including strength,speed and a stupendous metabolic rate that apparently allows his body to regenerate and recover in no time at all. So a politician has an idea — why not put him in a Captain America costume,surrounded by a bevy of girls donned in Stars and Stripes,and have them put on shows from city to city raising money for the war effort. With Americans having caught a glimpse of Stevens’s powers,and at a time when everyone is looking for a hero,Captain America is a big and quick hit.

But then Stevens’s friend is reported missing behind enemy lines and Captain America enters the war. Here again,the film manages to keep the focus on people even as the 3D effects ensure enough bangs for the buck. Take,for example,the budding romance between Stevens and Peggy,which hardly falls to the temptation of even a kiss.

Tucci,Weaving as the evil Schmidt heading Hitler’s ‘special weapons’ unit who goes rogue even by Hitler’s standards,Toby Jones as German scientist Zola who is terrified of Schmidt,and Jones as the stern fatherly commander of his unit all keep Captain America the film’s heart in the right place.

However,no one does that job better eventually than Evans himself — fitting perfectly into the mould of an ordinary man who becomes a hero in extraordinary times.

Towards the end,the film inevitably becomes about the war it had set out to win. But with 3D effects that neither overpower the film’s feel or colour,Captain America is a worthy addition to Marvel’s superhero offerings. Evans can proudly take his place among the other ‘Avengers’ — Iron Man,The Hulk,Thor and the like.

shalini.langer@expressindia.com