John Dahl’s Rounders: A Review by Nate Hill

by natewatchescoolmovies, posted in Film Review

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John Dahl’s Rounders is the premier poker movie, an utterly charming, never too serious and surprisingly slight look at the lives of several very different individuals whose lives revolve around the game in New York City. The main focus lands on two young men who are fast friends, yet reside on somewhat opposite sides of the responsibility coin. Poker prodigy Mike (Matt Damon) has since given up his art after a soul crushing loss to local russian bigwig Teddy KGB (John Malkovich). He’s content to simmer in solitude with his perky girlfriend (Gretchen Mol, who never fails to convince me that she’s Samantha Mathis until I double check on imdb). Right in time to disrupt his quiet life is cocky street rat Worm (Edward Norton), fresh out of prison and looking for the type of trouble that landed him there in the first place. It’s to long before he’s racked up some serious debt to dangerous people with ties to Teddy KGB, and Mike is forced to come out of retirement and risk everything he has once again, this time for his friend. The poker scenes are staged with meticulous eye for detail and mannerisms in attempt to put you at the same table as the players, and it’s nifty to see each acting style played to the microscopic hilt as Dahl maintains patient focus on his work. Norton is appropriately scuzzy with just a dollop of endearing, scrappy charm and Damon fills the protagonist’s shoes very well. It’s Malkovich, however, who pulls the stops out and is my favourite character of the piece. With a muddy russian accent that rivals his french one from Johnny English, a lazily snarky streak with just a hint of intimidation and a bag of oreos at his side without fail, he’s a hoot, holler and a half as the life of the poker party. Sexy Famke Janssen has as great bit as as shady chick with eyes for Damon and connections with dodgy folks, expertly playing the half sweet and seductive, half menacing game. Watch for topnotch work from John Turturro, Josh Pais, Michael Rispoli, Josh Mostel, Adam Lefevre, David Zayas, Goran Visjnic, Lenny Clarke and Martin Landau in an earnest turn as a kindly professor who looks out for Mike. It’s short, sweet, concisely paced, tightly written, flawlessly acted and wonderfully entertaining stuff.

PTS PRESENTS CINEMATOGRAPHER’S CORNER with TRENT OPALOCH Vol 1

by Frank Mengarelli, posted in Film Review, Podcast

OPALOCH POWERCAST

 

OpalochPodcasting Them Softly is extremely excited to present a chat with the incredible cinematographer Trent Opaloch. Trent is one of the hottest, most in demand shooters currently working in Hollywood, having shot District 9, Elysium, and the absurdly underrated Chappie for director Neill Blomkamp, while also becoming a member of the Marvel cinematic universe, having lensed both Captain America: The Winter Soldier and this weekend’s Captain America: Civil War. The future looks to hold even more superhero action, as he’ll be reteaming with the Russo brothers for both chapters of The Avengers: Infinity Wars. He’s also a veteran of the commercial world, having collaborated with such directors as Jake Scott, Todd Field, Phil Joanou, and Frederik Bond on a variety of worldwide advertisements. He’s clearly got a very exciting future ahead, and we’re beyond thrilled to have him as a guest – we hope you enjoy this exciting discussion!

SYDNEY POLLACK’S THEY SHOOT HORSES, DON’T THEY? — A REVIEW BY NICK CLEMENT

by nlclement, posted in Film Review

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They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? is an absolutely devastating movie. Disturbing to the core, really. It’s deceptive in its sadness, instead taking something as potentially jubilant like a marathon dance contest, and using it as a backdrop for some of the most poignant and cynical comments about the human experience and psyche. While I’ve not seen everything that Sidney Pollack directed, I’m tempted to say that, from what I’ve seen, this is his best, most defining work. How this epic yet intimate film hasn’t been picked up by The Criterion Collection or Twilight Time I’ll never know, as it’s the sort of picture from a lost era of filmmaking, that would never, ever get made today. And while certainly a product of its time, it still tells a thoroughly timeless story that anyone could connect with. Jane Fonda was at her iciest here, and did an extraordinary job of communicating sadness with only her facial expressions.

 

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Released in 1969 and based on the Horace McCoy novel from 1935, screenwriters James Poe and Robert E. Thompson crafted a true piece of cinematic Americana, and via Pollack’s steadfast and unwavering direction, the film resonates just as strongly now as it likely did upon first glance. An amazing supporting cast including Michael Sarrazin, Susannah York, Bruce Dern, Bonnie Bedelia, and Gig Young were all on hand, while the dusty images by cinematographer Philip H. Lathrop reinforced the desperate, hardscrabble nature of the disparate group of characters. Johnny Green’s musical score, in tandem with various era-specific classics, ranged from jaunty to severe, lively to melancholy, while the film would become noted for its use of flash-forwards, especially during the extremely grim, final sequences. They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? screened at the Cannes Film Festival, and would prove to be a critical success and box office hit, but really needs to be rescued by a boutique physical media company as it deserves major Special Edition treatment.

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CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR: A Review by Joel Copling

by Joel Copling, posted in Film Review

Rating in Stars: ***½ (out of ****)
Cast: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie
Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for extended sequences of violence, action and mayhem)
Running Time: 2:27
Release Date: 05/06/16

Captain America: Civil War sews doubt within the group of superheroes known as the Avengers for the first time since they became a collective attempting to overthrow an external conflict in the form of an alien villain with supernatural abilities. The second and clumsier time saw one of them creating the threat against which they were to fight by accident and ego, and now the consequences of the actions taken in 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron have shown themselves with this new film. It is positioned as a direct sequel to the previous movies that included the character of the surtitle, but it really isn’t for a long time past somewhere in the second act. Screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely have quite a lot to juggle with this sequel, the latest in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and in spite of the business, it’s a roaring entertainment.

There are more serious concerns here than the ones to which we are usually accustomed (often, though not always, limited to the introduction of a hero or heroes and the thrusting of them into a generic conflict). Here the conflict arises due to the machinations of a villain who has a specific–and, surprisingly and ultimately, sympathetic–goal to tear the Avengers apart from within. He is Baron Zemo (Daniel Brühl), a hardened former militant whose motivation to fight back against the heroes will not be revealed in this writing. Let’s just say that it’s central to the concerns that crop up in the first act. After a prologue in 1991 that introduces a biological weapon of MacGuffinish importance, there is an attack that forces one of our heroes to contain a blast, whose energy she can control with her mind, away from its intended target. It still ends in the deaths of a dozen peaceful people.

The central debate, says the Secretary of State (William Hurt, making his first appearance in the franchise since 2008’s The Incredible Hulk), is a largely a political one, exacerbated by measures taken by the United Nations to police the Avengers for good. The Sokovia Accords, named after the disaster that leveled an Eastern European city, are drafted. Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), aka Captain America, is against regulation of this sort, believing that the collateral damage is an unfortunate necessity so as to eventually no longer necessitate it, and Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr., very good), aka Iron Man, thinks the Accords are necessary to keep them in check. Battle lines are very literally drawn, but no one’s side is disregarded here. When “Bucky” Barnes (Sebastian Stan), aka the Winter Soldier, is framed for another explosion that results in yet more death, all bets are off.

The fact of the matter is that Steve probably has the more salient point in the matter, and later, he and Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), aka the Falcon, recruit the returning likes of Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), the energy-manipulating telekinetic who caused the first aforementioned explosion, Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), who comes equipped with his usual contingent of clever arrows, and Scott Lang/Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), whose ability to shrink in size as his strength is multiplied seems oddly downplayed here. On side of Tony, who has increasingly personal stakes in the matter that ultimately define his motivation, are Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), the KGB agent whose persuasive ability is all but ignored this time around, James Rhodes/War Machine (Don Cheadle), Tony’s best friend and sidekick, and the Vision (Paul Bettany), the inexplicable fusing of Tony’s old, artificially-intelligent computer with an Infinity Stone.

There are a lot of characters–perhaps too many in the grand scheme of things, especially considering the niece of Steve’s old love interest, Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp), offers her support, some sort of official agent guy named Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) shows up to be present for stuff, and Cheadle, Rudd, and Renner all feel extraneous to the proceedings. They pale compared to the highlights of the new characters, such as an African prince named  T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman), aka Black Panther, and Peter Parker (Tom Holland, whose performance is brief but fantastic), aka Spider-Man, a kid from Queens whom Tony has been investigating. These two in particular are given either a solid motivation (revenge for T’Challa) or moral compass (a clear-cut vision of right, wrong, and the answer to both for Peter).

It’s an overflowing ensemble given a healthy amount of time (nearer two-and-a-half hours than any film in the franchise so far) to find their footing, even if it doesn’t always pay dividends. The action is particularly well-mounted in an extended sequence of clashing egos that finds the heroes doing battle in an abandoned airport (Spider-Man in particular holds his own in this sequence). No one is truly in danger because their powers are about equal, but the screenwriters and directors Anthony and Joe Russo understand this, saving the action with genuine gravitas for an extended, three-way duel between characters who don’t truly want to win in such a permanent way. It’s the emotional charge of that particular scene, though, that mirrors the desire on the part of the filmmakers to set Captain America: Civil War apart in a series that has started to feel like a lot of the same old same-old. These are superheroes treated, where it counts, as separate entities who desperately need to sit down and talk–preferably without their suits.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER – A REVIEW BY J.D. LAFRANCE

by J.D., posted in Film Review

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When we last saw Steve Rogers a.k.a. Captain America (Chris Evans), he had just helped save New York City from an alien invasion and was still acclimatizing himself to modern life having been frozen in ice since World War II as chronicled in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011). The sequel, The Winter Soldier (2014), takes place two years after the events depicted in The Avengers (2012) and sees Cap working as an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., a top-secret spy organization that, among other things, deals with the fallout from the adventures of superheroes like Iron Man and Thor. However, as hinted at in The Avengers and the television show Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., there is something rotten at the core of the spy organization and Cap soon finds himself not only embroiled in a vast conspiracy, but also confronting someone from his past he thought had died in the war. The result is a fantastic fusion of the super hero movie with the conspiracy thriller.

Cap and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) are now a team and as the film begins they intercept a covert S.H.I.E.L.D. ship in the Indian Ocean that has been hijacked by Algerian terrorists led by French mercenary Batroc the Leaper (Georges St-Pierre). In a nice touch, the filmmakers manage to transform Batroc, who was a pretty ridiculous villain in the comic books, into a bit of a badass. Afterwards, S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) lets Cap in behind the scenes, showing him three Helicarriers armed with state-of-the-art jet fighters that are linked to spy satellites created to anticipate global threats in a program known as Project Insight.

Cap is not at all comfortable with Fury’s secret project and the notion of creating a climate of fear that potentially robs people of their basic freedoms. However, when Fury suspects something is wrong with Project Insight he voices concern to senior S.H.I.E.L.D. official Alexander Pierce (Robert Redford). Immediately afterwards, Fury is attacked on the streets of Washington, D.C. by S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives and an enigmatic figure known as the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan). Fury barely escapes and finds Cap before being gravely injured. It’s up to Cap and Black Widow, along with the help of Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), a war veteran and post-traumatic stress disorder counselor that Cap befriends early on, to uncover the corruption rampant in S.H.I.E.L.D. and stop it.

Chris Evans does an excellent job of reprising his role of Captain America and providing layers to a character that is essentially a super strong boy scout who comes from a simpler time. He is now immersed in a convoluted conspiracy where he doesn’t know who to trust. As a result, he has to do a bit of soul-searching, which Evans handles well. He also has nice chemistry with Scarlett Johansson, especially when Cap and Black Widow go off the grid together and try to find the Winter Soldier. There’s a hint of sexual tension going on as two people with wildly different backgrounds and approaches to life are forced to look out for each other. Johansson finally gets some seriously significant screen-time than she did in Iron Man 2 (2010) and The Avengers and it’s nice to see her character fleshed out a bit more as well as giving her plenty of action sequences to kick ass in.

A film like this, which intentionally raises the stakes in comparison to the first one needs a credible threat that makes us feel like Cap and his allies are in real danger and the Winter Soldier does that. He rarely speaks, but looks cool and is extremely dangerous so that we anticipate the inevitable showdown between him and Cap. He isn’t some anonymous bad guy, but something of a tortured soul and the screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely (who also wrote the first film) offers some tantalizing details of his backstory and how it ties in with Cap’s past.

Markus and McFeely have crafted a solid script that is well-executed by directors Anthony and Joe Russo. They establish just the right rhythm and tone with well-timed lulls between action sequences that are used wisely to move the plot along and offer little moments of character development that keep us invested in the characters and their story. For example, there is a nice scene where Cap goes to an exhibit dedicated to his World War II exploits at the Smithsonian, which succinctly recaps his origin story in a rather poignant way that reminds us of his internal conflict of being stuck in the past while living in the present. One way he deals with this is befriending Sam and they both bond over being war veterans – albeit from very different eras. In addition, the script features several well-timed one-liners and recurring jokes that add moment of much-welcomed levity to an otherwise serious film.

The action sequences are exciting and expertly choreographed with the exception of the opening boat siege, which takes place at night and involves way too much Paul Greengrass/Jason Bourne shaky, hand-held camerawork. Once the filmmakers get that out of their system and Cap takes on Batroc, the camera settles down and is a decent distance from the combatants so that we can see what’s going on. There is also an intense car chase involving an injured Fury in an increasingly bullet-ridden SUV that has the feel of the exciting car chase in William Friedkin’s To Love and Die in L.A. (1985) and a little later Cap takes out an elevator full of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents intent on neutralizing him that evokes an elevator scene in Brian De Palma’s Dressed to Kill (1980). The fights between Cap and the Winter Soldier are fast and frenetic, but never confusing as they convey the frighteningly deadly speed of the latter’s moves, so much so that I really felt like Cap was in some serious danger.

Drawing elements from writer Ed Brubaker and illustrator Steven Epting’s 2005 “Winter Soldier” storyline in the comic book, this film has a decidedly darker tone than The First Avenger as our hero is nearly killed on several occasions and his world is shaken to the very core as he uncovers all sorts of ugly secrets. In this respect, The Winter Soldier is reminiscent of paranoid conspiracy thrillers from the 1970s and this is acknowledged with the casting of Robert Redford who starred in two of the best films from that era – Three Days of the Condor (1975) and All the President’s Men (1976).

It is refreshing to see a sequel that isn’t merely content to rehash the first film. Where The First Avenger was essentially a mash-up of a super hero movie and war movie, The Winter Soldier is super hero movie and a political thriller with events that are a major game changer for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In the past, S.H.I.E.L.D. had been the connective tissue that linked several of the films together that led up to The Avengers. It should be interesting to see how the events depicted in this film set the stage for Avengers: The Age of Ultron (2015). That being said, The Winter Soldier has its own self-contained story that is engrossing with a lot at stake for our hero and this in turn gets you invested in what is happening to produce a rare super hero movie with heart.

MIGUEL SAPOCHNIK’S REPO MEN — A REVIEW BY NICK CLEMENT

by nlclement, posted in Film Review

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Repo Men is a sneaky, cheerfully violent, and occasionally kinky sci-fi flick that totally bombed in theaters for no good reason other than piss-poor marketing and zero confidence from the distributing studio. Why make movies if you don’t have any faith in the material?! Centering on a future world where artificial limbs and fresh internal organs can be purchased via credit, this is a gory, nasty, extremely funny movie that flirts with disreputability at almost every turn, fe…aturing an anti-hero for a protagonist, and all sorts of colorful baddies lurking around every corner. The kicker of the plot: What if the amoral repo man tasked with taking back, by any means necessary, the body parts his clients can’t pay for, all of a sudden became a victim of his own profession? The third act twist is trippy and unexpected and awesome, Jude Law was superb in a very forceful and physical performance, and overall, the material feels decidedly fresh and unique and creative. I’m a big fan of when a film mixes tones, and this B-movie with A-production values does that often.

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Original novelist Eric Garcia was given the opportunity to adapt his own work for the screen with co-scripter Garrett Lerner, and while helmer Miguel Sapochnik certainly demonstrated an extremely strong sense of cinematic style, he’s been in feature director’s jail for the last few years, instead turning to high-profile television direction. It’s a shame, because this film has distinct personality and lots of nifty special effects that served the story, rather than dominating it. I have a feeling that Paul Verhoeven would absolutely LOVE this film, as Repo Men carries a casual cruel streak and a layer of social satire that makes the proceedings all the more robust. The solid supporting cast features Forest Whitaker as Law’s totally badass partner in crime, Liev Schreiber at his smarmiest as their morally bankrupt boss, Alice Braga as Law’s love interest, Carice van Houten, John Leguizamo, and RZA. The vibrant yet gritty cinematography by Enrique Chediak is a major highlight, as is the crisp editing by Richard Francis-Bruce. Shot for a reported $32 million, this film looks three times as expensive. The unrated version features even more badassery.

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B Movie Glory With Nate: The Harvest

by natewatchescoolmovies, posted in Film Review

 
The Harvest is the very definition of a hidden gem that one stumbles upon while watching late night cable and sits through to the end just because it’s such a wickedly nasty little thriller. Erotic and steamy, dangerous, very darkly funny are qualities that all reside within a terrific script that has one kicker of an ending that’s quite the chuckle inducing payoff. No one wants to have their organs taken while on vacation in some sketchy South American country, let alone consider the thought of it. Hard luck screenwriter Charlie Pope (an intense Miguel Ferrer in one of his few lead roles) falls right into that unthinkable scenario. He’s sent to Mexico by his bad tempered boss Bob Lakin (a sleazy Harvey Fierstein, who REALLY needs to be in more movies), and marinates in the sweatiness trying to get some work done. After a hot and heavy night with a gorgeous local babe (Leilani Sarelle) he wakes up with the mother of all hangovers and is horrified to find that one of his kidneys has been removed. From there it’s a stomach churning mad dash to figure out where the smugglers have gone, and evade the, at the same time, because they’re coming to try and get his other one and silence him forever as well. It’s an uncomfortable little piece of white knuckle trash, but it’s made with solid flair and like I said, the script is top shelf stuff. Ferrer is the running man here, trying to keep one step ahead of some very dangerous people, his bountiful acting talent putting us right there with him. Fierstein is always a gravel voiced gem, and gets two penultimate scenes that spin the plot on its cogs, both which will have you laughing uncomfortably. There’s also an early career appearance from George Clooney, who is Ferrer’s cousin. His credit here, and I’m not even making this up, is ‘Lip syncing transvestite’. How’s that for a leg up in the industry. Lowbrow, gut churning black comedy mixed with the exotic fish out of water thriller makes for a neat little piece of genre bending, grotesque shocker fun. 

Robert Atman’s The Gingerbread Man: A Review by Nate Hill

by natewatchescoolmovies, posted in Film Review

  

Robert Altman’s The Gingerbread Man isn’t the director’s best, but it’s worth a looky-loo just to see this solid cast cavort around in a sweltering Georgia atmosphere and play out a narrative that’s part sultry seduction thriller and part hard boiled whodunit. I remember watching it and going ‘meh, I’ve seen this type of thing a thousand times and this one didn’t raise the bar at all.’ I’m thinking now that perhaps my mindset was in the wrong space, and that Altman set out to simply bring us the romantic murder mystery in its purest form, without deviation or higher ambitions. In that case he’s made a neat little potboiler with a suitably ludicrous ending, some truly effective red herrings and a really great troupe of actors, so,e going nicely against type. The multitalented Kenneth Branagh plays suave Georgia lawyer Rick MacGruder, who finds himself in deep trouble when he has an affair with sexy, slinky and shady Mallory Doss (the very underrated Embeth Davidz). She’s a good enough girl, but she has a backwoods nutcase of a father named Dixon (Robert Duvall being uber strange and loving every second of it) who is stalking and threatening her. Dixon is a bedraggled, cult-leading swamp rat and Duvall plays him to the frenzied hilt of uncomfortable ticks and unkempt theatrics. MacGruder, being smitten with Mallory, is of course compelled to use his legal and personal power to help her, and concocts a convoluted scheme involving a subpoena to Mallory’s belligerent ex husband Pete Randle (a cranky Tom Berenger blusters about in the third act). This of course sets off all kinds of back door motivations and sweaty double crosses that are hard to keep track of until all is revealed in the final act, prompting a collective audience reaction of “huh??”. It’s all in good fun though and at times it seems like Altman is deliberately dipping into B movie territory just to shirk his high art mantle and spice up this gumbo with some trashy, lowbrow flavour. I say bring it, that’s exactly the way to my heart. Writing this review I’m now realizing I probably like this film way more than my ending statement might suggest, but sometimes we need to hash it all out on paper (or in this case a cramped iPad keyboard) to reevaluate our perception of a certain piece. The cast gets juicier, with Robert Downey Jr. doing a quick bit as Macgruder’s slick buddy who works as a private investigator for the law office, Daryl Hannah and Famke Janssen as Rick’s jilted wife as well. It’s based on a John Grisham novel, and Altman seems to be the first director to adapt his work with a ramped up style and personal flair that goes beyond the academic thrills on the page. This one feels heightened, sultry and oh so sweaty in the way that only a southern set thriller can be. Cool stuff. 

MICHEL GONDRY’S HUMAN NATURE — A REVIEW BY NICK CLEMENT

by nlclement, posted in Film Review
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Completely and utterly absurd and often hilarious, Human Nature was the first collaboration between writer Charlie Kaufman (Anomalisa, Being John Malkovich, Synechdoce, NY) and director Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Mood Indigo, The Science of Sleep). To call this film bizarre or self-conscious would be an understatement; while it’s coherent and certainly adds up by its conclusion, I can think of few other R-rated fantasies like this one. The film is basically a sex-farce about the animalistic urges that we as humans suppress on a daily basis, as well as a pointed observation on the role of outward beauty in society and how people judge others on superficial levels. Almost beyond description, the film juggles three story major story strands which result in an extremely heady brew. Rhys Ifans (so scary in Enduring Love, so funny in Notting Hill) is a feral man, raised as an ape by his father, who has been living as one with nature for almost his entire existence. Patricia Arquette, in a rather fearless and vanity-free performance, is a woman suffering from abnormal hair growth all over her body; she’s never been with a man and has zero self-esteem. Tim Robbins is a virginal, up-tight behavioral scientist who is trying to teach a pair of mice common table manners; eat with a fork, pull out the chair for your friend, etc. He thinks that if he can teach table manners to mice, he’ll be able to teach table manners to humans.
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In his world, we’ve all become slobs with no idea of proper etiquette. Hysterical flashbacks show how his 50’s era parents drilled order and OCD-styled tendencies into their son. Robbins and Arquette meet through a mutual friend and sparks fly, while Arquette conceals her hairy secret from him. One day while walking in the woods, they come across Ifans, who knocks himself out while trying to run away from them. Robbins, ever the intrepid scientist, sees this as a major opportunity. He takes Ifans back to his laboratory and puts him into a large, glass-walled box. Forget the mice; now he has a human experiment! How a strange love triangle develops between the three characters will be up for you to discover. If all of this sounds mildly mentally insane, well, I’m not surprised. But coming from genuine artists like Gondry and Kaufman, the film is a whimsical endeavor. And while Human Nature will like prove to be challenging film on some levels for many people, it can hardly be denied that it’s stunningly unique, and very smart about humans, and, well, nature. Gondy’s cinematic DIY-aesthetic was in its infancy here, with visual motifs that would become frequently explored in subsequent films. The scenes alone of the mice eating with forks are worth a viewing. And one scene, in which Robbins teaches Ifans how to behave at an opera, is a true pisser. This is a fun, strange film that I promise you won’t forget.
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CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER – A REVIEW BY J.D. LAFRANCE

by J.D., posted in Film Review

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The popular comic book superhero Captain America had his debut in March 1941 courtesy of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who created him as a patriotic symbol in response to the actions of Nazi Germany in the years leading up to the United States’ involvement in World War II. Like any enduring comic book icon, Cap has undergone all kinds of changes over the years but as had few cinematic incarnations. He first appeared on film in a 1944 serial and then in a 1990 film that was so ill-conceived that it was released direct to home video in North America. One problem with the character is that his costume does not translate well to a live-action film. It didn’t help that at the time of the 1990 version, Marvel Comics, which owned the character, had little interest in cinematic adaptations of its titles until X-Men (2000) proved to be a surprise hit.

Since then, they’ve had a spotty track record with their properties. The Blade and Iron Man series were very successful but both Daredevil (2003) and Ghost Rider (2007) were box office and critical failures respectively. Part of the problem is the talent attached to these films. Getting the right director and cast that understand the characters and the worlds they inhabit is crucial and explains why the first two X-Men films were so good. For Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), the powers that be wisely hired Joe Johnston to direct. Since it was decided that the film be set during World War II who better to recapture that old school action/adventure vibe then the man who helmed The Rocketeer (1991) and Hidalgo (2004)? For the pivotal role of Captain America, Chris Evans was cast. He already had experience with superhero films playing the Human Torch in the awful Fantastic Four films and, as a result, was understandably reluctant to take on another comic book adaptation. The question remained, how would such an earnest, idealistic character translate in our cynical times and would movie-going audiences be able to relate to him? Judging by its opening weekend box office haul, quite well indeed.

Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is a skinny weakling who just wants to do his part for his country during wartime but he’s wracked with too many health problems to join the army. So, he volunteers for a risky top-secret experimental program known as Project Rebirth run by Colonel Chester Phillips (Tommy Lee Jones at his crusty, ornery best) and Peggy Carter (charmingly played by Hayley Atwell). Rogers may not be physically strong but he’s brave, determined and willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good. Dr. Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci) and playboy inventor Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper) conduct the actual procedure that transforms Rogers into the perfect physical specimen, a Super Soldier complete with superior strength and agility.

Instead of putting him on the front lines where he wants to be, Rogers dons a corny costume (that pokes fun at previous cinematic incarnations), dubbed Captain America, and ordered to sell war bonds to the American public in a lame dog and pony show. While entertaining American troops in Italy, he hears that his best friend Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) has been captured by Hydra, a research wing of the Nazis who are so ambitious that they split from the Germans for playing it too safe. With Peggy and Stark’s help, Rogers disobeys orders to rescue his friend and 400 prisoners of war. Meanwhile, Hydra leaders Dr. Arnim Zola (Toby Jones) and Johann Schmidt (Hugo Weaving) have discovered the Tesseract, a cosmic cube endowed with powerful magical energy that they harness so that it can be used to not only win the war but also take over the world. Schmidt was the first recipient of the Super Soldier formula and it transformed him into the Red Skull, a hideous-looking evil genius.

Hugo Weaving brings a suitably creepy menace to the role of the power hungry Red Skull aided in large part by the impressive and appropriately garish makeup job. Hayley Atwell is downright delightful as the brassy dame Peggy Carter who is more than capable of taking care of herself. The chemistry between her character and Rogers is nicely realized with snappy, slyly flirty dialogue reminiscent of a Howard Hawks film. The screenplay, written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, does a nice job of developing their relationship over time, keeping their romance simmering just under the surface for most of the film until its tragic conclusion that carries a surprising emotional resonance because we’ve become invested in them. After all kinds of supporting roles over the years, Chris Evans finally gets to prove that he has the chops to carry a big budget blockbuster. He brings a no-nonsense charisma to the role and conveys Cap’s idealism without coming across as forced or phony.

Joe Johnston brings the same old school Classic Hollywood vibe he brought to The Rocketeer complete with a refreshing lack of cynicism and irony as he delivers a straightforward action/adventure tale. And like with that previous film, he includes all sorts of nice comic book touches, like the introduction of the Howling Commandos, a ragtag group of soldiers that fought alongside Nick Fury in the comics and fight with Cap in the film. In particular, the actors who play Dum Dum Dugan (Neal McDonough) and Gabe Jones (Derek Luke) bear an uncanny resemblance to their comic book counterparts right down to how they look and act. Unlike Zack Snyder (Watchmen, Sucker Punch), who imposes too much of his personal style, Johnston understands that the film’s style should service the story – anything else is a distraction. He even employs Snyder’s trademark “speed-ramping” technique but in a way that fits seamlessly with the action sequences, which are exciting and expertly choreographed, devoid of schizophrenic editing. You always know who is fighting whom and where. Captain America may not reinvent wheel in terms of the comic book superhero genre but it doesn’t have to. It is a crowd-pleasing popcorn movie with nothing else on its mind but to tell an entertaining story.