SPOILER WARNING

So, some of the MCU movies/shows I’ve seen, but most I haven’t.

Captain America was one of the ones I hadn’t. I first watched it a couple of months ago when people started talking about all the stuff coming together in Infinity War, and I decided it was time I watched all the MCU.
I watched it again this weekend. To be honest, most of the MCU I haven’t watched was because it didn’t interest me. I’ve never really been big into superhero movies. I grew up in a superhero family, so I watched them all, but I never really got into them, aside from X-Men and Wonder Woman (both Lynda Carter and the cartoons). Once I moved out, I kind of got out of the habit of watching them unless they were on TV or something.
Somehow though, I completely missed Captain America. I knew he was in the Avengers, but I only found out there was a Captain America movie a year of two ago. I mean, before the Winter Soldier one. When I did, I wasn’t all that interested. I don’t tend to enjoy Chris Evans’ performance, so I wasn’t interested in seeing his own movie. Of course, had I known the hilarious Tommy Lee Jones and the awesome Hugo Weaving were in it, I would have picked it up immediately.

Still, not sure what I think of it. I didn’t really enjoy it. Jones and Weaving put in great performances, as expected. Evans was not my cup of tea, as expected. There was some cool stuff, but most of it I just didn’t buy.

The pre-serum Steve was completely unbelievable to me. They just didn’t blend his head right for one thing. His head shape, especially his jaw, didn’t suit the body type they’d given him. It just looked like a bad photoshop, which, I guess in layman’s terms it was. Sure it was a lot more complicated than that, but that is essentially what they did, and they did it poorly. And the voice! Maybe I’m wrong, but I just didn’t buy a voice that deep from a body that small.

I couldn’t bring myself to like Bucky (who I didn’t realise was the Bucky from Civil War till the train scene). Unfortunately, the first thing I ever saw Sebastian Stan in was Covenant. And he was so perfect in that, that now all I can see him as is a psycho, magic junky, and it just creeps me out.

Red Skull’s mask was incredibly contrived to me. And contradicted itself constantly. Just so we could have that moment when he reveals his face to Cap. He wears the mask when he’s out and about, but isn’t really hiding who he is or leaving anyone behind who could point the finger at him anyway. In the first shot they make sure you see the lines of the mask, so you know something is up. When he’s getting his portrait done, and the doc walks in, he slaps off the lights, so you can’t see him, but then asks the doctor his opinion on the painting. So he’s obviously not ashamed or afraid of the doc seeing him. And when he finally reveals himself, he makes a big speech about not hiding, and then spends the rest of the movie proudly walking around without his mask. There was no story reason for it. The moment we see the seem in the first shot, I knew there would be a big shocking scene when he would reveal his face, and I was just annoyed. Not to mention there was something wrong with the mask. Despite appearing to have huge nasal cavities, Hugo sounded like he had a peg on his nose the whole time he was wearing that thing.

Then there was Cap’s career in show business. I just couldn’t believe that a program like his, that had cost so much, and had such a big set back, would just use Cap as a publicity stunt. Even if they didn’t think he was enough for missions, they would have forced him to that research center. He was too great an investment.

I didn’t like Agent Carter much, but Stark was fun. Though hard to imagine him as Tony’s dad. That actor was great for the role, but looked nothing like the actor that played Howard in that video Tony watches in whichever movie that was (also a potential error with the shields there?).

I found absolutely no flaw with Tommy Lee Jones or his character. As usual, he was just a pure delight to watch. As was Stanley Tucci. But I don’t know that they were enough to save this film.

All in all, it just felt like a very plot driven story. We have to cover these points. We need Cap’s origin. We need Bucky’s origin. We need the blue shiny thing. We need Samuel L. Jackson in the only role I think he has ever played that is child friendly. It just felt like they were checking off a list, rather than showing a story of someone’s journey.
I don’t know. It just wasn’t for me. It had it’s moments, but on the whole, it just didn’t grab me. Other than occasional marathons, I don’t think I’ll be watching this one much.