Andy Gapin

Captain America was never a superhero that interested me in the least. I don’t know why, I just never cared about him. Given that, I really had no burning desire to see this up until recently. The trailers actually made this movie look like it could be decent so I figured I’d give it a shot. I’m glad I did too because Captain America was solid.

Captain America is good a similar way that Iron Man is great. Everyone gets something, but without making a lot of sacrifices (not that I know much about the Captain America comics anyway). You get a half decent story, great effects, good action scenes, some eye candy, and characters you care about.

That being said, one of the best things about Captain America is something that you probably won’t even realize on your own (I hadn’t even really thought about it until Discover Blogs’ Malcolm MacIver pointed it out on his blog Science Not Fiction). The hero’s enhancement is different than in any other story. In Captain America, the enhancement comes from a deliberate experiment that goes exactly as planned with no negative side effects. In addition to that, the subject chose to be enhanced and made this choice for altruistic purposes. And lastly, the enhancement isn’t just a physical one, but also a moral enhancement. I’m not going to go further into this because you should read MacIver’s post about it, but after realizing this having this pointed out to me, the whole movie and story just feels better.

Up above, I compared Captain America: The First Avenger to Iron Man, but I wouldn’t go so far to say that it’s on that level or anything, but it’s not that far behind. Captain America is good comic book movie that does things right.

Rating: A

This is what a comic book movie should be. Scott Pilgram vs. The World is finally the movie that makes me feel like I should fix my childhood wrongs and start reading comics…all the time. And start playing video games. That too.

I really liked everything about this flick. The casting, style, visuals, music, everything. It was all awesome. The style seems unlike just about any other movie out there and I really liked it. The way the movie was put together really felt more like I was in a comic book or video game and instead of in a theater watching a movie. The mix of comic, video game, and cartoon elements with a little Kill Bill thrown in was perfect. Visually, the movie is just downright fun.

Even though the movie is almost 2 hours long, there is enough going on with solid pacing that you hardly notice how long it is. The well-roundedness of the film, covering story, humor, and action equally, helps a lot here. I was actually a little sad when it ended, I could have gone for more.

I don’t really get the whole anti-Michael Cera thing that’s been going around lately, but I thought he worked great for a character in a movie adaptation of a comic book series that I had never heard of before a few months ago. And I enjoyed Aubrey Plaza as pretty much the same character she plays in Parks and Recreation.

Simply put, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World was everything I loved in my childhood wrapped up in a package for my age. I would like to see this again soon.

Rating: A+