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00:00It has been on my mind for quite a while now the idea to review and analyze every
00:15single MCU movie since I think it's a very interesting franchise and I have a
00:22great many opinions on the movies and not always just the opinions you would
00:27expect on certain movies so I'm not just here to repeat things about these
00:32movies that you've probably heard a hundred times I'm here to share a new
00:36perspective except of course on those occasions where I do of course actually
00:40end up agreeing with the popular opinion but you'll just have to stick around and
00:43follow this series to find out where I do and do not agree with the popular
00:47opinion oh and also you may have noticed that this video is about Captain America
00:53the first Avenger not Iron Man the first MCU movie that was actually released
00:57and that is because I absolutely and utterly refuse to watch these movies in
01:02any order that is not chronological it is why the next movie that I'll be
01:06reviewing is Captain Marvel and not Iron Man either definitely stay tuned for
01:10that video because I certainly have a lot to say on that movie oh and another
01:15interesting thing I want to incorporate into this MCU retrospective series that
01:19I'm doing is that I also intend to research the original comics that to the
01:24films are based off of and said characters who come from the comics to note all the
01:29points in which these adaptations accurately adapt the original comics and where
01:35they diverge and whether or not I think that is a good thing I'm not exactly
01:39including a ton of that research into this first video however I did read the
01:44original Captain America comic before making this so I do have a few things to say but
01:49trust me the amount of research and comic comparisons in future videos will be a
01:54lot more extensive than what you see in this one well anyway with all that
01:57important introductory stuff aside I may as well dive into my opinions on Captain
02:03America the first Avenger the movie itself as you probably noticed from the
02:07title I happen to think that this is quite a good movie in fact I think that
02:12generally speaking it's probably still one of the better MCU movies overall it's not
02:17quite perfect though in my opinion but it does come quite close and to a lot of
02:22people that might sound like quite a stretch I mean surely this movie is
02:26nowhere better than just average I mean after all it is an MCU movie and to that
02:33I say revisionist history I mean arguments like that reek of you know people
02:38trying to reevaluate the Harry Potter books because of stuff JK Rowling said if you
02:42know what I'm saying fantastic let me see it just because modern MCU movies and
02:49TV shows have not been as popular as the old ones doesn't mean that the MCU was
02:53always bad it's a stupid line of thought in my opinion and I think each and every
02:57movie and show should be evaluated on its own merits regardless if it's an MCU
03:02movie or TV show or not and I actually think that Captain America the first
03:06Avenger is one of the most well-told origin stories in the whole MCU and in
03:11that regard it basically is perfect hence the name of this video and it's
03:15only minor imperfections are simply that minor and they don't significantly
03:21affect my overall opinion on the movie other than causing me to only give it a
03:24nine and not a ten one of the first things that I do like about this movie is
03:28that even though as I mentioned at the start I haven't read a million Captain
03:32America comics it still seems to me from what I do know that this film is
03:37is fairly accurate to the source material no massive changes have been made to
03:42Captain America as a character or his initial origin story like the entire bit
03:47where they go to the secret base that's just sort of hidden in an ordinary shop in
03:51the streets and there he gets all the serum put into him in a slightly more
03:56cinematic version I admit in the comics it basically was just him getting
04:00pricked with a needle which they make a joke about in this movie that wasn't so
04:07bad that was penicillin but like all of that is like almost beat for beat exactly
04:14what happens in the comic they did also add the chase at the end though once
04:18again you know for dramatic cinematic effect and I don't really mind it's a
04:22good way to show off Steve Rogers new abilities that make him more than just an
04:27ordinary person but anyway I'm kind of getting a little bit ahead of myself in
04:31terms of what actually happens in the story let me rewind a bit and talk about
04:35Steve Rogers himself as a character Steve Rogers aka Captain America has
04:40generally been one of the most popular Marvel Comics characters whether it be in
04:44the original comics TV shows or of course the MCU version outside of a few
04:49infamous comic storylines which I've heard some hearsay about he tends to be
04:53one of the least assassinated characters in Marvel history and one of the most
04:58consistent so I'm glad to see that the MCU has not broken that track record but
05:02of course you can't just say he's a good character and move on I mean what
05:06actually makes him a good character after all now I can't remember where I
05:09heard this said but it was a perfect way to describe Captain America as a
05:13character I'm sure it was in some sort of writing advice video I watched a lot of
05:16those because you know I am actually trying to write my own books who knows if
05:20they'll ever come out of course but anyway it was said about Captain America
05:24in one of those videos and if someone knows who said this or what video then
05:28please tell me and maybe I can credit them the description down below but that
05:31Captain America is essentially a static character and that he's already in the
05:37right at the start of the story he doesn't have to go on a hero's journey
05:42character arc of development and changing his perspective or worldview because
05:46he's basically got that all correct at the start of the story do you want to
05:51kill Nazis is this a test yes I don't want to kill anyone I don't like bullies I
06:06don't care where they're from what makes Captain America interesting however and
06:11not a boring character is that he is constantly challenged in his correct
06:16worldviews and told that he is wrong
06:19you pretend to be a simple soldier but in reality you are just afraid to admit that
06:25we have left humanity behind
06:29and like you embrace it proudly don't fear then how come you're running what have
06:37you got to lose my self-respect and so the question isn't will Captain America
06:41change for the better it's will Captain America continue to be a good person or will
06:46he be persuaded to become worse whatever happens tomorrow you must promise me one
06:52thing that you will stay who you are not a perfect soldier
07:03he's basically a character who has faith in the goodness of humanity and that well good will
07:22ultimately triumph in the end over evil but he is constantly forced to face situations that make him
07:27question if good really will triumph over evil such as a certain major event involving Bucky later on and I think that it's perfect in a sense that Captain America first comes into existence during World War 2 a time in which hope for the goodness of humanity was at an all-time low it's part of why this is such a perfect origin story since the setting is absolutely pitch perfect for the themes of the story and its main character and I love how before Steve Rogers gets
07:57his powers we're demonstrated why he is a person who actually deserves those powers the world often only looks on the outward appearance of people and determines their value because of that and Steve Rogers seemed like this wimpy little unimportant kid who could never make any significant difference in his life towards any major cause and I love how the movie makes a point about how Captain America's lack of initial strength
08:27in a super soldier because well as the movie puts it this is why you were chosen because a strongman who has known power all his life may lose respect for that power but a weak man knows the value of strength and knows compassion I love the way that Steve picked up his strengths by refusing to give in even though he didn't have the power to defend himself he still refused to
08:57let those who bullied him and beat him up get away with it by essentially just running away in his mind that would just be tantamount to enabling their bad behavior
09:06did you have something against running away
09:09you start running they'll never let you stop you stand up push back you can't say no forever right
09:18but if he stands up for what he believes in even if he gets beaten up over it that proves that it's something actually worth standing up for
09:26in this case it's not only his cause but his own dignity as a human being even if he's weaker than them
09:32and how his lack of strength doesn't make him any lesser than anyone else
09:36oh and can I mention briefly just how good the special effects are here with Steve Rogers when he's a wimp
09:44since behind the scenes they actually had two actors one representing the body of Steve Rogers here
09:51and of course Chris Evans you know the the main actual actor for Captain America the thing is
09:57since he would spend most of the movie as stronger buff Captain America and you know any future MC movies
10:06after that Chris Evans actually represents the strong buff Captain America even when filming this movie
10:12so what do you do when he looks way too buff to be considered a wimp well you have to get someone else
10:17to be the wimpy body and then of course you just match Chris Evans face onto that guy
10:22and may I just say that the effect is virtually seamless like people love to complain about modern
10:28MCU effects but there were genuinely some effects in the MCU surprisingly in a lot of the earlier movies
10:33which hold up astonishingly well and I think it would just be mean to say that all MCU movies have
10:39bad effects because of a few recent examples that haven't exactly been done so well because honestly
10:45this is an achievement of filmmaking in my book anyway one thing I also quite like too is that
10:50even after Captain America gets his powers and things don't quite go the way that anyone really
10:56hoped they would he's still actually all on board for the idea of becoming essentially an actor to
11:02promote war bonds because he knows that even if he isn't out there fighting on the front lines like
11:08he wanted he is still making a difference and it shows a great level of humility and the acceptance
11:14that different people will contribute to causes in different ways but that doesn't necessarily
11:18mean their contribution is valueless especially if it's something that only they could do and no
11:24one else could oh also the song during this part oddly slaps for some reason like I don't know why
11:29they went so hard on this Captain America musical number but like I genuinely listen to it on Spotify
11:35every now and again because it's catchy inevitably Steve does of course end up working with the army but
11:41he is forced to go through a trial of fire before he is fully accepted in an event where Bucky his best
11:48friend is taken as a prisoner of war along with the rest of his group everyone has given up hope and
11:54believes that they're all dead however Steve refuses to give up hope and goes deep within enemy lines
12:01just to rescue them and I love this as a showcase of the sheer sense of hope that Captain America represents
12:07that even when everyone else has given up he hasn't he represents the will to keep fighting on even in
12:14the most dire and desperate of situations and his ultimate success at the end of this event proves his
12:20point that even if there's a small chance of hope it's worth pursuing instead of just giving up and it's
12:26why he would later be the ideal choice as the leader of the Avengers someone who knows how to rally the others
12:32under a single cause and keep them going even when they have doubts you know and on the topic of
12:38Captain America being a good leader I think it's also worth mentioning the fact that he's not just a
12:43brute force fighter but he often thinks and strategizes about how he's going to solve a problem
12:49and complete his mission a perfect example of this of course is when everyone is asked to get the flag
12:54from atop the flagpole and instead of just trying to climb the pole like everyone else he takes apart the
12:59pole from the bottom causing it to fall down so that he can easily grab the flag from the ground
13:04so move
13:05that's a good move
13:11there are also several other characters in this movie worth mentioning other than Steve Rogers of
13:15course I suppose I should start with Peggy Carter who's a pretty solid character I mean they even gave
13:21her her own tv show which by the way yes I am going to talk about in this retrospective series if you're
13:29wondering yes even before I get to Captain Marvel but before that as she is just in this movie I think
13:35she's quite a likable character well her romantic subplot with Captain America isn't exactly delved into
13:41in extraordinary depth I don't think that it really needed to be enough of a relationship is built up
13:47between the two especially in a sense where they never really 100% go all out on saying that they like
13:55each other and want to become boyfriend and girlfriend or any of that stuff but are always just a little
14:00bit on the fence about it until of course the very end which actually makes that moment a lot
14:05more tragic now I should also probably bring up that one very weird scene where there's this like
14:09random girl in the army base and she tries to like seduce Steve Rogers you know it's probably the
14:15weirdest scene in the movie and I don't know why he like almost goes through with it but on the other
14:20hand Peggy Carter's reaction afterwards is pretty funny what do you think yes I think it works in
14:37general there's also this weird kind of misunderstanding subplot where Steve thinks that that Stark is like
14:43somehow the romantic partner of Peggy Carter but that like isn't the case I'm not exactly sure what
14:49they were doing with that other than attempting to throw in some unnecessary drama probably the same
14:55thing with the weird scene with the random girl but these are very minor issues Stark himself is a
15:00pretty likable character even though he's not super important on the whole to the movie I think he makes
15:05for a good addition regardless now this general or lieutenant or whatever rank he is character over here
15:12you know the Tommy Lee Jones one now there is a goated character wars are fought with weapons
15:20but they are won by men we are going to win this war because we have the best men not only is his
15:29acting impeccably on point but this man drops many of the movie's best lines he is a meme generating
15:36machine look at that he's making me cry and I think he adds an amazing bit of chemistry overall to the
15:44group of characters this movie has and is definitely well worth a mention now I suppose you're probably
15:49wondering why I haven't really talked much about Bucky yet even though he's you know kind of arguably
15:54the next most important character after Captain America well the problem with Bucky Barnes for me in
16:01this movie isn't that he is a bad character but rather that it doesn't really feel like he's the second
16:06most important character even though if we're counting all the MCU projects combined he definitely is out of
16:12all the characters in this movie and I actually think that his relationship with Steve Rogers as best friends
16:18is a bit underwhelming like I definitely think they could have developed it a bit more especially
16:25considering there's supposed to be a big dramatic moment you know when he falls off the train
16:29supposedly to his death but you know everyone who has read the comics knew that was not going to be
16:35the case especially when they intentionally put an icy river at the bottom something he could
16:40conveniently get encased in ice into and not die yeah anyway that's the most significant area for
16:48me in this movie that could have been improved and the biggest thing holding it back from being
16:52a masterpiece of any sort in my personal opinion I mean like I said I like Bucky in this movie he's
16:58he's a fine character but there's nothing about him or his relationship with Steve Rogers that
17:04really stands out and then of course there's the villains primarily speaking of course of Toby Jones
17:11as Armin Zola and Hugo Weaving as the Red Skull I think both of these two characters are really
17:19great MCU villains not only are they both astonishingly well cast like I don't know if I could think of any
17:26actors that would be better for these roles but they both have great personalities and I love the
17:30dynamic between the two of them and how they bounce off each other a bit you disapprove I just don't
17:37see why you need concern yourself I can't imagine he'll succeed again since Arnim Zola is a little bit
17:47more reserved and reluctant about everything but he's still fully dedicated to the cause but the Red
17:54Skull aka Johann Schmidt has been is and probably always will be one of the most iconic Marvel villains
18:02of all time even this MCU version not only is he very intimidating I'm sorry Herr Schmidt we fought to the last
18:13man evidently not but he perfectly reflects Captain America as a character being the antithesis of
18:26him in the way that he thinks believing in just one thing only power that people are made great by
18:33their power and that whoever has the most power is the greatest which of course goes directly against
18:48Steve Rogers opinion that true greatness is being a good person regardless of your strength and that
18:55anyone who fights for a good cause no matter how big or small their contribution is is a better person
19:01than anyone who deliberately chooses to fight for something bad there's this really great scene
19:06I'd love to highlight too near the end of the movie when Captain America breaks into the Red Skull's base
19:11that perfectly shows the difference between their worldviews you see as soon as Steve is brought before
19:18Schmidt Schmidt immediately assumes that Steve is an arrogant person because of his strength and daringness
19:26to come and fight him arrogance may not be a uniquely American trait but I must say you do it better than
19:33anyone but Steve's response is so perfect when Schmidt asks him so what made to you so special
19:47I absolutely adore the way that Steve's response contradicts the assumption that he is arrogant
20:07this basically proves that Schmidt's presuppositions about Steve are incorrect and if what he assumes
20:15about him is incorrect then that immediately throws a wrench into the matter of whether any of the
20:20opinions that he holds are correct since he is clearly not a good judge of character how can he be a good
20:26judge of the quality of a person and what makes that person a quality person now of course inevitably
20:33all of this leads to an action-packed climax which is quite entertaining to watch but of course with
20:39not too many things worth diving deep into analytics and all that except of course at the end when
20:47Schmidt tries to grab the cosmic cube aka the tesseract for himself and in a sense even though I always knew
20:55that it didn't kill him here it very clearly transported him especially with the future knowledge
21:01that we gained that this was in fact the space stone like you don't know how happy I was to have all my
21:06theories confirmed in infinity war but yeah anyway regardless of him being teleported or destroyed
21:13here I like that it's the power that he thought would make him so great and anyone who holds it
21:19within their hands that ultimately consumes him he was destroyed by the very thing that he thought would
21:25make him great or you know if we skip ahead to infinity war you could say that he was humbled by it
21:32since as I keep mentioning they didn't actually kill him but you get my point it's a great way to
21:37finish off his story in this movie and round out the themes of the film especially with captain
21:42america's sacrifice at the end showing the exact opposite attitude that he is willing to give up
21:48everything for the lives of other people you know there is no greater love than this to lay down
21:54one's life for another and all that once and for all proving his superiority over the red skull
22:00not with power or any sense of selfish motive or intelligence or anything like that but by his
22:08morality and what he stands for and believes in and ultimately the fact that he believed his life
22:13was less valuable than others who did not have that same power that he had now of course he doesn't
22:20actually die and gets revived in modern times so that he can join the avengers but I like that
22:26even though he doesn't die there's still that dramatic weight to it since he is taken so far out
22:31of his time zone that everyone that he knew is either super old now as we see with peggy carter in
22:36winter soldier or just straight up dead and he still has to live with that you're gonna be okay
22:42i'd like to note too that in the comics captain america is found from within the ice by the avengers
22:59not nick fury and shield this is actually you know how this plays out in the show avengers first
23:04mightiest heroes although with less aliens and namor the submariner than in the original comic
23:10storyline but of course they wanted to introduce captain america before the avengers movie since
23:15he's such an iconic member of the avengers that they didn't want to have a whole feature film
23:20without him at least not to start off so it makes sense the way they changed it slightly here
23:25but any points for smitey's heroes being highly comic accurate so yeah all in all as you can see
23:30i think that's a movie is very good and quite underrated and there's even a few things i didn't
23:36really get to mention either like the effort that was put into making it look and feel like the
23:401940s or the fact that this movie doesn't overdo the jokes and humor like there's some funny lines
23:47here i'll meet you guys in the clearing with anybody else i find wait you know what you're doing yeah
23:53i've knocked that adolf hitler over 200 times
23:55but it mostly keeps its serious tone and i wish that was the trend for all mcu movies in the future
24:03but it just happens the very next movie the avengers kind of changed the trajectory on that
24:11more on that when i eventually review the avengers no and speaking of i suppose it's also worth noting
24:16this movie doesn't have any sort of normal traditional post-credit scene but the only post-credit
24:22scene at the end of this movie is literally just a straight up trailer for the avengers and i don't
24:28know why but i find that funny for some reason like they kind of did the same thing with the spider-man
24:33no way home when they had a trailer for uh doctor strange in the multiverse of madness and you
24:38know that gets me thinking i should probably do a ranking of all the end credit scenes from all
24:41the mcu movies that'd probably be a pretty interesting video but let me just say trailer
24:46for the avengers is not going to rank very high on that ranking you know spoilers but yeah anyway
24:51be sure to tell me what you think of captain america the first avenger in the comments section
24:54down below or just your thoughts on the mcu in general or what your hopes are for me in this
24:59series going forward remember i'm covering all movies and all the shows i like to be thorough
25:05like that and in chronological order too so you know like i'll be talking about black widow you
25:09know sometime after civil war basically instead of after spider-man far from home and whatnot stuff
25:16like that whenever there's a discrepancy in the timeline and release order and of course i should
25:20give a massive shout out and thank you to all those who sign up for my patreon and choose to support me
25:25in that extra way you know uh big fat w to all those guys well if you're still sticking around
25:31why don't you check out this playlist of all my mcu retrospective videos however if you're watching
25:37this when it's brand new it's probably just this video so uh in that case you might want to check
25:40out this video instead which is uh a video that nobody watched sadly uh a ranking of every spectacular
25:47spider-man episode i put a lot of work into that video so i appreciate anyone who watches it it was the
25:52previous marvel video i did before this so that's why i'm recommending it anyway the most important
25:58thing is to always remember to be iconic
Recommended
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