"Captain America: The First Avenger" 4/5 Pitchforks Starring: Chris Evans, Hugo Weaving Rated: PG – 13 Released: July 22
Check out an interview with Chris Evans, the star of "Captain America."
Say what you will about Casey Anthony and the supposed radical left-wing or right-wing agendas, nothing has threatened the American way of life more than those pesky Nazi’s. Even with all that Indiana Jones accomplished, the world needed more – America needed more.Thankfully, the man dressed in red, white and blue is back: he’s mad (rightly so), and he’s not taking it anymore.
Unlike Superman however, this isn’t some undocumented immigrant flying around and hiding in telephone booths. This is one of New York’s finest from head to toe.
“Captain America: The First Avenger” opened on Friday and, without fail, the pro-America propaganda machine has churned out yet another installment of how, if no one else will step up, America and the men and women that call her home will.
Chris Evans stars as the lovable boy with a heart of gold who doesn’t know the meaning of the word “quit,” and who is determined to make things right in a world besieged with the pure evil that was Hitler and the Third Reich. Believe it or not (and according to Marvel Comics), there was a far more sinister sub sect within Hitler’s ranks and beyond – HYDRA.
Led, in part, by the monstrous Red Skull (played by Hugo Weaving), Captain America must stop him using the same no holds barred approach before it’s too late. Of course, nothing is that easy, not even for the genetically enhanced boy-next-door.
Where the HYDRA mantra clearly states that “if a head is cut off, two more will take its place,” Captain America and his rag-tag group of wiry World War II vets seem up to the challenge. It doesn’t hurt to have the steely-eyed reserve of none-other-than Tommy Lee Jones on our side either.
In what can only be described as one of the most R-rated PG-13 movies for some time, killing in the name of peace never looked so good.
Director Joe Johnston has put together an impressive introduction for one of America’s finest golden boy’s to a 21st century generation more removed from a love of country. Adding more fuel to the fire of next years (hopefully) jaw-dropping blockbuster “The Avengers,” Johnston shows that pulling one’s self up by his (or her) own boot-straps isn’t as hard or unrewarding as so many feel today.
Whether it’s a “debt-ceiling” or “glass-ceiling” that has you bogged down, doing the right thing the first time around is all that matters – no matter the cost, and sadly, as NFL negotiations have taught us, there is a price.
Not that we don’t all deserve a second-chance every now and again. Still, the message of “Captain America” is clear: bullies never prosper.
Reach the reporter at jbfortne@asu.edu
