By Ned Jordan
If there's any doubt in you're mind that we're living in a golden age of
superhero movies, all that you need to do is watch a superhero film from the
early 90s such as Captain America. Re-released on DVD to take advantage of
those who've seen the 2011 version in theaters and can't get enough Cap in their
lives, this film has none of the advantages of a large budget or computer
generated effects. The film opens with the words, "this film has been
manufactured using the best source material available," which apparently serves
as an apology for the quality of what follows. The film is shot in full
frame and a number of scratches and other defects have made their way through
the transfer process. This combined with grainy film, inconsistent
lighting, and a generally dark look to everything makes it look like you're
watching an old, worn-out VHS tape on your 21st Century hi-system.
All that aside, the film isn't completely terrible, which is saying a lot all
things considered, but it is close. The plot follows Captain America's
origin story, where a polio-stricken Steve Rogers (Matt Salinger) volunteers for
the US Army's secret super soldier program - so secret in fact that the Army
apparently put out a call for volunteers to the general public. The
Italian scientist responsible for the experiment that created Red Skull (Scott
Paulin) has escaped to the US and this time gets things right with Steve
Rodgers. However, a Nazi spy unwittingly invited to the proceedings kills
the scientist and mucks up the equipment, ensuring that Cap will be the last of
the super soldiers. Cut to a plane over Germany as Captain America is sent
on his first mission, which is to penetrate a secret Nazi base and beat up Red
Skull mano-a-mano. That doesn't go too well and Captain America is soon
strapped to a rocket and launched at the White House. Some last second
heroics by Captain America causes the rocket to miss its mark and land in Alaska
instead, where he's frozen on ice for fifty years. Once defrosted, Captain
America quickly learns that he's not in Kansas anymore, at least the 1942
version, and that Red Skull is now a shadowy figure running an international
assassination cartel. He then heads off on a road trip to Europe with the
daughter of his 1940s girlfriend in tow (Kim Willingham) to stop Red Skull, who
has kidnapped the US president, while being pursued by Red Skull's daughter and
her clique of Eurotrash club goers. Do I need to go on? There's
surprisingly little action that goes on during the whole ridiculous thing, and
Steve Rodgers spends more time during the film in jeans and Nikes than he does
in his Captain America suit.
Captain America, at least the 1992 version, is something you may want to see
once as a curiosity, but there's little reason to watch it more than once and
even less to actually own it.
Final Rating:
