Have You Really "Thought" About Captain America Yet?

Review of Why Captain America: The First Avenger was Underappreciated

By: Katie Miller

First, all films are underappreciated unless you have helped make a film or worked on a film set. Nobody but the film crew, designers, and actors know what has really gone into that film. Time, money, and extremely hard work all go into the creation of a good film. So, imagine what the “great” ones require.

The film Captain America: The First Avenger was certainly underappreciated. After re-watching it the other night, I looked at some of the bonus features. The design crew went through at least ten different helmets to find the best one for Captain America (Chris Evans). The outfits were also delicately designed for the character and the actor. The difficult shots, fight scenes, and digital editing were all put to the test, worked on, and perfected.

Many people in America today, do not go to a film and really think about the effort, thought, and work put into it. All of the characters must look the part. They must be dressed in the right time error, have the right hair styles, and talk the way their character is supposed to talk. Hugo Weaving (played the Red Skull in the movie) also played an elf named Lord Elrond in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. After watching him on the Lord of the Rings, it was amazing to hear his German accent in Captain America. Chris Evans became Steve Rogers, a “kid from Brooklyn” who was transformed into the hero, Captain America.

As stated before, all films are underappreciated. No one goes to the movies and sees Captain America and thinks I wonder how many outfits they had to go through before they chose that one? Or, man, they put a lot of really hard shots and work into that scene? It just doesn’t happen. This type of reasoning takes thought, effort, and practice. Many critics, thorough movie reviewers, and movie producers themselves are looking for and can see difficult scenes and a killer plot and storyline. But, they know what to look for. They are trained to see such things. Their paycheck relies upon it. The “average person” does not have to, nor do they want to, think about the trouble put into a great film.

Many people saw Captain America and loved it. It has been nominated for the Teen Choice Award, and Chris Evans has been nominated for the Male Choice Summer Movie Star Award. It was recognized as great but why? It was for the action, romance, comedy, and its special effect. But all of these are a result of the film’s crew and their hard work to bring forth a magnificent film. People don’t know that the reason they like a film is because of the work put into it by its creators.

I now challenge you to watch this film again. Then, think about the work. You can even increase your appreciation by buying the film and watching the bonus features. Watching these will take you “behind the scenes” and will show how the characters were created. It also shows some of what they went through to create such an atmosphere of reality in this film. Also, the next time you see a movie, don’t just like it because it is good, ask yourself why was it good, what made it good, and who made it good? This will give you a better appreciation for any and every film you see.