Unfelt Americana
The giveaway scene in Captain America: The First Avenger is its misconceived segment where newly made-over
Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is enlisted to join “the most important battle field
of the war.” It’s a World War II advertising campaign, a bond-selling tour
(“Star-Spangled Man With a Plan”) that the moviemakers confuse/disguise as
pure, silly showbiz. Yet the trite routines where a costumed Rogers (in red,
white and blue “Captain America” drag), prances with dancing girls and
mime-punches a mock Hitler are no different from the film’s elaborate
set-pieces combating nefarious Hydra (Nazi) troops. This showbiz is propaganda
gone confusingly wrong.
For example: When Steve Rogers becomes sexless Captain
America and leans forward to kiss British allied agent Peggy Carter (Hayley
Atwell), she says “Wait!” and plants a big one on him in a moment that passes
blandly. Memories of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom recall how Spielberg understood the romantic humor
of such a prioritized pause and sold it. For director Joe Johnston, it’s just
another shot to get in the camera. Johnston is a pro; he executes Captain
America: The First Avenger better than the
hacks who made Harry Potter 7 and
X-Men: First Class—meaning
Johnston’s scenes are visually thought-out and move rhythmically and
efficiently—yet without any panache.
But Captain America
lacks conviction more than it lacks panache. Several action montages look like
trailers for Grindhouse, not
expressions of ideas about heroism or Americanism. Johnston is simply selling
the Marvel Comics franchise, which, sadly, at this stage of the cultural
dumb-down, is more important to consumerist audiences than meanings or
feelings.
Johnston touches base with Marvel Comics lore, going through
the routine genre clichés of weakling-turned-hero (by a scientific serum
previously misused by a super foe); anti-Nazi sentimentality; and retro-design
artifacts. Dumb-downed consumers mistake all this for creating substantive
characters and narrative. Since Johnston is fairly craftsmanly, it must be said
that the true mindlessness belongs to audiences and critics who settle for such
nonsense.
In this moment of convictionless movie-going, Captain
America lacks the fun that comes with
belief in the essence of its premise. The comic originated in 1941 as an
exploitative but gung-ho response to evil, with its first cover depicting
Captain America socking Hitler on the jaw! But in today’s pop culture,
good-vs.-evil has been blanded into an idiotic shades-of-gray, and Americana
has been made suspect.
Ultimately Johnston and Evans are selling an anachronism.
Steve Rogers develops from a Benjamin Button-style CGI dork to a pecs-forward
athlete with Ricky Nelson eyes—termed “a new breed of super soldier.” Yet the
culture no longer believes in soldiers (not even when pitying Iraq or
Afghanistan vets suffering PTS disorder). Audiences who yawned when Aaron
Eckhart movingly enacted the WASP soldier icon in Battle: Los Angeles are now stuck with Evans playing a blanded out
version of the hunkiness he already satirized in Scott Pilgrim. Evans runs with a dancer’s grace like he did in Cellular, but his WASP heroism here is not just
anachronistic; it’s a white elephant.
Cinephiles who swear by Manny Farber’s old dictum about useless,
over-budgeted “white elephant” movies should recognize this Captain America
as a bloated summer epic whose hero wears unfelt sign, shield, stars and
stripes. There’s no regard for patriotism or the flag, just loyalty to comic
books—and to action montages (including a nifty aerial dogfight that prolongs
the story with after-thoughts of Pow!).When all these bland
Marvel Comics franchise movies blur together in memory, it won’t prove that
they amounted to one great epic master narrative, but that they’re all
indistinguishable.
Captain America: The First Avenger
Directed by Joe Johnston
Running time: 125 min.