Captain America

Hi,

I recently watched the movie "Captain America: The First Avenger" and I loved it very much. It was created by Marvel and is a prequel to the new movie coming out next summer, "The Avengers". It has really peaked my interest on the Marvel superheroes and I cannot wait to go to the library to borrow some of the comic books to see how the storyline of the comic and the movie differ.

In the movie, Captain America was first known as Steve Rogers, who was a very skinny but brave little man. He was often picked on by others for being weak and short, but always persevered when ever he was beaten up and never ran away, standing up tall against his assailant. He tried to enlist for the US Army to fight against the Nazis, but his applications were denied 5 times because of his long list of medical problems and his small stature. However, his perseverance paid off and he caught the eye of a scientist called Professor Erskine, who allowed Rogers to train to become a soldier. Convinced by Rogers' brave and compassionate nature, Professor Erskine decided to test his experiment on Rogers in an attempt to make his strong. The experiment worked but a Nazi operative came and assassinated Erskine, but was eventually killed by Rogers. With his new-found fame, Rogers became known as Captain America and began fighting his way to destroy the Hydra, a cult group that was led by Johann Shmidt (aka Red Skull), with the help of a few of his soldier friends.

I liked this movie because it was action-filled and hence, very intriguing. The plot was very deep, leaving no detail unexamined, but made use of the full two hours it was screened without going off track at any point of time. Every scene was important in the movie and many sensory details were also included to appeal to the audience's emotions. For example, the colours of red, blue and white were on Captain America's uniform, representing America's flag, hence showing that he had a strong sense of loyalty. On the other hand, Red Skull has a very bright red skin, symbolising hatred and anger, making the audience fear and hate him. I particularly like war movies, because they really bring a strong sense of justice and seeing good triumph over evil makes me smile.

One theme that stood out in the movie was the theme of sacrifice. Steve Rogers was willing to sacrifice his life for the country out there in the war even though he knew that very few people returned alive. Furthermore, during a training session, a fake grenade was thrown by one of the commanders and while the other soldiers fled immediately, Rogers was the only one to react and covered the "grenade" with his entire body. The most touching scene in the movie was when Captain America decided to sacrifice his life by piloting a plane down into the icy plains because it was heading towards New York with atomic bombs. Another theme that was prevalent was the theme of character vs appearance. Steve Rogers was chosen to be Captain America not because of his figure, but because of his nature and character. A motif that appeared in the show was the shield that Captain America always held when he was fighting. To me, the shield represented a form of freedom and bravery.

I would recommend this movie to everyone, especially those who like action-filled movies. I also learned a lot through this show, like not to pick on someone smaller than me, to put my talents to good use and to be willing to sacrifice for my friends. I will definitely be one of the first at the cinemas next year when "The Avenger" comes out!

Nathanael