Phase 1 Marvel was so good. I’m not saying they don’t still make good films today, but there was something so special about each of the entries in phase 1. They all felt distinct from one another.
I’ve been saying this for a while. The budgets got bigger but the actual movies (particularly the first Iron Man, Cap, Thor and even Avengers) were better in phase one, by and large. They’ve definitely dropped a few bangers since, though.
I absolutely agree. Marvel is still making great content but some of it feels formulaic or lacking creativity. The first phase was absolutely perfect and is some of the best comic book movies ever.
I didn’t appreciate this movie when it came out nearly as much as I do now. Truly one of MCUs best. Steve Rogers is such an inspiration. Characters with a pure heart and who always strive for good will always be my favorite kind.
Mine too. I loved this movie from the get go. It was just so refreshing to see a hero who was some "tortured soul" or broken man-child but one I would be ready to follow, with or without super serum. I am really missing those old-fashioned heroes which simply do the right thing whatever it cost them personally.
@@swanpride "I am really missing those old fashioned heroes." It's like Phil Coulson said in _The Avengers_ : "With everything that's been happening, people could use a little old fashioned."
When you think about it, The First Avenger was Markus and McFeely's first stab at a larger MCU narrative, the first attempt to tie everything that had come before. Small wonder why M&M would go on to write Civil War, Infinity War and Endgame.
This iteration of Captain America is easily one of the greatest heroes in cinematic history. A character that represents America was cheered in cinemas all over the world. This Captain America is actually the best version of Superman ever put on film.
Did Feige pay you to say this putrid nonsense? He's an okay character, and he's definitely no Superman. Superman: A) Never was a government toy. B) Doesn't have an enormous kill count. And C) Didn't try to make out with his non-biological niece.
@@antona.1327 A) Superman is an invulnerable and limitlessly strong. Captain America was a soldier in WWII and did soldier-y things onward. He doesn't have the abilities Superman does, so he will use more lethal measures. But clearly he's not a simple malicious killer. I do think he could've been less implicitly lethal in his films, though. B) Films like Winter Soldier and Civil War are literally about Steve bucking against tyranny in the form of the American government. Even the First Avenger shows he's by no means willing to be the propaganda mouthpiece of the US government. C) Yeah the niece thing was gross. But if we're going to talk about weird things Superman and Captain America have done in their movies, remember when Superman mindwiped Lois Lane without her consent? Or abandoned Earth without a word to go find Krypton, leaving Lois to raise a kid he didn't know he had for 5 years?
Every like and comment is a bullet in the barrel of your best guy’s gun! Fantastic video on what is, in my humble opinion, one of the best superhero origins we have ever and will ever see.
GOD I LOVE this movie, one of my favorites of the mcu, i find that people don't appreciate it as much as it should be. This video payed perfect tribute to what makes this movie and captain america so great amazing job :-)
I always liked Captain America in the comics but he was never my favorite until this movie and the subsequent series of films after came along and showed just how awesome Captain America truly is. His heart is his super power the super soldier serum just gave him the physical strength to keep up with his strength of will and desire to do good. The Avengers died for me when Cap decided to live a life for himself for a change, it was sad to see Stark go but seeing Rogers decide to retire out of the super hero game hit me in the feels hardcore. The ends of First Avenger and Endgame parallel so well where in First Avenger you see the pain of knowing he lost his chance at real life, and at the end of Endgame you see him get the life he wanted and the ease on his face when there was nothing left he needed to fight.
Great analysis of one of the most underrated MCU movies along with Iron Man 3 and Guardians Vol. 2. Captain America is the only MCU franchise that has had a consistent trilogy and it feels great to look at his roots by being just a fun pulpy adventure. He is after all the Star Spangled Man with a Plan
This film trilogy made me a huge Captain America fan. Underrated movie. Has a nostalgic, fun, pulp/WWII feel while retaining a strong focus on Steve Rogers and making you care about him and his origins. He earned that hammer. The MCU gave us a better Superman than DCEU did. Chris Evans was born to play this role. He is strong but humble.
I'm really glad you made this video. I've always considered The First Avenger to be my personal favorite MCU film, and one of my favorite movies in the superhero genre at that. It's always been a tad disheartening to see it so easily dismissed by the larger fanbase, so seeing you so elegantly sum up much of what I also feel is special about this movie is really satisfying. Before this movie, I used to only know of Captain America as "that shield guy from the Marvel Vs. Capcom games." I went into the theater with no real expectations and walked out as a new fan of the character. There's just something so refreshing about a character like Steve Rogers (perfectly cast with Chris Evans in the role) holding onto such pure and good-hearted ideals without ever feeling disingenuous about them. The way the film acknowledges the real-life propaganda of the character's origin while also cleverly utilizing that to inform his arc and context in this film and the larger MCU is some damn good writing in my book. I didn't realize until later that Joe Johnston also directed The Rocketeer, another personal favorite of mine, but it made so much more sense once I made the connection. And thanks for pointing out Alan Silvestri's score. The MCU isn't exactly known for memorable soundtracks, but I've always felt that this movie (and his Avengers themes) really did such a great job of conveying the overall themes that their respective films were exploring. It's another aspect of this movie that deserves way more love (and I was really pleased to hear a brief rendition of it in one of the final and best scenes of Endgame). On a side note, I just wanted to say thanks for all of your content in general. I started getting into comics a few years ago, but over the past year and a half I have followed your content which has really expanded my horizons as I have used several of your videos as recommendations of great stories to read, and some of these have become my favorites as well (I covet my Mighty Thor by Walt Simonson Omnibus to this day).
"...one of the MCU's best films" (paraphrasing). Thank You for voicing that opinion; one that I wholeheartedly share, but many don't...although I think its reputation has improved overall after seeing how it fits into the grand tapestry. IDK if I can articulate why, but it has always hovered somewhere in my top 3, and if I was forced to nail that list down, I'd be very comfortable calling it my favorite MCU film. Infinitely rewatchable, imo. Great essay! ~Shane
I've rarely been more glad to see a film gather more respect and fans over the years than in this case...at the time ppl seemed underwhelmed or indifferent...but increasingly, ppl are recognizing it's greatness. For me, it has sth in common with the great pulp hero movies of the early nineties: Phantom, Shadow, Rocketeer, etc.
Wonderful review as always Matt, watching The First Avenger hits even deeper after having seen the entire saga and knowing that ultimately Cap does get his happy ending.
I really like this movie, i really like clasical heroes, people that are just good and nice, im so sick of the moody or psicologicaly damage hero or antihero arquetype
@@johnathonhaney8291 any archetype can be done well, maybe its because i'm just getting older, wen i was a teenager i fucking love dark and moody types of heroes and feel that the more clasical heroes were too unrealistic or silly, but now a days i just feel like dont known maybe it is worth beliving in silly and unrealistc things sometimes
@@MrSmile078 Yeah, I think it was Mark Waid who said something like you want to be Batman when you're young and Superman when you get older. I was about the same coming up.
Been a fan of Captain America since I was 8. Loved the 1990 film for what it was and the 60's Marvel Super-Heroes serials for being a dramatic retelling of Kirby's stellar Tales Of Suspense run, which to me is the definitive take on the character. The 2011 movie is what got me reading the original 1964-1996 run full time. It's a far from perfect film, but it's still wonderful and inspiring nonetheless
Well now I have to rewatch first avenger again. It's funny back in high school I would have said that civil war and winter soldier were the best of this trilogy but as I've gotten older I've found myself appreciating this one more and more.
I feel the Winter soldier is the Best of the trilogy but I really do appreciate this film. I also feel it’s one of the most important in the whole series.
Question: Does anyone, particularly you Matt, feel that The Phantom starring Billy Zane MIGHT have paved the way for films like The First Avenger? Altruistic hero, pulpy action/adventure, bad CGI in places (lol).
I have conflicting feelings about this movie. The first half is, to me, a great character study on Steve Rogers. The second half feels like a dumb explosion movie. Then it gives us the best movie ending in MCU history (until Winter Soldier ruined it by bringing back Peggy). I think I need to rewatch this one again. Thanks for enlightening me a little bit, as you always seem to do
I have always loved Captain America. As a kid, I used to hurl galvanized steel trash can lids because I couldn't acquire a hybrid adamantium/vibranium shield of my own. You got it once again, Matt! Captain America has always been, in my opinion, the conscience of the Marvel Universe. It's always amazing that he somehow has an innate sense of right and justice that while not in err, is always directed at maximizing the good for others. You are correct in saying that the movie is not perfect, but in the heart of this "grown child", it will always have a special place. Keep up the great work!
I think this is a rare movie that actually aged better with time passing. I remember people bashing it when it first came out but now seeing Steve Rodgers journey all the way through I think it made people realise there was far more to this character other than an Avengers pre-view movie. I think the film is one of the better origin marvel films and really stands out amongst the MCU
Phase 1 was the phase with the best movies. After Disney got involved we still got good movies, but they lost their heart and director's vision which were so essential to John Favreus' Iron Man 1, Captain america the first avenger and Thor.
I liked the "Good becomes great, bad becomes worse" aspect of the Super Soldier Serum. Steve was already a good man standing up to bullies and wanting to help his country in WWII. And getting the serum made him an even better man since it gave him the strength and power to do good that he didn't have before. Whereas Johann Schimdt was a monster long before he became The Red Skull and it just made him worse.
It's been my experience that this is how it works in RL too. Abraham Lincoln put it like this: "Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power."
This movie will always be one of my favorites its inspiring , beautiful, meaningful, and so incredibly nostalgic and being in love with history in general I fell instantly for it.
Thank you so much man ! I almost cried during the last couple of minutes at the end... You got what’s right about the First Averger and what people seems to always forget : The Legacy of Steve Rogers lives on !!! Always !!! I can’t wait to see what other MCU movies you decide to analyze !!
I think MCU Cap is in danger of becoming a metaphor for the purity and unbridled hope of the American Dream: a relic of an idealized past at odds with an increasingly cynical and dangerous present. I'm talking about what the American Dream could and should have been: an extension of opportunity to all, regardless of race, class, or creed. Sometimes it feels like apathy and cynicism are so deeply rooted that anyone reaching for inspiration is immediately dismissed as childish. The point of Cap (or Superman, Spiderman, Thor, etc) isn't the power fantasy, it's what he chooses to do with the power he has. Superpowers don't make a hero unrelatable or irrelevant, they make them more interesting. It all comes down to what you do with the abilities you have. "I don't want to kill anyone. I don't like bullies. I don't care where they're from," is the defining quote of this character.
I subbed you, because you have a wonderful channel. What a well written and thoughtful study of character and film. I want your breakdown on all his films arcs. I really want your take on what we should take of the moral of Steve pre and post serum. The arc of recognizing worth and heroism remade from his origins as "weak" or disabled or small, and if there is the moral arc of being remade or super-soldiered is not what gave him worth or made him heroic at all. Is there commentary in the comics that Steve finds value in others like he was pre-serum, and their efforts and abilities to be good men and heroes by just embracing themselves or good acts? Arcs where Steve explores or embraces not becoming Captain America or receiving the serum? Or is it something to critic that American hero can only imagine itself, or continue that way if it's big and enhanced. By the right needed reasons of course it would say.
Cap's trilogy is fantastic.Not only all three movies fit nearly perfectly with the larger MCU but the films themselves are interesting and tragic.The only real complaint I have in the trilogy is Sharon Carter and the use of the character.I feel like if she was manipulating Cap and helping Zemo in his plan not only would make his plan stronger(as it stands now some of the things that happen feel a little coincidental) and the ending of Civil War would be two times as tragic cause that betrayal could mean that there maybe no place in the world we are living today for a man like Steve Rogers.(I mean him dropping the shield pretty much shows that but this choice also helps the overall narrative of the MCU cause she is basically ignored in Endgame)
Man I love the first avenger soooo much because cap is my favorite marvel character and always will be. I own all three cap movies. My first cap comic was in '89...
This uses to be a film I would skip but now rewatching it I don't understand why it was so low on the list when it comes to mcu films. It's a beautiful story just hearing the theme makes me emotional it really says how steve is and why in winter soldier and civil war he's on the run because of one quote to not be a perfect soldier but a "good man" he goes with what he believes but America is not what he believes because he knows its wrong he's basically the ultimate rebellion and I think we appreciate it now because of seeing his arc and seeing those films you can't watch without captain america the first avenger
The first avenger will always be my favorite MCU Movie (At Least behind Spider-Man: Homecoming which I would love for you to do a video on) it’s Able to show what it really takes to be a hero regardless of if your strong or weak.
What a great video, Matt. Thanks for making this. I love this movie and you really do a great job in speaking to it’s themes and Steve Rogers as a whole!
To me the three Captain America movies (whether on purpose or not) are each like a post war propaganda movie. The First Avenger feels like a post WW2 film that would have John Wayne or some other hero like that, films that always had America as the hero. Winter Soldier felt like a post Vietnam/Cold War espionage thriller and Civil War feels like a post "War on Terrorism" film, almost like Green Zone. The First Avenger is hopeful and adventurous like post war America. Winter soldier is paranoid and filled with the "neighbor as a possible enemy" like a lot of 70's cold war spy movies. Civil War is like the post "War on Terror" ambiguity of people's actions and their reaction to a horrific event (the Accords in the movie, 9/11 in real life.
BRILLIANT take, my man! Winter Soldier was absolutely modeled on '70s thrillers like Three Days of The Condor but the other two descriptors fit as well. First Avenger's second half is a spiritual grandfather to Guns of Navarone.
I remember I first saw the trailer in the movies when I was a young kid I was so excited when I saw it! Captain America was such a good person my eyes would light up everytime I saw him
Is that the 'Projector' effect on your end titles I see? You saucy devil you. The grenade moment is still my favourite MCU moment. The summation of an entire character in a single action. Great video Mr Draper. I look forward to the next one. xx
One of my favorite videos of yours Matt. I really don't care for the MCU much, but I LOVE this film and 100% agree that it doesn't get the love it deserves. I'm kind of a sucker for anything America vs. Nazis, despite what you said in the video. And I'm glad you talked about the ending sacrifice, one of the better endings to any superhero film. Don't know if you saw IndieTrix Film Review's critique of Civil War, but he kinda blasts the idea of Cap being this noble hero by the time we arrive to that film. Either way, this film is not perfect, but it's fan-freaking-tastic!
I absolutely adore this movie. I know it's not one of the more popular entries in the MCU, but for me it had everything I could have wanted in an old fashioned adventure film. It not only did absolute justice to this great character, but took me back to being a kid and watching Raiders of the Lost Ark.
How drastically different do you think TFA would have been if they had cast a mega star like Will Smith? Smith's a great actor. But I don't know if he would have been able to stay as true to the character as Chris Evans was.
Well, Smith kinda just plays Smith in most blockbuster movies. You need someone who can act more in tune with who Cap is, so Evans was definitely the right choice. Not sure how well any of these Marvel movies would work with a pre-established mega star in the role, they need lesser known actors working well with the character.
@Matt Draper I completely agree. Even if Will Smith pulled off the sincerity of the role in TFA, I don't think that would have continued into Avengers and onward. Eventually he would have devolved back into Will Smith and I don't think that would have played as well for 10 years.
recent subscriber, love your videos! any plans to do a video on scott snyder and greg capullo’s run on batman? it’s my favourite run in comics and seeing you talk about it would be super cool. love your stuff, cheers!
Hey Matt, any change of you doing a video on the Age of Apocalypse and how it shows the butterfly effect of Xavier needing to lead the x men or else all Marvel heroes are basically screwed? It's also one of the more impactful stories for x men based on pop culture (2 games and a movie loosely based on it, as well as a whole season of X Men Evolution, an unproduced season of Wolverine and the X Men, and an episode in the 90s animated series), creating new characters like X Man and Blink, and creating the universe still used in comics from time to time today
@@antona.1327 10 months later, dawg... I don't even remember what this video is about, but to act like the MCU movies were not successful or that the DC movies were made better, you're only convincing yourself...
My favorite MCU movies are Winter Soldier, Guardians Of The Galaxy 1, Iron Man 1. My brother's favorite MCU movies are Spider-man Homecoming, Black Panther, & Thor Ragnarok.
I remember not liking this movie at all. It has probably the worst villain the MCU has ever produced, (and that's really saying something), and Captain America I found about as interesting as a block of wood. Plus, the romance was crappy and unconvincing. And it has possibly the single biggest macguffin in movie history. Still, I'm gonna try to keep an open mind and see if the video can alter my perspective any.
The overall movie is pretty poor though. The origin story is really well done with Steve and Dr. Stanley Tucci, but that quickly fades away as the movie goes into WWII and is filled with bright neon blue laser guns. You also don’t get much of any emotion when Bucky dies. They never built up a good solid relationship between Steve and Bucky. And the action scenes with Cap and his shield are terrible. Had to wait until the Russo brothers came along to see Cap in some good action scenes. By the time I got to the ending, I was bored and underwhelmed and just wanted the whole thing to be over. The credits sequence was great though.
Will there be a Winter Soldier video in the future? To me, it's undoubtedly the MCU equivalent to Dark Knight, and manages to outclass it as a comic book movie by blending more heightened comic book-y elements into it's serious story.
Winter Soldier is still my favorite of all the MCU movies by a large margin. It is only barely a superhero movie, if it was regular people nothing about the movies as a whole would change, and that is what makes it such a masterpiece.
Meh, this movie always felt like a toothless, uneven mess to me. Its tone is poorly thought-out, meaning: it commits a fatal mistake of making the world its titular hero occupies extraordinary before we even get to see our hero become extraordinary. We already see magic rubik's cube before we see Captain America. So it's like an inverted Chekhov's Gun. Next big thing is, it feels way too overcrowded, without a long screentime go back it up, for no significant purpose. The Howling Comandos are a cool concept, but bad execution. Who these characters are, why should we care? And was Peggy Carter necessary to the plot? No, her inclusion was a checkmark. You could've cut her out and instead put emphasis on Steve and Bucky and their friendship. Why didn't the writers just have Steve and Bucky train in the same camp? That's how they met in the comics and how they got to know each other. Instead, Bucky's placing in the story is very underwhelming. He disappears for half an hour, then appears only when Steve has already underwent scrutiny and went on top, and then supposedly dies at the end of the second act. I'd prefer if Bucky was consistently featured in the movie without any needless cut outs from the story and would remain until the very end, where he and Steve would both try to stop the plane which the Red Skull operates. Streamlining the story to be just about Steve and Bucky as men-on-a-mission would work far better as a character story. Then again, the movie kind of fails to be a character story in many instances, because the movie is way too preoccupied with revolving around a magic McGuffin device for future franchise possibilities sake instead of delving into the internal differences between protagonist and antagonist. And next, but not least, I thought the movie was sluggercoating its setting to not be too dark or offensive way too much. It's WW2, but we see nothing of how really awful that time was for the world. We don't even see swastikas on Germans, don't hear them talk in German, and our main villain was turned into some goofy opportunist who wants the power of the gods instead of the slimy, sleazy, Arian supremacy-driven Hitler nut that he was in the comics. All in all, the movie was one big wasted potential and barely works as a standalone. Nobody would ever care about Bucky as they do now if future movies didn't expand his role and played better on the poorly developed elements of this movie.
