1. Captain America: The First Avenger
The weak, scrawny and sickly Steve Rogers, desperate to do his part in defending his country during World War II by fighting in the military but is refused time and time again due to his stature. He finally gets lucky after being recruited for the Super Soldier program, a government funded experiment designed to create the ultimate soldiers. After proving his newfound capabilities in the field, Steve becomes Captain America and leads a team of commandos through enemy territory in a battle against Nazi science and weapon division, HYDRA.
Mere words cannot describe my love for this film but I feel the need to preface this choice with the claim of how exclusive this film worked for me on a personal level. I loved this movie. I loved everything about it.
I love it’s approach of idealism. The world that “Captain America” presents is black and white. It’s story is simple on the surface, that of an idealistic patriot and general nice guy fighting the closest thing that humans have ever gotten to evil, the Nazis. Rather the complexity of Cap’s character stems not from a test of his morals which are unyielding throughout the film but from his journey to find a way to fulfill what he believes his destiny is. His character and hard work are shown by his will to fight for his opportunity to fight an evil that feels very real and very human as opposed to being a card carrying cartoon villain.
Director Joe Johnston’s (The Rocketeer, October Sky) eye for the mid-20th century period creates a film that harkens back to the days of old adventure serials and Hollywood filmmaking similar to them (See and compare with Star Wars and Indiana Jones). Steve Rogers and his cast of characters, from The Howling Commandos to his superiors and even his villains are brought to life in a world not quite meant to feel like our own but with a similar feel. Yet when it links back to the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in a scene that packs a bit of emotional punch, the transition is seamless and organic.
Furthermore, it’s taken an approach to superhero filmmaking that I can only hope becomes the standard of the genre; not making the superhero an actual superhero. In a vain similar to Christopher Nolan’s Batman, whom focused only on taking out organized crime and “Thor” showing the trials of a humbled god that just happens to fall into the role of a temporary defender, Captain America is a soldier at war before he becomes anything remotely resembling a superhero. “Captain America: The First Avenger” is an Adventure movie set in World War II and focus less on turning its titular hero into a cookie cutter watchdog of the people (I’m looking at you Green Lantern) and more on translating his origin and purpose within the comic books into his film profession.
And on top of it all, every performance is simply pitch perfect. Chris Evans nails the wide-eyed idealism of Steve Rogers while still coming off as a mature adult. He’s idealistic but not naïve in regards to the way that the world works and when push comes to shove, he does an excellent job when he’s put into action. I can only hope that he sticks with this role over another crappy “Fantastic Four” movie. The camaraderie between The Howling Commandos feels genuine, the budding relationship between Steve and Agent Peggy Carter, played by Hayley Atwell, is actually touching, and Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark steals the show every time he’s onscreen, making what could have been throwaway continuity porn into a role that enhances the films of its sister series. And on an off note, kudos to the writers for reinterpreting him as a character rather than use the douche bag Howard of the comics.
It may seem odd but I genuinely found “Captain America: The First Avenger” to be one of the few perfect films that I’ve seen in a while. There are plenty of things that I would have added to it, such as fleshing out the Howling Commandos’ characters, and showcasing a few more action set pieces, but there isn’t a single thing standing that I would want to change. The films taking the positions on this list have been swapped and rotated countlessly over the course of the last month but the only constant I had going in was that this film was going to be at number 1.
Overall, I would say that 2011 has been a rather solid year for movies. It didn’t exactly blow me away the way that 2008 and 2009 did but it was without a doubt more than enough to make up for the abysmal 2010.
I’d like to think that with this year came a rise in quality of blockbuster films. A few movies here and there notwithstanding (Green Lantern, Sucker Punch, and Transformers 3 are just a few that come to mind), there appeared to a general trend in using the budget of a film to enhance its quality rather than using the money as a crutch.
Unfortunately, there seemed to be a bit of a lack of quality animation this year. Excluding a few gems like “Rango” and “The Adventures of Tintin” the selection was surprisingly limp. “Kung Fu Panda” suffered a case of sequelitis and with “Cars 2”, Pixar’s perfect record has been stripped.
It’s a shame that this year has been so poorly received financially compared to the previous year considering the significant bump in quality but I digress. 2012 is looking to have some great hits on its hands so here’s to hoping for the best.
Furthermore, I myself hope to carry the New Year’s spirit and apply it to my work on this blog. I fully acknowledge the missteps I’ve made within the last year and am aiming to move on and improve in terms of consistency. I make a promise to you the reader right now; This year, due to an increasingly busy work schedule, I may not quite be as active as I want but I will finish what I start. And with that said readers, have a Happy New Year, and I’ll see you on Wednesday for the start of Crapshoot 2012.
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