Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Admirable film.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

CAPTAIN AMERICA isn't the recent mega-budget Hollywood blockbuster but instead a TV movie that dates from 1979 and dates is the right word; rarely you'll find a film which has dated as much as this one. The square-jawed but wooden Reb Brown plays Steve Rogers, the subject of a government experiment to turn him into a super-soldier who then has to take down a murderous conspiracy. The whole thing plays out in a low budget way, set in the then-present day, with lots of padding of Brown riding around on his scooter and at the beach while suits chat and plots are made. Captain America's famous shield is made out of perspex which gives you some idea of just how cheap this one is. It's lively enough in a low budget way, but hardly definitive.

Before Chris Evans brought the role to the big screen, Reb Brown debuted as Captain America/Steve Rogers, in this limp, mechanical adaptation of the comic book. Plot lurches along without any style or substance, just a stale series of uninteresting character development, before the uninspired action scenes. Oh yes, there was a sequel.You might think that the creators would have learned something from the marvelous "The Incredible Hulk" TV series with Bill Bixby, but this has none of that show's heart or intelligence.Perhaps I'm being too harsh, since it is innocuous enough, but still...Released on DVD as a double feature with Part II, from Shout Factory, on loan from Universal(which also produced "The Incredible Hulk")

I watched this out of pure curiosity, after seeing Spoony's rant about it.Now, I'm not going to hold the age, the bad acting, the low budget or the ridiculous costume against the movie. Those are the least of the problems. What I do have a problem with, is that it's way too slow. Don't get me wrong, normally I don't mind slow paced movies, it all depends on the genre, really, but when it's supposed to be a superhero movie, that won't work. Too much talk, scenes about nothing, and very, VERY little action. Not to mention that it takes way over an hour before we finally see Captain America in full costume. Today it wouldn't be a problem, since superhero movies of today are about 2,5 hours long, but when it's only roughly 15 minutes left, you feel ripped off.It's not the worst movie I've seen in general, and as a crime/drama movie it's slightly entertaining, but as a superhero movie, it fails miserably.

Captain America (1979) ** (out of 4) Made-for-TV film has Reb Brown playing ex-Marine Steven Rogers who gets out of the service and plans on taking it easy but instead he learns of an experiment his father was working on. After an attempt on his life, Steve is given this secret serum and soon finds himself becoming Captain America and fighting crime. The Marvel character was previously brought to the big screen in a Republic serial and while I'm not overly familiar with the comic I had heard plenty of negative things about this film. I had heard some call it the worst comic-book adaptation in history while others simply called it one of the worst films of the decade. I don't agree with either of those opinions but I'll admit that this is a pretty silly little movie that has very few "good" things going for it but what makes the film work is the camp level, which is pretty high. There are all sorts of problems with this film and a lot of them can be placed at the feet of the director. For the life of me I couldn't understand why no one could tell how silly this thing was and I really question how several of the scenes are edited together. There are moments where it seems one thing is going on and then out of no where something else will start up without anything in the middle to connect them. It seems like much of the story is happening so fast that little bits and pieces are just missing without any reason. Another problem is that the screenplay contains some of the dumbest dialogue ever. The highlight of the film for me is when Brown is upset that he's been given this serum and he complains to the doctor that he'll have to go through the rest of his life never knowing when it's going to be his turn to die. Umm, everyone goes through life not knowing when it's going to be their turn. Did this guy think he had control of it before taking the serum? A lot of fans hate Brown in the lead but I thought he had the right look for the part but the acting leaves quite a bit to be desired. I thought some of the line delivering was really bad and there were a few moments where it appears like he forgot his line for a split second as there are some strange gaps in between words. The supporting cast really isn't all that memorable but some of the performances add a touch of camp. CAPTAIN America is far from a good movie but at the same time it's not nearly as bad as its reputation would have you believe. I wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone except those who like a little silly camp.