Good start, but then it gets ruined

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

As a long-time comics fan I recall this little, inoffensive, unchallenging Reb Brown late-70s pilot-shot of the star-spangled superhero.Any TV-flick where the hero is menaced by a thug bearing a silenced **revolver** can't be taken seriously, especially in a Rocky-inspired knock-off meat-locker scene where the side of beef strikes back. (And I don't mean, the actor Brown.) Come to think of it, the sides of beef almost out-act Brown, who otherwise comes across as a likable-enough person.When I was a teen, before my own military career, I missed such absurdities as a Marine quoting from a statue's inscription at West Point, instead of Annapolis, although the idea of a civilian helicopter cavalierly invading the air-space over a military classified-weapons testing installation had me guffawing 37 years ago as did the idea that a two-week separated Marine could grow that full a head of hair that Steve Rogers sported at the beginning of the film.For continuity sake, in the Marvel comics at the time, Steve Rogers was traveling around the country as an artist.For fans of banality, this is one of the 70s best examples: a nearly actionless action feature in a time of America's cultural nadir when the likes of "BJ and the Bear" with its upshifting rigs reflected the sort of faux excitement trickled out to mind-numbed viewers.A C- for California Comics Casual, with an A for aesthetics for both Heather Menzies for the guys and, I suppose, Reb Brown for the ladies.

Amiable and easygoing ex-Marine Steve Rogers (a solid and engaging performance by Reb Brown) gets severely banged up in a deliberate accident, so he's injected with an experimental serum that not only enhances all of his senses, but also gives him greater strength and faster reflexes. Steve goes after the dastardly villains responsible for the accident. Director Rob Holcomb, working from a simple and straightforward script by Don Ingalls, relates the entertaining story at a serious pace, maintains a generally serious tone throughout, and stages the occasional action set pieces with a reasonable amount of flair and skill. Moreover, the sound acting from the capable cast helps a lot: Len Birman as dedicated scientist Dr. Simon Wells, the fetching Heather Menzies as the chipper Dr. Wendy Day, Steve Forrest as evil oil tycoon Lou Brockett, Robin Mattson as the sweet Tina Hayden, Lance LeGault as Brockett's sinister flunky Harley, and Joseph Ruskin as the equally nefarious Rudy Santini. Brown's likable presence and the admirably sincere approach to the potentially campy material really hold this one together. This movie earns extra points for the nice and thoughtful way it addresses the awesome responsibility of having extraordinary powers. Ronal W. Browne's crisp cinematography boasts several nifty helicopter shots. The funky score by Mike Post and Pete Carpenter hits the groovy spot. A fun flick.

The pacing, fight scenes, and vehicular chases of this Made-For-TV-Movie/Pilot Film are classic examples of the style, production values and technology used by commercial TV of the 1970's. One who is not familiar with CHIPs, Dukes of Hazard, or Starsky and Hutch and their ilk is not in a position to fairly evaluate the quality of this opus.Having said that, however, I must admit this film makes the Bill Bixby 'Incredible Hulk' TV-movie look like Citizen Kane by comparison.We might as well hit the flaws first: Stolen elements from the 6 Million Dollar Man, especially usage of a goofy sound effect every time Our Hero uses his super strength.Our Hero seems only able to change into his Capt. America suit by means of getting into his van, mounting his cycle, and shooting out the back doors in a burst of smoke. Potentially an enjoyable gimmick, this would soon prove awkward over time.Our Hero's costume leaves a lot to be desired. The whole thing about wearing his motorcycle helmet when he is off the bike seems pretty awkward. And the suit he wears during the main action of the film is needlessly changed from the original, as though the Village People had redesigned Cap's suit.Now the biggest problem. Reb Brown, although likable and certainly muscular, has to be among the worst actors to be ever seriously considered as the star of a weekly TV series. Inexperienced thespians with dreams of glory should view this film so as to see just how hard the untalented and untrained can struggle in order to deliver the simplest and most basic of lines. (Amazingly, a 2nd pilot film was made after this, and Reb Brown's performance improved to the point where it was almost possible to imagine him being at some future date somehow employed somewhere in the television industry.) Now let us move onto the more favorable aspects. A lot of people have problems with the fact the producers created a new back story for Cap, but I could accept that as this back story was interesting and could, perhaps, have been mined later on for dramatic material.The supporting cast is good here, and the idea of Cap working with some scientist/intelligence types had lots of story potential and is similar to the way Cap in the comics works for a super spy organization called SHIELD.I especially enjoyed the smoking-hot Heather Menzies, who wears a nice bathing suit in one scene. She played one of the Von Trapp kids in 'Sound of Music'...in an interesting coincidence, Nicholas Hammond, who played Spider-Man on TV around this time, had also played a Von Trapp kid...funny, that.Overall and despite its shortcomings, this film can be a pleasurable nostalgia trip for those of us who grew up in the 1970's and still love that kind of cheese, and I think kids will also enjoy this. There are vehicular chases and crashes, espionage, fights, a cool super motorcycle, and some superheroic type action...the kinds of things one might need to see on his TV on a certain kind of day, the kind of spiritual comfort food one sometimes needs in these days where everybody takes superheroes way, way too seriously.

If you only watch high quality cinema - Don't watch this movie! If you're a die-hard fan of the Captain America comics - You might want to avoid this.But, if enjoy top quality, funniest-at-its-worst b-movies, you're in for a treat! This really is one of the worst films ever made! I was finding myself being very careful trying to eat while I was watching, afraid that I might spit the food out when I was laughing so hard. The writing is atrocious, the acting is ridiculous, the special effects are amazingly corny.Throw in some low quality CHiP's era music and you're in for two hours of laugh-out-loud comedy!!!Enjoy-Fuzzy