It was kind of interesting, seeing as how I've already been acquainted with Cap thanks to "Avengers", to go back and learn his beginnings and to get to know him better. I knew that he was a really good guy with strong morals, but I had no idea that he had that much strength of character! (As I told a friend after I watched the movie, "I have found my soulmate!" She thought it was funny for some reason...) What was a little surprising about the movie was that, even though I KNOW what happens later on, I STILL cried twice during the movie. I mean, obviously Cap doesn't die when the plane crashes (and from what I've read of "Winter Soldier" I know that (spoiler!) Bucky doesn't die, either), but there I was with tears rolling down my face like I'd lost a close friend. All I can say is that the writers and directors of these movies do a GREAT job, making them both emotional and enjoyable. The humor in this one wasn't quite as prevalent as it is in Avengers or even in the Thor movies, but it was always very well placed. And I love that, while all of the movies have incredible action sequences, none of them are bloody, which is what I can't stand. I can take computer-animated aliens all day, but one gory, bleeding limb and I've got my eyes shut for the rest of the scene.
Since I have done my posts on Avengers, Thor I, and Thor II in a character-analysis format, I figure I might as well stick with that theme. So, here we go...
Steve Rogers aka Captain America: Oh, where to start on describing him? How about we just say "perfect" and go with that? ;) Ok, ok, he isn't perfect, but boy, his positive characteristics sure outweigh his negatives by a long shot. He could be called stubborn, but a lot of that came from his background of being bullied and of not allowing that to define who he was. It was from that background that he developed his strength of character. If you are never tested, you never grow. Then after he is changed from the sickly little guy into the super soldier, he doesn't let his new power go to his head. Instead he uses it to defend those who were in the same position he had been in. As he explains when he is asked why he wants to kill Nazis, "I don't like bullies." The one thing about him that helps remind us that he is still human, though, is that he is awkward around most girls and doesn't understand much about them, which could be infuriating if you were actually with him but for us outside observers it can be kinda cute. :)
Johann Schmidt aka The Red Skull: The head of Hitler's scientific research unit (HYDRA), he believes that what was viewed as magic in the old days and what is now considered science are connected. He finds the Tesseract and uses it to create a line of vaporizing weapons, and then ditches Hitler and decides to take over the world for himself. (In a video clip shared below under a different profile it explains how he became the Red Skull, which fortunately just looks like a glowing red face without a nose and isn't all that creepy).
James "Bucky" Barnes: You first meet Bucky as he is pulling a bully off of Steve. While it is never said how long the two friends have known each other, you get the impression that they have been close since childhood, and that Bucky as always stood up for Steve. He doesn't quite understand why Steve is so "stubborn" and why he always insists on not "staying safe", but his loyalty is unwavering, even unto the point of death. (One of my favorite parts of the movie is when Steve has asked him if he's ready to "follow Captain America into the jaws of death", and Bucky says, "[Heck] no. That little guy from Brooklyn who was too dumb to run away from a fight? I'm following him." <3 )
Dr. Abraham Erskine: The scientist who created the serum that changes Steve into a super soldier, he is the one who saw beyond Steve's physical appearance and saw his character and his potential. The scene below I think is one of the most powerful in the whole movie.
What a wise man! And then as he is dying on the floor after being shot, he just taps Steve in the chest like he's trying to say, "Remember who you are in here. Never change that."
Agent Peggy Carter: A special British agent who has been "allowed" to be an assistant in the American army, she has encountered a lot of rebuff and stigma while trying to prove that she really is capable of doing a man's job, and because of that she has become hardened and cynical about all the men she meets. Then she encounters Steve. You can almost see the moment when she falls in love with him.
And who wouldn't? When you've been surrounded by arrogant, big-talking men for a long time, and then someone (even, or maybe I should say especially, if he is a shrimp) shows that he has more guts and concern for others than anyone else, you're naturally going to be drawn to it. She doesn't let on about it until close to the end because of the wall of protection she has had to build around herself to succeed in her business, but as her feelings grow they get harder and harder to hide.
Col. Chester Phillips: The commander of Steve's unit, he is not only the one who has to help Dr. Erskine find a guinea pig for his experiment, he is also the one who gave Peggy her chance to do what she felt called to do. And at times he regrets doing both. It takes him a while to see that Steve really was the best choice for the experiment, and once he finally does, he's as much behind him as anyone else.
Howard Stark: This is the guy who started the whole Stark empire (which is later under the care of his son, who might just be a familiar character in an iron suit...I must say they did a great job finding an actor that looked like he could be related to Robert Downing, Jr.). He helps with the experiment on Steve, helps Steve pull off his first mission, and then creates for Steve a new, more functional uniform and, most importantly, his iconic shield. While he does have a few similarities personality-wise with his son, he isn't as snide or egotistical and is a bit more open and friendly.
Cap's Commando Squad: When Steve rescues Bucky from the Red Skull, he first found a whole bunch of other guys who were being held captive. The ones who lead the way for getting out of the compound while Steve was still searching for Bucky ended up being asked to become his special group to help him break up all the other HYDRA bases. And what a group they were! A crack unit full of unique guys (or, as Steve refers to them lovingly at one point, "a bunch of idiots"). They were: "Dum Dum" Dugan, a bowler-wearing muscle-man, Gabe Jones, an African-American who can speak both German and French, Jim Morita, a Japanese-American who proves invaluable, Jacque Dernier, a former French Resistance fighter, and James Montgomery Falsworth, a trusty British soldier.
Overall, while this movie was very well done, I think I like the Thor movies a little bit better. I couldn't really say why, but that's just my personal preference. I will say that if I had to choose between the character of Thor and the character of Steve Rogers, I would pick Steve, but out of the movies about them Thor's were just a bit more enjoyable. I am still planning on watching "Winter Soldier", though! So be on the lookout for that blog post. :)
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