In case you don't pay attention to movies (and if that were the case, why would you be on this site?), super-heroes movies and films based on comic books have been appearing left and right lately. Many critics have become up-in-arms over this fact and some say that the films are becoming redundant and interchangeable. So, let's say that you're a movie producer with a hot super-hero property. Do you take a chance and make something different or do you make a film which will simply be lumped in with all of the other costumed characters? The makers of Captain America: The First Avenger chose the former of those two options. Did their gamble pay off?

Captain America: The First Avenger opens in 1942 during the height of the World War II. German scientist Johann Schmidt (Hugo Weaving), who heads a special unit known as Hydra, has discovered an ancient relic which give his weapons unprecedented power. Meanwhile, in the United States, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is desperate to do his part for his country and join the Army, but his small physique and his history of illness disqualify him. Scientist Dr. Erskine (Stanley Tucci) overhears Steve's plight, and has him enlist for a special experiment. Steve is given a serum (it was known as the "Super Solider Serum" in the comics, but I don't remember them saying that in the movie), along with other forms of treatment, which turn him into a taller, muscular soldier with incredible strength and agility. At first, the military uses Steve, who now goes by the name Captain America, as a recruiting tool, but when visiting Europe, he seizes an opportunity and rushes into battle. This impresses Colonel Phillips (Tommy Lee Jones), who sees Steve as an option to stop Hydra.

The problem here is that this plays more like a World War II movie than a super-hero movie, and that will decidedly narrow the audience for this film. Sure, there are laser guns and Captain America can leap over a 10-foot fence, but the movie still skews more towards old-fashioned war movie. The film has all of the benchmarks of a classic war film -- the evil Nazis who aren't above murdering their own men, the American soldiers who live to fight and then celebrate, the hard-nosed commander, and the strong, but smoldering female character. This could have easily been played with a modern twist, and a wink at the audience, but it's all played straight. The result is a movie which is full of action, but it's not always very exciting. The movie definitely takes its time transforming Steve Rogers into Captain America, and once the battle scenes start, there isn't anything very original about them. The whole thing is very brown and sort of boring.

I've really grown to like Chris Evans in his various roles, but I'm not sure if he was the right choice for Captain America. He can pull off the heroic part, but Captain America is a very earnest and stoic character. Evans has shown in the past that he can be very funny, and I kept waiting for Cap to say something clever, but he never does, because that's not who he is. I'm not saying that Evans is bad in the role, but it's almost the opposite of someone who we can't take seriously -- Captain America is too serious and we want Evans to cut loose some.

Captain America: The First Avenger is a very well-made movie which shows that Marvel was taking this character seriously. I really wanted to like the film, and as mentioned above, Marvel must be congratulated for staying true to Captain America's root. The movie has some nice set-pieces, but the final result is a film which does a great job of introducing the character, but doesn't provide a very exciting ride. Still, I'm definitely looking forward to The Avengers.

Captain America: The First Avenger makes us uncomfortable with the scrawny Chris Evans on Blu-ray Disc courtesy of Paramount Home Entertainment. The film has been letterboxed at 2.35:1 and the Disc contains an AVC 1080p HD transfer which runs at an average of 30 Mbps. The image is very sharp and clear, showing on grain or defects from the source material. While the movie has the aforementioned brown look, the red, white, and blue of Cap's uniform look great and the image is never overly dark or bright. The picture is loaded with detail and we get can every detail of Cap's uniform. Despite the fact that this isn't the 3D version, the image has very nice depth. The Disc carries a DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track which runs at 48 kHz and an average of 5.5 Mbps. The track provides clear dialogue and sound effects. This is an outstanding track which shows great detail. The surround sound effects in the battle scenes are spectacular and we can hear every last sound. The explosions rock the subwoofer and the stereo effects show great separation. The score sounds great and none of this overpowers the dialogue.