Technically polished yet boring as hell, the WWII-era superhero movie Captain America: The First Avenger (2011, Joe Johnston) fastidiously recreates an era of USO rallies and Nazi foes (the work done by cinematographer Shelly Johnson, production designer Rick Heinrichs, and costume designer Anna B. Sheppard is not to be faulted) but finds only overly earnest stick figures with which to populate its handsome period recreation.
Don't get me wrong--a quality like earnestness is usually something to be treasured in a film. But this script, written by Chronicles of Narnia veterans Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, is so intent on painting heroes Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) as unblemished, noble do-gooders that they never attain that extra dimension needed to get us involved in their fight against evil. Lacking recognizable humanity, Captain America aims for retro sincerity but achieves only blandness and terminal dramatic stiffness instead.
The dull, mummified vibe extends to scenes in which the villainous Red Skull (Hugo Weaving, who adopts an enjoyably artificial German accent but gets absolutely no interesting words with which to wrap it around) confers with a scientist associate (Toby Jones) over his intricate, destructive plans. If the movie's meant to be a throwback, then why is that these scenes of overly dry exposition remind me only of other recent unsuccessful blockbusters?
Director Johnston drags the proceedings to a snail's pace. There's none of the matinee-adventure zip of his The Rocketeer, nor any of the rousing spirit of his October Sky, both of which were set in roughly the same time period as this. Now those movies were throwbacks.
Evans' work is more lively and nuanced in early scenes that use CGI to put his head on a rail-thin body to convey how puny Steve is; when a serum inflates Steve's body to the beefcake level of a superhero, Evans weirdly reverts to phoning it in, as if he believed his pecs and abs can just take over the acting duties. I missed the cocky, young-Tom-Cruise-esque confidence that Evans has brought to previous movies, but the character of Steve is so one-dimensional that it shouldn't be viewed as a test of his ability to play non-cocky types. Nor should Atwell's future be judged based solely on her ho-hum work here; she was very smart and charismatic in Woody Allen's Cassandra's Dream, and no doubt other projects down the line will allow her to flourish again.
The only actor who really shines here is the infallible Tommy Lee Jones, who manages the neat trick of burrowing into his character--that of a colonel doubtful of Steve's ability to pull off the Captain America alter-ego--while simultaneously seeming to signal to the audience his contempt for the threadbare material. Jones' musical, curveball line readings give Captain America something it otherwise sorely lacks: a sense of surprise. Grade: C
While watching attractive stars Evans and Atwell straitjacketed by the goody-two-shoes act they're forced to play out in Captain America, it's hard not to picture them ripping off each other's clothes and going at it like two attractive people would in the real world, as opposed to the world of poor comic-book adaptations.
So the romantic comedy Friends With Benefits (2011, Will Gluck) already has an edge over its Saturday-afternoon predecessor in that it frequently gets stars Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis naked and in bed for some vigorous shagging. And the film's sex scenes also manage to work on a non-prurient level too. Since Timberlake and Kunis' characters, Dylan and Jamie, are pals looking to engage in entirely non-romantic sex, they openly tease and criticize each other while in the middle of the act. The intimacy is refreshing, and Timberlake, who really should quit his day job (actually, it seems he pretty much has at this point), and the whip-smart Kunis make for a naturally likable pair of lovers.
There's plenty more to like about the film too, from its rare-in-mainstream-comedies focus on two unashamedly intelligent, articulate characters, and amusing supporting performances from Woody Harrelson (as Dylan's self-mockingly gay sports-writer colleague) and Patricia Clarkson (as Jamie's loopy, free-spirit mother). (The awesome Richard Jenkins is also very good as Dylan's Alzheimer's-inflicted father, but due to the nature of the character, the word "amusing" wouldn't really fit.)
Still, I wasn't as taken with Friends With Benefits as most critics have been. Maybe I'm just at a younger age where I can sense the pandering behind nearly non-stop referencing to phenomena "those kids today" are attuned to, such as YouTube, iPhone apps, flash mobs, and the like. And while roughly half the dialogue in the script by Gluck, Keith Merryman & David A. Newman is genuinely clever, the other half just thinks it's clever in a cloying, Diablo Cody-esque way. The verbal wit in Gluck's previous comedy, the delightful surprise Easy A, was much sharper; conspicuously, it was written by somebody else, Bert V. Royal.
I'm actually about equally "meh" on this and the much less acclaimed, similar-in-concept No Strings Attached from earlier this year (which is less intelligent than Friends, but also more moving, due to star Natalie Portman's emotionally committed performance). Separately, neither of the two movies makes a compelling case for must-see big-screen status, but if combined as a stay-at-home double feature when both are available on DVD or cable, they'd make for a pleasant pair. As long as they have no plans for a serious commitment, of course. Grade: B-
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