In a time of turmoil the nation has always looked for a hero. George Washington might well have been the first. There is Lincoln and FDR. JFK falls into that group. But it is a group not limited to Presidents, nor even real people.
Think of Dr. Martin Luther King on a march. There is walking on the moon with Neil Armstrong. Of course there is Muhammad Ali and Bruce Lee in all their splendor. There is flying around with Superman and fighting crime with Batman. And no less iconic is good old Uncle Sam. Right next to this visage of American spirit is Captain America.
Captain America is critical, as I have mentioned before. For generations born after the strife and rebellion of the 60's, the loss of confidence in Government of the 70's, and the now near constant disappointments in Presidents since then Captain America is the only real image of America as strong, just, and fighting the good fight.
Given the year of partisan political fighting, the sneaky and shady deals, the redefining of "Change", and the seperation of people along political ideologies, the nation needs to find a central good to believe in. As I have waited to see who would be picked, the importance of this character, and movie, has grown.
Who finally came to envision this one mythic comic book character? Chris Evans. You know, the guy who played the Human Torch in the AWFUL Fantastic Four movies. Are you impressed?
I'm not sure either. Was he good as the Human Torch? Well in comparison to everyone else in those films, sure. But the films and every other character was a pitiful waste of time. Hard not to look good in the midst of garbage.
If you saw my preview for the movie The Losers, you will also see Evans. It's basically a rip-off of the A-Team, but it looks decent. Evans has a geekish character in the movie as well. The preview does nothing to instill confidence in me that he can pull off Captain America. Which scares me.
The only think worse than losing faith in something, is to have faith in it and watch that be shredded in front of you. A real world example for a growing number of people is how President Obama has gone from a man above petty partisan politics, to one that is mired in extreme partisan politics.
Maybe I have been writing too much about the Health Care Reform and the mid-term elections of late. Then again, maybe I really just want to see an image of America that is good and pure and something pretty much everyone can agree on.
I want Evans to do well in this role. I want to enjoy him as Captain America. But I have to be honest that I'm afraid the best thing in the movie could be the acting from Hugo Weaving (Agent Smith from the Matrix series) as the Red Skull (a nazi super spy, and the ultimate Captain America enemy). That is a scary thought.
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