Fully Man

Captain America was, for me, the best movie experience of the summer. Granted it’s the only movie I’ve seen this summer so I suppose that assessment is a bit unfair. But in seriousness, this was a great movie! Not only is this one of the best superhero movies that I’ve seen but it has some great things to say about being a man. So, without further ado, let’s jump into the movie review. 

I didn’t say this with True Grit since that movie was old and but this one is new so consider yourself SPOILER WARNED.

This movie revolves around the WWII adventures of Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) a.k.a. Captain America. Rogers starts out as a scrawny and sickly lad that wants nothing more than to fight for his country like his best friend James “Bucky” Barnes (Sebastian Stan) Unfortunately, Rogers keeps getting denied admission to the army due to his health but he is given a special opportunity by Dr. Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci). After proving his mettle Steve is pumped full of special juice and electricity. Rogers then emerges as, you guessed it, Captain America. After some initial hesitation on the part of Col. Chester Phillips (Tommy Lee Jones) Cap is put into action after he, almost singlehandedly, liberates some POWs.

Cap and his team then go to work dismantling the criminal empire of the Red Skull (Hugo Weaving). After unearthing Red Skull’s evil plan to destroy New York Cap and Red have a huge, and awesome to watch, fight on the bridge of his ship. In order to save New York Cap crash lands Red Skull’s plane in the Arctic. Cap is then unfrozen and wakes up 70 years in the future setting us up for next summer’s Avengers.

This crystal Rubix Cube took
forever to figure out!

This movie was well directed and well acted. It’s not a great piece of cinema but it is a great summer movie. It has comedy, romance, and action. More importantly, it has all of them in the right measure. Special props go to my man Hugo Weaving (Agent Smith!) who is just having a BLAST playing Red Skull. His character is always menacing and never goofy (a tough job for a comic book movie.) Kudos also goes to Tommy Lee Jones for infusing Col. Phillips with just the right amount of comedy and seriousness.

I only have two minor complaints about this movie. The first is the opening scene that shows Cap being unearthed in the present before jumping immediately to 1943. This opening robs Cap’s heroic sacrifice in the finale of some of its drama because we know that he is going to be okay. Secondly, Cap gets a team about half way through the movie. It makes sense that Cap would need a team but we’re never shown that Cap REALLY needs at team. All the movie’s big action sequences are Cap versus a million bad guys.

These are, however, minor complaints. This movie is totally worth your 10 bucks and it has a lot of great things to teach us as men.

Does this movie “Man Up?”

Unlike Rooster Cogburn, Captain America isn’t a complex character with flaws and virtues alike. No, Cap is all virtue. What was particularly good about the message in this movie was that Rogers is chosen to become Captain America because of his determination, bravery, and willingness to always do what’s right. Rogers does this despite the fact that he was being pitted against a platoon of men who were big, strong, and good looking. Dr. Erskine explains to Rogers that his heroism is in his character not his powers. Red Skull, like Cap, was given Erskine’s formula but it was his blind ambition and thirst for power that turned him into a super villain, not his new found strength.

So the important lesson we learn is that what makes a great hero is character not superpowers. This is true for us today as men. Our society puts a premium on being the strongest, the fastest, and the best looking. But the men we admire are the ones of character. Take the example of Saul and David. Saul was chosen as king of Israel because he was the best looking (1 Sam. 9:2, 1 Sam. 9:15-16). However, he thoroughly lacked in character (1 Sam. 15:10-11). David, on the other hand, was small and came from a poor family (1 Sam. 16:7). But there was no one in Israel with more character. When the time came to show his character David bravely faced Goliath (1 Sam. 17:24, 31-37, 48-50) while those around him trembled. In the same way Rogers unflinchingly dives on what he thinks is a live grenade while those around him run.


Here’s what it boils down to men, men of character will always be the heroes when things get tough. Cap crash’s a jet to save New York in the finale. We also see character in Jesus’ example. He was God and could have saved his own bacon anytime he wanted to (Matt. 26:53-54). But Jesus was a man of Godly character. Instead, he sacrificed himself to save humanity from sin.

Rating