sometimes I question my hobbies

[some_stars]

So, Captain America! Obviously I'm going to see it, I'm completely helpless against the Marvel movieverse anymore apparently--although I never did get to Thor, I need to see to that--but, well, it's a comic book movie and I know I'm going to need to brace myself. So I don't want spoilers--at all, please--but general outlines of where the fail is and how bad and just basically how much rage I'm going to have to deal with. And maybe also what kind of good stuff I can expect to make up for it, in the vaguest terms possible. *g* I mean, you can spoil his origin story for me if you want, I know that part. But not anything new!

(You pretty much won't dissuade me from seeing it no matter what, unless it's like Green Lantern levels of stupid-horrible, or somehow--I don't know how this could be possible--MORE ridden with fail than XMFC. It's Captain America, I'm going to see it, if only so I can read the fic. I just want to be prepared, because I have been hurt in the past! And will be hurt again in the near future, and I'd like to know how.)

Oh, Marvel. I don't know how they captured that elusive mix of fanboy appeal and "please write fic about this movie, millions of words of it, mostly with sex scenes"--well, no, I'm pretty sure I do, it was because Bryan Singer and then Jon Favreau, because X1/X2 and Iron Man 1 are the beautiful shining soul of their brand from which everything else that's any good at all grows--but whatever, I love it, they make me so happy. I mean, they could make me a lot happier without all the fail(though it's notable that those three movies are the best of the lot by far even if that's not saying much), but--always so many FEELINGS. Superhero movies full of feelings! It's like they finally understand what comics are for! ...on which note, rewatching X1/X2 so many times while getting footage for these vids has made me realize certain unsettling things I apparently ship and never knew. I was certain that my crossgen kink didn't extend to het pairings with an older man, but apparently it does. Under the right circumstances. THOSE MOVIES, ugghhhh, so gooooooooood.

Comments

[minim_calibre]

I found it less fail-y than typical comic book movies, in fact. I had moments of "Huh, this is way less fail than I usually see."

[some_stars]

oh, awesome! I mean, I made it through The Dark Knight and Iron Man 2 and, you know, First Class, so I can deal with fail, but it would be so nice not to HAVE to.

[minim_calibre]

It exceeded my low expectations on that front! Like everything, there's stuff that needs improving, of course, but that's the way of the world we live in.

[some_stars]

I feel cheered now! Depending how tomorrow's interview goes, I may just drive directly to the theater to salve my wounds with superheroes and Junior Mints, so it's nice to know that I won't be re-assaulted if I do so.

[harpers_child]

it's a period piece. the female lead has more agency than steve at some points. there's people of color as secondary and tertiary characters, some of whom have lines. i don't think it bechdel's, but there are women doing things in the background and i may have missed some not-foreground chatter. some of the visual effects used to make chris evans look like pre-serum steve gets a little uncanny valley.

it's less faily than any other WWII movie i've seen. it's defiantly less faily than the batman movies.

[some_stars]

This is helpful data, thank you!

[aris_tgd]

They appear to have decided to make it more 1940s by giving Steve a romantic subplot taken from a typical 1940s movie. It does not get a lot of airtime and its ending is good, but several bits in the middle were full of facepalm.

There have been some critiques of the movie making the US Army's policy on integrating the service more progressive than it actually was at the time, thus pretending we had no problems, but that feels like both a very cogent and very meta-level critique. It didn't bother me when I watched it.

Um... I have to totally fanwank how a guy from the 442nd wound up in the same prison cell as everyone else, but he gets to be snarky and awesome for the lines he has, so there is that.

Oh, and I don't know if this will bother you or will only bother you if I mention it, but they somehow manage to get through an ENTIRE WW2 movie without a single swastika onscreen. Like, there is some non-swastika Nazi insignia, but they do a really good job of cheating all the swastikas out of every shot. I am wondering if this was for distribution purposes.

[some_stars]

....well, does he get to punch Nazis? Who aren't wearing swastikas but are clearly identified as Nazis while they're being punched? Because I was seriously looking forward to a couple hours of Nazi-punching, it's like 20% of my entire anticipation for this movie.

[aris_tgd]

There are Nazis! They get punched! They are definitely Nazis and there is definitely punching!

I can clarify a little more if you don't mind minor spoilers for, like, structure. This is information you get in the first five or ten minutes of the movie.

[some_stars]

No, I'm good, as long as there's Nazi-punching I don't need to know any plot stuff. *g*

[wishfulaces]

There have been some critiques of the movie making the US Army's policy on integrating the service more progressive than it actually was at the time, thus pretending we had no problems, but that feels like both a very cogent and very meta-level critique. It didn't bother me when I watched it.

I was mostly able to hand-wave because they were such a cobbled-together band of followers anyway (though, yeah, I don't know *enough* about WW2 military history to blink at 442nd showing up randomly either).

[helens78]

Um... I have to totally fanwank how a guy from the 442nd wound up in the same prison cell as everyone else, but he gets to be snarky and awesome for the lines he has, so there is that.

I am torn between saying: Whahuh wha? and saying FUCK ME, SOMEONE IN MAINSTREAM MEDIA KNOWS THE 442ND EXISTED OMFG REALLY REALLY REALLY? I am pretty sure that latter reaction is giving it more due than it deserves, and I really don't want to be disappointed when I barely see him and then he's gone, so prick me, I need deflating! He's in there for like two minutes, right?

Also please please tell me he doesn't have a Mr. Miyagi accent because I will cry.

(Um, feel free to blank out with spoiler-text, obviously! Sorry to barge in, some_stars!)

[aris_tgd]

That is, unfortunately, slightly more than it deserves--he doesn't actually say his unit name or anything--but he does NOT have a Mr. Miyagi accent. He's got a West Coast accent and is snarky and awesome.

[aris_tgd]

Oh, but he does stick around for more than two minutes and gets more than one action scene and does not die.

[helens78]

MORE THAN I COULD HAVE HOPED FOR. \o/