Steve Rodgers (Chris Evans) was deemed unfit to join the army until he meets Dr. Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci) who offers him an opportunity to serve his country. Rodgers agrees to volunteer for a top-secret research project that turns him into an enhanced human being; here is the birth of Captain America. With the impending threat that Johann Schmidt (Hugo Weaving), also known as the Red Skull, and his Hydra unit are posing on the world, the cap must take the fight back to save humanity.

Joe Johnston’s Captain America did not disappoint at all. The director tackled the story that has captured the hearts of millions of viewers since the character was introduced back in the early 40’s. It’s no surprise to see the cap receive a better treatment with a high budget film. I am surprised to see this character being introduced last in the new revitalization of the superhero franchises from Marvel. The film did really match the level of other Marvel films like Iron Man and Thor. Fans expectations were surely met with the Captain America and with so much momentum the Avengers movie is creating are not hard to see one of their main characters have successful motion picture.

Joe Johnston managed to cover the highlights of Captain America’s beginnings without dragging the story too much. To put it simply, he did cram a lot of content into the film that he could of easily have made 2 or maybe 3 films. Viewers got a good amount of the heroics of Captain America, but they never saw what was of the scrawny Steve Rodgers, but even with so much into the film it never failed to be entertaining. The film took us through a brief period of when Steve Rogers was a weakling and we never really saw anything more of that side. What follows is a series of events that lead to much action as the Captain takes the fight to the front door of Hydra.

Captain America featured a great all around cast starring with Chris Evans and Hugo Weaving. Chris Evans was great; he truly fit the role and didn’t let the audiences down with his performance. Hugo Weaving was also very good, yeah his accent might have sounded a bit goofy, but Weaving is such a good bad guy that it is easy to overlook any shortcomings. Overall, I would say the cast performance was acceptable and they are in no way detrimental to the film.

Captain America: The First Avenger arrives on Blu-ray with a 1080p MPEG4-AVC encode framed at 2.40:1. Unlike Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger improved on the quality of the 3D presentation. The 2D presentation looks great all around. Colors look very natural. The picture is clean and clear. The film is rich in details all around from surroundings to the uniforms of the soldiers or even the Cap’s uniform is very detailed. Black levels are deep and inky. There’s a thin layer grain to give it that film like feel. Overall, Captain America: The First Avenger looks great on Blu-ray.

Now it’s the turn for the 3D presentation. Captain America received a much better 3D treatment than Paramount’s previous 3D release of Thor. However, keep in mind the film was not shot natively in 3D, it was all added after the film was done. The film is far from being the best 3D title, but far form the worst too. There isn’t a lot of depth in between the objects. Colors are true to the 2D presentation, looking very good and natural. There are few good 3D effects that really stand out in the film. Also, I must say that ghosting is rarely seen in the film. Overall, the film looks good on Blu-ray.

Captain America: The First Avenger arrives on Blu-ray with a 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio lossless track. Unlike, Thor’s thunderous track, Captain America features a more balanced and clean sound. The dialog is clean and clear throughout the film. There is a good directionality. The rears feature some ambience and atmospheric effects. The bass could is a bit underwhelming, it probably needed some more kick to be up to par to what was happening during the most intense scenes. Captain America sounds great on Blu-ray.

Audio Commentary – featuring Joe Johnston, Shelly Johnson, and Jeffrey Ford. Overall the track felt somewhat disappointing, the filmmakers gave some good information here and there, however, they did seem to go out of topic.

Marvel One-Shot: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor’s Hammer – Another one of Marvel’s shorts featuring a S.H.I.E.L.D agent in a sticky situation.

Featurettes – There are a total of 7 featurettes: Outfitting A Hero, Howling Commandos, Heightened Technology, The Transformation, Behind the Skull, Captain America’s Origin, and The Assembly Begins.

Deleted Scenes

Trailers

I have to say that Captain America is probably one of Marvel’s best superhero movies surpassing Thor, The Incredible Hulk and almost up to par with Iron Man. The film is entertaining and enjoyable to the very last minute. This is easily one of Marvel’s best superhero flick to date. I highly recommend this title! The Blu-ray features a good 2D transfer and a decent 3D quality and a sound that is not killer, but it will definitely please the viewers. This should be on everyone’s collection without a doubt.