Written by Sarah


I used to think my geekitude was under control, but it seems like every time I turn around I’m writing about superheroes, zombies, dragons or sea monsters. I’m starting to think my inner nerd is now an outer nerd. Did you know I’m a published photographer? Of course not, because I no longer do anything practical. Now I spend all my time wondering who would win in a fight—Ariel’s dad from The Little Mermaid or a giant squid?

So of course Lainey texts me a couple nights ago to ask if I have any thoughts on the first Captain America: The First Avenger trailer. And of course I immediately responded that I did, indeed, have thoughts. If you’ve been following along, I’ve been keeping an eye on Captain America. Partly because I want this to work out for Chris Evans, whom I love (though he really needs to develop better taste in women), and partly because the gamble Marvel/Paramount is making will either end with billions in the bank or Marvel Studios could be panhandling off La Cienega by the end of the year.

Captain America has had a lot slower roll out than its fellow Avenger Thor. It feels like we’ve been seeing Thor trailers for the last nine years, where Captain America didn’t reveal footage until the Super Bowl. Now, four months until the movie hits theaters, we get the first trailer. I’ve decided that Captain America looks better in motion than in photographs. The powers that be would be better off not letting us dwell on the awfulness of the suit in stills but keep the film footage rolling.

As for this first-effort trailer, it’s a long’un at two and a half minutes and it’s pretty great all the way through. Captain America is a giant dork and the trailer spends most of its time showing us pre-transformation Steve Rogers in all his weakling glory. He’s scrawny and comically tinier than everyone around him, he gets his ass kicked in an alley, and his best friend leaves him behind during World War II. By the one minute mark, we’re all convinced that Steve Rogers is a total loser. I like the glimpses of Tommy Lee Jones and Stanley Tucci, and I like the look of the film overall. What I don’t like is that bit with Cap busting into the warehouse or whatever with his soldiers. I mean, you laughed a little, right? I laughed. (Lainey: yes. Because, like, the shield is too f-cking much!)

Something about this trailer, though, makes me confident in Captain America. There are a lot of superhero movies coming out this summer—The Green Lantern, Thor, X-Men: First Class. Until this trailer came out, I felt like X-Men would be the superhero summer winner, with Thor coming in a close second. But now I think Cap could come up the surprise winner. The tone is just right—comic booky without looking silly. And where X-Men’s trailer goes out of its way to hide dialogue, Captain America isn’t shy about giving us conversation and character interaction. It feels like a bolder, more cohesive approach than the other movies have shown. Every Thor trailer changes the tone of the movie and The Green Lantern looks outright awful. In contrast, the careful unveiling of Captain America makes me think we haven’t seen the best stuff yet.

I’m calling it—Captain America will win the summer’s superhero war.

Attached – Chris Evans leaving Trousdale the other night after he presumably let Ashley Greene pimp her sh-t all over him.


Photos from INF