Film Review: Captain America (1990)
When I was in Junior High, my friends and I were starved for superhero movies. It may seem strange now, but there was a time when movies based on comic books weren’t considered commercially viable. As fans of X-Men, Spiderman, and the early Image titles, we jumped at every opportunity to watch any movie or TV show that was even close to comic-related – even if it was one featuring an outdated hero whose book we’d never once picked up. We were riding high off the Dolph Lundgren Punisher from the year before (which has a current Rotten Tomatoes rating of 28%), so how bad could Captain America be? Well, turns out pretty bad.
The funny thing is that I knew it was bad back in 1990, but I didn’t care. In my mind, this was about as good as we were ever going to get from a superhero movie. Affordable (and decent) CGI was still a few years off so the shoddy effects of the time didn’t bother me much. The story and the acting were another matter. My second viewing (nearly 30 years later) reveals that for such low-budget schlock, there’s a surprising amount of ‘80s and ‘90s character actors on board. You’d think with the likes of Ned Beatty and Ronny Cox that something would go right, but even these old pros are lost and bored. The rest of the cast is amateurish at best, and while I’d like to think the “make it up as you go” script is to blame, it can only take partial credit.
The story seems ad-libbed most of the time – as if no one was in control or saying “no” to anything. I was surprised to see Stan Lee’s name on the list of producers. One would think the owner and creative genius behind Marvel Comics would have put his foot down occasionally. But, old Stan was never known for his business sense – either that or somebody snowballed him, and good.
(side note: director Albert Pyun directed a lot of movies like this – including another favorite from that era, Cyborg)
So anyway, in 1943 Steve Rogers (Max Salinger) gets recruited to undergo a secret procedure which will turn him into the uber-patriot, Captain America. On his first mission, he confronts Red Skull (Scott Paulin), the result of the fascist version of the same procedure. The good Captain gets his ass handed to him (and quick) his first day on the job. He winds up frozen in ice for 50 years. Fast forward, Cap is thawed, makes his way home, gets his old girlfriend killed, and embarks on a trip to Italy to rescue the kidnapped president. Got it? Good.
I really wish this was better. My recollection of it was foggy enough to hope for better, but it didn’t produce. It’s a shame too because there’s plenty of room here for a bonkers story. The 1980s and early ‘90s saw a ton of hail Mary movies with whacked out premises and hilarious, cult characters. Captain America was a perfect opportunity to subvert the tired patriotic clichés of the source material. My mind is racing thinking of all the ways this could have worked. Well, by “worked” I don’t mean commercial or critical success, but it could have been on par with politically and culturally subversive works like They Live (1988) or Brazil (1985). Oh well.
There is some fun to be had. Captain America may not quite be in the “so bad it’s good category,” but the acting and story are sufficiently cheesy to have a laugh with friends. I found one thing interesting. While watching, I was very easily transported back in time to when I first saw the film (the summer between 7th and 8th grade, if I’m not mistaken). I could picture myself watching with my friends in the living room (white couches, green carpet) in our old house on the Northside in Moorhead, Minnesota. It was rather heartwarming. I’m not sure if that’s an endorsement or not, but it’s something. Kids, this is what we had. Do you know how lucky you are?
