Marvel Movie Madness! Part 33: Captain America (1990)

Gordon Terry

from CANNON FILMS!!!!!???? Manheim Golan and Yurim Globus
anyone involved with this has my sympathies.

(CANNON GROUP FILMS rarely fared well with critics).

Jul 22 - 03:41 PM

Frisby 2007

This looks nothing more than a geek in a costume running around for over an hour.

Jul 22 - 03:42 PM

Alexson Philipiah

never seen it, never will.

Jul 22 - 04:01 PM

Matias Sabaj

I wanna see it just to laugh my ass off at the guy in the costume,it's so hillarious! :P
and italian Red Skull? that's like a canadian Captain America :P

Jul 22 - 04:15 PM

Link O'Fett

I've always wanted to see this, just for the lolz...

Jul 22 - 04:18 PM

Infernal Dude

I remember watching this in the mid '90s on, um, Fox I think? The one thing that wasn't mentioned was Red Skull's make-up effects (as the Red Skull not the white guy with syphilis) I actually thought they were kind of cool with the splits and cracks in his face. Definitely not good enough to save this direct to VHS garbage but worth noting.

I think that the new one will be bad. Even with Hugo.

Jul 22 - 04:33 PM

Matthew Younker

This films biggest draw back is it's budget. You can't make a decent superhero film on a shoe-string budget, so if you can't get the funding you need to scrap the project not make it anyway. Everything else wrong with this film is just a result of the "deck of cards" for not having the right funding. Bad acting: couldn't hire better actors, Bad Sets & Costumes: didn't have the money, Cheap Effects: We already spent that cash on the bad sets & costumes, etc.
The only thing that I found utterly disgraceful about this film was the lighting and sound editing. "I" could have done a better lighting job, I really could, some scenes are so dim and sketchy it makes everything blurry. And the dialog in this film is very difficult to hear at times it's like they didn't catch the audio correctly during filming and had no money to retake and get better quality. A public access sound and lighting guy could have done a better job.
Now onto the good points: 1) Scott Paulin actually plays an almost decent villain in this, emphases on the almost. 2) The screenplay is really not that bad. It stays close to the comics (just like the 1994 Fantastic Four) and genuinely tries to depict a serious toning for the story. If the new 2011 Captain America was filmed using this screenplay (refined and updated obviously) it probably would be a decent flick. 3) Just like Howard the Duck or 1994 Fantastic Four it has MAJOR so bad it's good quality, watch it with some friends are drink a few brews and you're in for a fun night. To watch this as a legitimate film would be like watch Plan Nine from Outer Space as a legitimate film. You simply cannot.

Jul 22 - 04:52 PM

Sean Nasuti

Captain America: The First Avenger: Awesome!
1990's Captain: WTF went wrong here?
This film portrayed the Captain as a pretty weak superhero and what's the point in calling the main villain Red Skull if he only has a Red Skull for like five minutes.
No this isn't the worst superhero movie of all time and I say that because the actors were at least trying but they were given nothing to work with.
Even so, this movie sucks.

Jul 22 - 05:20 PM

King Crunk

I remember renting this when I was young and being eager with excitement because of my love for superheroes. Even as a child, I was disappointed.

Jul 22 - 06:59 PM

Tony unknown

The biggest problem with this film (and oh boy are there plenty of them) is the portrayal of Captain America. Save a few minor scenes towards the end, Cap is portrayed as ineffectual, incompetent, dull, and actually quite dickish. Towards the beginning Cap is picked up by a kind government agent of sorts after Cap is unfrozen and confused. How does Cap repay this favor? He pretends to be sick, has the man stop the car so he can get out, and then when the man gets out himself to check on him, he darts over and *steals the man's car*. This would be terrible enough if it weren't for the fact that later when Cap and his old love interest's daughter are in Italy, he does the exact same f**king thing! Only this time it's worse because he left an innocent woman in the middle of a foreign country, and said woman is soon after f**king kidnapped by the J-Crew models that are the Red Skull's goons.

But as is mentioned, this movie is so cheaply made and filled with so many ridiculous and head-scratching moments that it's So Bad It's Good, though I must note that it's not up to the level of the two made-for-TV '70s Captain America movies that aired on CBS. Those were tear-inducingly hysterical and so horrifically made it made this film look like a masterpiece when you see them back-to-back.

At least the production design wasn't as bad as previous efforts--at lest Cap's shield looked believable, as opposed to the '70s one, which I really do believe was purchased at a Dollar Store. So many issues with this film overall, with the acting, the portrayal of Captain America himself, the script,--which is ridiculously dull and rudimentary--and, yes, the production designs which are cheap and laughable (but still seriously better than the '70s one, and I harp on this because I watched them closely together and the dynamic is oddly mind-blowing). The scene where Cap on the missile flies inches above the kid's head and just boings up and avoids him is hilarious.

Bad film. Fun to laugh at. I hope this new film is better than these s**tholes that poor Cap has had to be given.

Jul 22 - 09:46 PM

Enjay Sim

Yeah I saw this on video back in the last century. I remember Matt Sallinger's pained face and uttering the words "Jee whiz!" at one point. The action scenes used subliminal editing; bikes, getting shot in the arm, ridiculous fisticuffs, belted by a car. Everything else is a bit hazy. I remember his shock at the girls in their string bikinis. Also he employs the door off a boiler to use as a makeshift shield at some point. Watch out when he throws his shield towards the end, he misses the target and the shield comes crashing down a flight of stairs. Look closely and you'll see it sitting still at the top of the screen until an out of shot stage hand gives a supportive shove down the steps. And the one line that'll will always stick with me is: "STOP CALLING ME YOUR BROTHER!". Cheap budget aside you can't help but feel that they could've done better.

Jul 23 - 05:58 AM

Joshua Dinsmore

This is what I was afraid of when they mentioned making a new Captain America. Glad it didn't suck as bad as this crap.

Jul 23 - 10:44 AM

Tumelo Drametu

I actually really want to see this, just for shits and gigs. By the way, I saw the new one yesterday and I loved it. It is my new favorite Marvel Studios film, beating out Iron Man by just a little bit.

Jul 23 - 11:14 AM

Semi Aboud

Not one mention of the fact that the costume people couldn't find a way to make a a head piece that fit the actor's head so they built RUBBER EARS onto the suit? I remember reading about this when the movie was released. Those ears look fantastically awful.

Jul 23 - 02:48 PM