Captain America: The First AvengerMovie Reviews

Poster art for "Captain America: The First Avenger."

See this movie in Captain America: The First Avenger 3D in Digital 3D

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Avg. Critic Score: 66 out of 100 Generally favorable reviews Metascore^® based on all critic reviews

Information for Parents:

OK for kids 11+

Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

80

Boxoffice Magazine |
What really distinguishes Captain from the other superhero movies of 2011 (and quite frankly, the majority of the others released in the last several years) is a romance that feels like an integral - not incidental - component of the plot. Read full review
80

New York Daily News | Joe Neumaier
This muscular, red-blooded adventure has a decent heart and the stuff of Saturday afternoon serials running through its veins. Read full review
75

Washington Post | Ann Hornaday
Captain America might hold the most promise, not just of saving the world, but of saving comic book movies from themselves. Read full review
75

USA Today | Claudia Puig
While the story is preposterous and most of the cast standard-issue, it's hard not to like a comic-book movie that features both Busby Berkeley-style dance numbers and high-tech vaporizing weaponry. Read full review
75

Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman
Stolidly corny, old-fashioned pulp fun. Read full review
75

Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert
It goes without saying it's preposterous. But it has the texture and takes the care to be a full-blown film. Read full review
70

Los Angeles Times | Kenneth Turan
Captain America is first and foremost an origins story. Almost half of the film's running time elapses before Rogers gets any kind of power at all, and though its elements are awfully familiar, it's the most involving part of the film because it takes advantage of Evans' performance. Read full review
70

The New York Times | A.O. Scott
Has a winningly pulpy, jaunty, earnest spirit. Read full review
50

Variety |
As Marvel heroes go, Captain America must be the most vanilla of the lot. Read full review
40

Village Voice |
(A) hokey, hacky, two-hour-plus exercise in franchise transition/price gouging, complete with utterly unnecessary post-converted 3-D. Read full review

Metacritic link View more reviews for Captain America: The First Avenger on Metacritic

Information for Parents

Common Sense Media says OK for kids 11+ Comic book adventure mixes patriotism, explosive action.

What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that while this 1940s-set comic book-based superhero adventure is full of explosive action violence -- expect tons of gun battles, fireballs, and fistfights (all of which are even more in-your-face in the 3-D version of the movie), as well as a scary-looking villain -- in most other respects, it's pretty tame as these kinds of movies go. Captain America is wholesome, compassionate, and brave; he doesn't have the dark side that many other superheroes do, and he's not a ladies' man or a party animal. There are a couple of tame kisses and a little bit of drinking, as well as a few uses of words like "hell" and "ass," but what lingers after the last bomb has exploded and the last fight is over are the movie's messages about standing up against bullies and doing the right thing. (That and a very strong sense of "U.S.A! U.S.A!" patriotism.)

Families can talk about what sets Captain America apart from other superheroes. How does he compare to Batman? Iron Man? Is he more or less of a "good guy" than those characters?
At one point Steve Rogers says he doesn't want to kill anybody, but during the movie he dispatches plenty of bad guys. Was that his only option?
How does the fact that much of the movie's violence is larger than life affect its impact? How is it different watching masked human soldiers (like the HYDRA minions) get hurt than individual characters?
What did you think of the scenes where Captain America performed on stage to inspire people to buy war bonds and join the Army? What does that say about the role of celebrities in our society?

The good stuff

Positive messages: The movie celebrates the idea of the hero as someone who believes in something greater than him/herself and stands up for those who can't stand up for themselves. Self-sacrifice, friendship, and loyalty are also key themes. There's a very pro-America message, which is reinforced by the strong patriotism of the 1940s setting. Although Captain America at one point professes a reluctance to kill people, he and his soldiers don't have any qualms offing tons of bad guys or using violence as their main means to solve problems.
Positive role models: Steve Rogers/Captain America is about as wholesome as superheroes come. As both a skinny weakling and a strapping soldier, he's brave, compassionate, resourceful, loyal, and kind. He doesn't have the personal demons/conflict that mark darker heroes like Batman; he is unquestionably a good guy. And though he doesn't seem to mind dispatching Nazis and other bad guys, he also says at one point that he doesn't really want to kill anybody -- he just hates bullies. Agent Carter is a positive female role model; she's respected and good at what she does. Captain America's team is a diverse group (especially for the '40s). The bad guys are clearly evil.

What to watch for

Violence: Frequent strong explosive action violence and weapons. Buildings, vehicles, and more are engulfed in fireballs; lots of gun use. A villain known as Red Skull has a monstrous/skeletal face that could be very scary to younger kids. The bad guys are developing super weapons powered by a mysterious energy source; they're extremely powerful, and some can completely vaporize people. Characters are killed, many impersonally/mostly bloodlessly in gun fights and big explosions, but a few (including some we care about) in more upsetting ways -- a couple are shot point-blank, and one goes through a propeller (blood is spattered). Car and motorcycle chases, fist fights, and war imagery. A child is held hostage. A character commits suicide rather than be captured.
Sex: Some flirting and a couple of kisses; romantic tension between two main characters. Soldiers ogle a woman when she wears a pretty dress. One implied mooning by a soldier; several scenes with Steve/Captain America shirtless.
Language: Several uses of "hell," plus very infrequent use of "ass," "damn," "son of a bitch," "oh my God," and British slang like "bloody." Some insults, like calling soldiers "ladies" to demean them.
Consumerism: Captain America is a Marvel comics character, and merchandise associated with him is available.
Drinking, drugs and smoking: Dr. Erskine drinks some schnapps; he later implies that he had too much, but he's not shown drunk. Soldiers drink beer (and harder liquor) in a pub/bar; one is a little tipsy. Captain America tries to get drunk but is unable to.

Common Sense Media An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.