I notice that a lot of people have been complaining about Chris Evans being cast in the Captain America film. I feel like most people in my shoes would feel the need to qualify this post by saying that he or she does not read a lot of Captain America comics, so his or her opinion may not be as valid as someone who does, but I won't do it, because Chris Evans hasn't been cast in the comic, he has been cast in the movie. I have to say that I don't think all the hate is warranted. I can't say that I haven't liked him in any of the films I've seen him in, which says a lot, considering the fact that I've seen Cellular. He may get typecast as a goofball a little too often, but who cares? He plays it well. Perhaps he just hasn't been given a chance to branch out. I seem to remember similar reactions to the news that Daniel Craig was cast as James Bond, or that Heath Ledger was cast as the Joker, and we all know how those films turned out. So give Chris Evans a chance, because making a pre-judgment about the film this far in advance solely based on Chris Evans being cast is a little unfair, however strange the choice may seem. Having a pretty good actor cast in the lead role of the film certainly does not spell doom. We don't know the tone or the style of the film, or really anything else about it, for that matter.
Normally after all of that I would say you should reserve your judgment until you know more about it, but there is another detail that everybody seems to be leaving out or forgetting when they bitch about the movie, and that is the choice of Joe "The Wolfman" Johnston to direct it. Joe "Jurassic Park III" Johnston directing the film almost makes this post a moot point, and I almost stopped writing it under its original title, "In Defense of Chris Evans," but then decided to change the title and salvage the post in the hope that we could collectively shift our hatred from Chris Evans to Joe "Hidalgo" Johnston. Do your part; give Chris Evans a chance.
I couldn't agree more.
ReplyDeleteWell, coming from a guy who saw Cellular as well..and Not Another Teen Movie, AND London...I can say that I am still not excited nor am I looking forward to this film. Evans works as Johnny Storm because Johnny Storm is just a variation of the character he has played in 9 out of every 10 of his projects. At least in Cellular he didn't coincidentally get half naked like he did in FF and the Losers. At least in London he showed he could be in a dramatic role for a change. A sliver of hope at best. And besides which, I loved Daniel Craig AND Heath Ledger before they were cast in their "big" roles. Likewise for Robert Downey Jr. and Edward Norton. I'm still not a fan of Chris Evans.
ReplyDeleteI kind of agree with Jared in that Evans just seems like Marvel's response to DC grabbing Ryan Reynolds. "We want a mediocre heartthrob to star as one of our industry's cornerstones too!" Unless he really WOWS me, I don't see myself coming out liking this film.
But on the other hand...casting Chris Evans automatically sets my expectations about as low as they can get.
It can only go up from here, right?
Here's the thing: Chris Evans has relatively no creative control over this film, Joe Johnston does. It will be Joe Johnston that will make the film garbage. And I do agree, my expectations are extremely low as well, but if I'm going to feel obligated to see a crappy move, I'd rather have an actor like Chris Evans ham it up in the leading role and make it tolerable than have someone else try to take the role seriously in a film that is destined to be a hokey piece of trash. It's not Chris Evans' fault that he was cast; he is probably perfect for the film that Johnston wants to make. He makes cheesy movies with Robin Williams. I'm not necessarily saying you need to like Chris Evans. I'm saying that instead of putting blame on him, you should put it on Joe Johnston, because whoever is cast makes no difference. They could cast Ethan Hawke, or Brad Pitt, or Denzel Washington, or Haley Joel Osment, or Ernest Borgnine... Great or terrible, right for the part or wrong for the part, true to the character or not, the actor makes no difference here, because Joe Johnston is directing. Hate on him, not Chris Evans, because in a year or so, when you're sitting in the theater watching the first 20 minutes of this and seeing how bad it is going to be, you're going to thank Chris Evans for being a likable, charismatic actor that is able to entertain you in trash like this and Not Another Teen Movie.
ReplyDeleteChris Evans also held his own in Danny Boyle's 'Sunshine.' Not that his role stretched, by any means, his limits as an actor, but it did show that he could pull off a different (fully clothed) type of character in a great film.
ReplyDeleteWell when you put it that way, sure. I didn't even know that Johnston was directing the movie until you posted that. I hadn't even looked up anything on the movie until they announced Evans because honestly...I could care less. I just heard that and thought...he's no Captain America. Hell I'm not even a big fan of Captain America to begin with. It's kind of a boring story that basically started as war propaganda. They have their work cut out for them to turn that into a great, watchable film. I would say the same for Thor as well. I can't imagine an American audience having the patience or the attention span to sit through Thor as the comic books know him. I imagine they would want to change a lot of things.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of, how many of us think that they will screw up his story and make it have nothing to do with World War II? Will Steve Rogers be a sickly dweeb looking to enlist into a war with Iraq? Is the Red Skull instead going to be the Brown Skull? Is Hugo Weaving the only thing that will make this film tolerable? The world wants to know!
Certainly Evan has no control over the script or most if not all of the creative decisions for the movie. The facts that Cap will:
ReplyDelete1. Not start as the scrawny kid desperate to make a difference in WWII, but instead an average soldier,
2. After risking his life on the super soldier serum join the USO as an entertainer rather than take it to the Nazi's head-on, and
3. Not fight very long during the war to become a "living legend" before disappearing into the frozen arctic
Leads me to think that this one will not do so well among comics purists who have an emotional investment in the character. The choices of Johnston and Evans just underscores for me some poor choices being made.
Bottom line for me is that, while I'm not a cap fan, I'm a comics fan who wants to make sure that comics inspired movies do well so we can continue to see more properties brought to life. The Thor and Cap films both have me a little concerned that Marvel's getting cocky with the success of Iron Man (which I give 100% of the credit to Downy Jr. for) and making some poor choices.
I hope I'm wrong, but both of these don't get me excited yet, maybe my opinion will change once we see the trailers.
Also think about the fact that AMERICA is not the most loved nation around the world. this matters because a lot of ticket and dvd sales come from places Other then America. So is Disney/Marvel going to water down the 'ol red, white and blue flag waving? remember in the recent Superman film Perry White ask if Superman stood for " Truth, Justice and all that'. Skipping out "the American Way." What do Norwegians care about Captian America.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I'm off, we'll see.
Going in a slightly different direction based on the comment about Marvel getting cocky... Doesn't it seem a little presumptuous to call the movie "The First Avenger: Captain America," a blatant franchise-starting title? I can't imagine the movie flopping too badly, but it's a possibility, especially when taking Jared's comment into consideration. I suppose the reference to the Avengers sets up that film for people unfamiliar with the Avengers, but still... I think they should take things one step at a time, especially when you're entrusting that beginning to the guy whose most recent film is the critical and commercial bomb, "The Wolf Man."
ReplyDeleteTo get back to Evans, who I think will do just fine in The First Avenger... how great would it be to see him alongside Robert Downey Jr. in an Avengers film? Assuming they get that far, they will be an amazing pair. If I can't get a "Hell yeah" on that, then you all might as well drop dead.
I don't believe they're going to water anything down considering the big blond bastard is a walking American flag. I think that's why they're using the USO thing in the plot. They want to be able to explain why he's wearing a dumb outfit. I'm sure that'll be his USO outfit, and then he'll probably get forced into battle after a Nazi attack, etc, etc, frozen in ice, roll credits.
ReplyDeleteApparently, we as Americans wouldn't be able to fathom a man in the 40s putting on a flag jumpsuit and going into war. It's kind of sad that his iconic costume is going to be a comic relief point of the film, and what he's "forced to wear" for the duration of the...well however long this series will last. God forbid he be a patriotic soldier who is proud to wear his country's colors.
But screw that, I just want a scene where he punches Hitler in the face. I mean come on, it's the cover of his first issue!
In December 2009, director Joe Johnston said he plans to start filming in April 2010. In a separate interview that month, he described the film's pre-production: "Rick Heinrichs is production-designing and we're set up down in Manhattan Beach [California]. ... We have eight or ten really talented artists, and we all just sit around all day and draw pictures and say, 'Hey, wouldn't it be cool if we could do this?' It's that phase of the production where money doesn't matter: 'Let's put all the greatest stuff up on the wall and [then later] see what we can afford.'" The film, he said, will begin "in 1942, 1943" during World War II. "The stuff in the '60s and '70s [comic books] we're sort of avoiding. We're going back to the '40s, and then forward to what they're doing with Captain America now." Johnston confirmed that the Red Skull would be the film's primary antagonist. He has also stated that the World War Two-era super team the Invaders will be appearing in "the entire second half" of the film. Variety reported on March 22, 2010, that Chris Evans was cast as Captain America, and Hugo Weaving as the Red Skull.
ReplyDelete