 |
| VINTAGE |
Now-a-days comic book movies have
become the saving grace of the summer blockbuster season. What were once
exorcises in a maligned art form are now the most highly anticipated events of
the year. So for the next few weeks we're going to take a look at comic book
films from back in the day. When they were still paying their dues. When all
the answers to every problem wasn't an army of digital effects artists and
programmers. All aboard the “Action Movie Time Machine”. It's time to visit the
first
The year is 1979. A nuclear power
plant known as Three Mile Island, had a near melt-down. Robert Duvall loves the
smell of napalm in the morning". Young men and women with radical hairdos
mourn the death of punk legend Sid Vicious. All this and Reb Brown throws his
shield as “Captain America”.
THE SKINNY
It all begins with Steven Rogers, Reb
Brown, who has just returned home for a long stint with the Marines, from
which he has been discharged. His plan now is to see America, as he drifts from
town to town in his killer '70s pussy-mobile. Complete with seagull “van art”.
With his military career behind him, Steve plans to get along by selling his
paintings... Not the Captain American you remember from the comics?
This is all fine and well until he
receives some distressing news from Jeff, an old friend who asks Steve to meet
with him. As Steve makes his way to meet Jeff's home, a group of teamsters
attempt to kill Steve by creating an oil
slick on the cliff side road Steve is traveling on. Steve loses control and
slides off the edge of the cliff. Miraculously, Steve emerges unscathed and
doesn't seem to be alarmed in any way.
This oil slick scene consists of
Steve trying to regain control of his van for over thirty seconds. It doesn't
sound like much, but believe me, it's classic '70s goofy. Aside from it being
goofy, this scene stands out because one talented madman had to operate the
van, sliding on the edge of a cliff, as they filmed the scene. Bravo!
Eventually Steve arrives, only to
find Jeff murdered. He meets with Simon Wells, a scientist who once worked with
Steve's father conducting secret experiments and carrying out highly classified
projects for the United States government. Simon suggests that perhaps Jeff's
death and the attack on Steve could be connected. Someone must be trying to get
their hands on Jeff's data concerning the Neutron Bomb which he has been
building. And Steve was attacked because...his father, who is now dead,
did...umm...stuff..?
Steve's father was developing a
special steroid to boost the average man's strength and endurance. This
synthetic steroid is called the “F.L.A.G. Serum”. Simon now wants Steve to
follow in his fathers footsteps by taking the FLAG Serum and using his
increased strength to help protect the Neutron Bomb.
This is around the time our story
develops in two ways;
The first being a terrorist crime
boss plot to build a Neutron Bomb and
detonate it in the metropolitan area of Phoenix, Az. The bomb will kill
everyone within so many miles, but leave everything else untouched. With
everyone dead, his men will be able to walk right in and steal the city blind.
The second is Steve wrestling with
the temptation of his newly found freedom and instead taking on the
responsibility of becoming a super soldier and fighting off terrorists. What
helps Steve make up his mind is several more attacks on his life by hired
goons. One of which is almost fatal. Steve's life is saved when Simon injects
the FLAG Serum into Steve while he is unconscious. The serum works and Steve
recovers almost overnight.
With Steve now on board, Simon has a
red, white and blue costume designed to conceal Steve's identity while he's
fighting for America. This new outfit comes with a Plexiglas shield, a
refurbished van complete with high-tech doo-dads and a patriotically painted
motorbike.
With the Neutron Bomb now complete,
Steve races to intercept it in transport. Once he does, Simon meets Steve to
disarm the bomb before it blows...which he does... The End.
THE VERDICT
Before I share my thought on
“Captain America”, I would like to cover a little bit of Marvel movie history.
This is the second time Captain
America was portrait in any live-action incarnation. The first being a fifteen
part serial starring Dick Purcell, from 1944. It was a poor adaptation of the
then Timely Comics character. Purcell played District Attorney Grant Gardner
who became Captain America to prevent a mad doctor from acquiring equipment to
build super weapons. No super soldier serum equals no Captain America in my opinion.
Now, years later, Marvel had been
trying to take the company in other directions. They were chomping at the bit
the to have more of their characters adapted into film and television. The only
problem was that the technology, at the time, wasn't powerful enough portray
some of the more fantastic super human concepts. The various production teams
that worked on these projects were also often limited by budget. These
shortcomings resulted in either one of two things.
They had to re-imagine certain character
elements, simplifying them to help sell the overall production. Or they tried
to make do with what they had and failed miserably. The Incredible Hulk
television show was a good example of this. Rather than adding ridiculous
prosthetic makeup and costume to Bill Bixby's character (David Banner) to make
him look like the Hulk, they just painted Lou Ferrigno green. They kept it
simple, focused on the characters and it worked.
The same goes for this film. Reb
Brown actually plays the son of Captain America. This way Universal Studios
didn't have to spend the extra money turning the film into a period piece set
in some foreign country so Captain America could punch Hitler in the face. What
doesn't work so much is that his shield and costume are completely re-invented.
He looks nothing like the Steve Rogers/Captain America from the comic book and
comes off pretty goofy. But, after all, it was the '70s. If I'm not upset about
Batman's “Tumbler” not looking like the classic Bat-mobile, or that he has shark
repellent in his helicopter, or that “Bat-nipples” are a thing, I guess I can't
get to excited about a Plexiglas shield and motorcycle helmet.
The REAL problem with “Captain
America” is that it is a '70s made for television movie of the week. And with
that it has hammy acting, poor edits, mediocre special effects, it lacks a
major comic book villain and it drags a bit in the middle. Is it a great film?
No. But it is a pretty fun super hero time capsule.
It aired on CBS long before my time,
but I could imagine being a child back in '79 – sitting in front of the
television, patiently waiting for the movie to start and complaining that the
commercials are taking too long. Mmmm, the sweet smell or nostalgia.
So in conclusion, “Captain America”
isn't for everyone. But for those of you who are comic nerds or if the '70s
were your heyday -- you're going to love it.
I’m Cory Carr and this concludes
another trip on the “Action Movie Time Machine”. Until next time, Semper Fi
Punk!
For more from Cory, check out his
website slaughterfilm.com, where he and his good friend
Forest Taylor record weekly podcasts, reviewing the films that are legendary,
even in Hell!
0 comments:
Post a Comment