Directed by Joe Johnston. Starring Chris Evans, Tommy Lee Jones, Hugo Weaving, Hayley Atwell, Sebastian Stan, StanleyTucci.

Twenty-one years after his last appearance on the big screen Captain America makes a glorious return in this, dare I say it, epic retelling of his story. When I first heard there was going to be a Captain America movie after the Iron Man, The Hulk and Thor films, I was disappointed. Why on earth would anybody want to watch a movie about a guy who’s basically the Marvel equivalent of Superman but with none of his awesome powers like the flying, the heat vision, the x-ray vision, bullet proof and the arctic breath?

There are plenty of other viable candidates like Deadpool (guess we have to wait till 2014 for that), Ares (one of the best origin stories ever, and The God of War is a lot cooler than the God of Thunder), Cabel, etc. Heck, even a live action Howard the Duck movie would seem to be a better choice. But, Marvel Studios has done it again. The movie surpassed my expectations.

The links to Thor aren’t major and you won’t miss out on much if you haven’t seen the God of Thunder’s big screen debut (Odin and Yggdrasil are mentioned but only in passing). The story sticks quite close to the comic books. It manages to convey the feel of the 1940s. Retro seams to be in with superheroes these days, what with X-Men: First Class also giving us a look back in to history with a supernatural twist. The overall feel is like that bit in Sucker Punch where the girls fight the Clockwork Steampunk Nazi Zombies but minus the drool quotient).

Fans of the Marvel universe will love the references connected to the comics like Vibranium (the metal for Cap’s shield), the evil Hydra and the appearance of the Cosmic Cube (that was in the bonus scene at the end of Thor). The one thing that I missed seeing was Iron Man and Thor discovering Cap like they did in the comics. If you hate the idea of a Captain America movie, don’t worry he grows on you. He’s like that annoying little mole you find on your body that eventually turns out to be a beauty spot. (Marilyn Monroe reference). I love how they tease you by not revealing the Red Skull (Weaving) until he finally fights Cap for the first time.

The 3-D in the film is alright, but then it is just digital and not the real thing. But the CGI that shows Evans as a scrawny young soldier-wannabe is awesome. They used some sorta body shrinking technology so that’s really his torso.

Chris Evans does an amazing job of bringing Cap to life. Hugo Weaving (Agent Smith from The Matrix) as the Red Skull is just pure genius! Then we have Tommy Lee Jones who plays Chester Phillips, which is just like every other character Mr. Jones has played and reminds me a lot of Kay from M.I.B. He even pushes the ‘button’! Dominic Cooper, who plays Howard Stark (Iron Man’s dad), is suitably eccentric.

Captain America has managed to make the journey to the big screen and has emerged a shining beacon of hope. In spite of the fact that Cap also has the power to be lame, corny and inspiring with a touch of hmm… that’s kinda cool.

<Our reviewer Daylynn DeSouza loves comic books, superheroes and sometimes we think he loves being heartbroken. Catch him performing at Improv Comedy Nights at The Comedy Store, Palladium, Mumbai>