Captain America Movies Should Have Stayed in the Past

I have a pair of contradictory opinions for you.

And theres that darn unpopular opinion.

To be fair,Captain America: The First Avengeropened in a different time.

Its a conflict that has become enshrined in the American identity and our countrys own self-mythologizing.

This is the Greatest Generation, and Captain America exemplifies those qualities.

Consequently, the picture is incredibly uneven and squanders all the potential of its premise.

At the start,Captain America: The First Avengeris a highly romantic vision of 1940s America.

It plays better at Radio City Music Hall than to the actual boys on the frontline, of course.

The story of Captain America would have benefitted from several movies set during the Second World War.

But that is the tradeoff that comes with valuing franchise brand synergy over individual stories.

Cap doesnt ever really see a battlefield and he also never fought Nazis except in USO pantomime.

Despite being German villains, the bad guys ofThe First Avengerare the more cartoonish HYDRA.

Even so, it didnt shy away from its setting.

Tellingly, recent accounts suggest that Jenkins and Gadots upcomingWonder Womansequel will also avoid a modern era setting.

Sometimes, good business can allow for good creative decisions too.

Its a shame when those things are treated as mutually exclusive in this genre.

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