SUMMARY: RUNNING TIME: 1 Hr., 37 Min.
Directed by Albert Pyun (and with Menahem Golan among its producers), this 21st Century Film Corporation/Marvel Comics co-production’s release was initially delayed until the summer of 1991.
In 1936 Italy, Tadzio (Massimi) a genius-level child, is forcibly abducted by Nazi forces to serve as its test subject for an experimental process that hideously mutates him. As an adult, he is the insidious super-Nazi, Red Skull (Paulin).
Meanwhile, as of 1943, one repentant Italian geneticist (Cassola) has escaped to the Allies and has provided the same enhanced formula (without the ghastly side effects) to the U.S. military. Their subject is a willing yet frail Steve Rogers (Salinger), who becomes the country’s new secret weapon: Captain America. The geneticist’s subsequent homicide means her scientific secrets have seemingly died with her, leaving Rogers a lone American super-soldier.
In Nazi territory, a failed showdown against the Skull leaves an inexperienced Captain America strapped to a missile programmed to destroy FDR’s White House. Witnessed by a young boy, Rogers’ last-second heroics divert the missile to a safe crash landing in remote Alaska.
While Rogers is left frozen in suspended animation for approximately fifty years, the boy grows up to become the Captain’s biggest fan: U.S. President Tom Kimball (Cox). Sharing Kimball’s secret is his best friend: savvy investigative journalist Sam Kolawetz (Beatty), who is unable to convince the President that the Skull really exists.
Intending to abduct Kimball as a hostage, the Skull and his sinister Italian entourage are stunned by the Captain’s unexpected return. Dodging assassination attempts by the Skull’s daughter (Neri), Rogers retreats to his native Southern California seeking out his trusted girlfriend: the elderly and long-married Bernie (Gillingham). Yet, tragedy follows once the Skull’s forces trace Captain America to Bernie’s family.
With The U.S. President held captive overseas by the Skull, it is up to the Captain and Bernie’s grown daughter (Gillingham) to rescue him from the villain’s seaside fortress. Fittingly, the two recipients of the long-lost Super-Soldier process face off in a last confrontation with the free world’s future at stake.
Steve Rogers / Captain America: Matt Salinger
Red Skull: Scott Paulin
U.S. President Tom Kimball: Ronny Cox
Sam Kolawetz: Ned Beatty
Elderly Bernie/Sharon: Kim Gillingham
Jack: Wayde Preston
General Fleming: Darren McGavin
Valentina de Santis: Francesca Neri
Skull’s Thugs: Donald Standen; Dragana Zigic; Judranka Katusa; Robert Egon; Igor Serdan; & Raffaele Buranelli
Alaskan Surveyor: Norbert Weisser
Newscaster: Jann Carl
1936/1943:
Dr. Maria Vaselli: Carla Cassola
Tadzio de Santis: Massimilio Massimi
Young Tom Kimball: Garette Ratliff Henson
Young Sam Kolawetz: Thomas Beatty
Fleming: Bill Mumy
Bernie: Kim Gillingham
Mrs. Rogers: Melinda Dillon
Lt. Col. Louis: Michael Nouri
Tadzio’s Relatives: Mustafa Nadarevic; Bernarda Oman; Edita Lipousek; & Ljubica Dujmovic
Kimball’s Parents: Ann Bell & Scott Del Amo
U.S. Army Doctor: Scott Paulin (unrelated cameo)
Notes: This film was Beatty’s return to the genre a decade after Superman: The Movie (1978) and Superman II (1980-1981). Though they do not share scenes in this film, McGavin & Dillon portrayed Ralphie Parker’s parents in 1983’s A Christmas Story. Lastly, through exceedingly rare, different edits of this film apparently exist.
REVIEW:
Is Pyun’s film as inept as it is purported to be? That depends really upon one’s expectations. Given Menahem Golan was responsible for producing 1987’s Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, ending up with an underpowered schlock-fest is hardly a shocker. Case in point: unnecessarily spelling out years repeatedly and such obvious locales (i.e., Washington, D.C.) from the get-go is an ominous sign to viewers that Captain America will be plagued by amateur hour theatrics.
More so, if compared head-to-head to DC Comics’ 1989 Michael Keaton/Jack Nicholson-headlining Batman and its mega-million resources, this modestly-budgeted, straight-to-video Captain America is invariably chump change. Pendulum-wise, though, one should consider this production’s good intentions — especially, as it is the only Marvel film depicting Captain America’s familiar star-spangled costume from the comics.
Note: For a more ‘realistic’ soldier-like look, Chris Evans’ MCU incarnation wears a costume resembling Captain America’s alternate-reality Ultimates counterpart.
The credibility accompanying such an asset, however, is sabotaged by an ultra-hokey script (which somehow construes pre-war Italy as Nazi Germany) and predictably cheesy special effects. As a result, too many terrific actors (Cox, Beatty, McGavin, Nouri, & Dillon) are squandered when paired with castmates with significantly less talent. Putting forth a classy effort, Cox work the hardest to anchor the film with reliable acting. Battling a preposterous script, he doesn’t get nearly enough help.
More specifically, the trio of Salinger, Gillingham, and Paulin mostly underwhelm in their roles. Gillingham, to her credit, affects the challenge of playing essentially three roles: Bernie, an elderly Bernie, and her daughter, Sharon. In this regard, she readily surpasses the one-dimensional Salinger, who at least resembles his character. As for Paulin, he presents a generic baddie whose nonsensical backstory does not improve with the Skull’s present-day villainy.
Despite decent production values, this film’s unmistakable mediocrity is reminiscent of a previous box office flop: 1981’s The Legend of the Lone Ranger (starring Klinton Spilsbury). Case in point: Salinger and the similarly unknown Spilsbury both fall far short of replicating Christopher Reeve’s instant big-screen stardom by channeling an iconic super-hero.
Even retaining Salinger as its lead, Captain America’s rudimentary script still could have been salvaged by a screenwriter (i.e., Tom Mankiewicz or Lorenzo Semple Jr.), with a reliable handle on adapting comic book source material for moviegoers. The bottom line is: no matter its considerable faults, Captain America tries harder to put on a good show than either 1997’s wildly misguided Batman & Robin or 2003’s Hulk.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 3½ Stars
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