Captain America: The First Avenger - SPOILER ALERT

Captain America: The First Avenger was a journey through time that surprised me.

When I watched this movie last year, I wasn't really into it too much. The story line did not hold my attention. That may have something to do with the fact that I never did like studying history in school. It seemed irrelevant and was boring to me. I preferred hands-on learning, and history was never taught to me that way. Even in elementary school, I remember it just being a bunch of facts I had to memorize. I loved elementary school overall, but not Social Studies class. Blah. I think that early experience is primarily what turned me off from this movie right from the beginning. Being set mostly in the early 1940's, it has a "history" feel to it, a feeling that was always uncomfortable and not very enlightening to me as a child. My early aversion to this movie probably also had something to do with the fact that I had just finished watching all eight Star Wars episodes that had been released up to that point. I thought Star Wars was epic, so The First Avenger had a lot to live up to in my world. I watched it a second time not long after the first time and had a similar experience. Nothing special.

Fast forward to this year and I now have a sudden interest in seeing ALL Marvel movies since Iron Man. I can't pinpoint what sparked this sudden interest (obsession? passion?); I just know it's there and I have to follow through. Thus began my education as a student of the MCU.

I was advised to watch the MCU movies in order of release. ***GASP!*** I had already messed this up because I had already watched a few of the movies out of order. Oh, well. I just started over, in the recommended order of release this time. I've been using a cheat sheet, thanks to a dear friend.

Recently, it finally came time to either re-watch Captain America: The First Avenger or skip it since I watched it twice already and wasn't really into it either time. I decided to watch it again, figuring since I was watching the Marvel movies in order of release now, I'd probably have a different perspective on it this time and maybe pick up on things I didn't the first and second times.

The main thing I understood better watching it the third time around was exactly who Mr. Stark was. When I watched The First Avenger the first and second times, Mr. Stark was just...well...Mr. Stark. However, when I watched it the third time around, it was more like, "Oh! That's THE Mr. Stark!" Nothing critical to understanding the movie overall, but still an interesting connection.

Watching The First Avenger the third time around, I also had more background knowledge about the infamous Tesseract. Thor and Iron Man 1 are my two favorite Marvel movies so far, so the connections to those two movies greatly enhanced my viewing experience of The First Avenger. The third time around, I also had a friend explain who some of the characters were, as I kept losing track.

While I felt I had a complete understanding after the third time, I decided to watch it a fourth and final (for now) time. That way, I could put all the pieces of the puzzle together and simply enjoy the movie with all of my newfound knowledge. I'm glad I did because the fourth time was the best experience I had watching the movie and I now understand all of it as a whole.

Being a fan of Winnie the Pooh (you HAVE to be wondering where I'm going with this...), I couldn't help noticing a semi, perhaps unintentional, Poohism quoted by Colonel Chester Phillip. In the steak scene where he's trying to get information from Dr. Arnim Zola, he asks, "How about cyanide? Does that give you a rumbly tummy?" In Pooh's world, that would actually be "a rumbly in your tumbly". Just so you know.

Captain America: The First Avenger is not at the top of my list for Marvel movies. It's my second to least favorite (with The Incredible Hulk being my least favorite), but it's still a good quality movie that I now like more than I ever thought I would. It was a journey worth taking. The First Avenger lacked the humor that I came to love so much in Iron Man and Thor, but that does not mean it isn't a good film. That's a matter of taste. Plus, I'm not sure Iron Man and Thor humor would have worked well in The First Avenger. Each avenger has their own personality and Cap just happens to be a little bit more serious. The cast is solid, though, and it does have several moments of emotion that made me feel something. That's one way I know a movie is good. Captain America is a good guy (obviously). He is courageous, compassionate, and isn't out to just hurt people. He doesn't like bullies of any kind and sincerely wants to do something about it. I respect that.