Captain America Speed Art and Film Ranking
Hey Jack! I'm back and with me another Speed-Art. This one is of Captain America from The First Avenger, wearing his USO Uniform. I just last week put out the Captain America Evolution and you guys seemed to like it and I was actually smart enough to record myself starting a model from sketch to final character. If you haven't seen the animation feel free to check it out with the link in the description to the main channel, I think it turned out really nice, but there was a render error that I wished I caught before uploading, but eh, what can you do? So I wanted to originally put out something every other week on this channel, but it's looking like monthly uploads for now, but I am starting a podcast with my friends where we'll be sketching together, so once that is done I'll post it on here and see how you guys like it. But enough yippity-yap let's get down and dirty and start ranking the man in blues movies, now my ranking of his MCU films may be a little controversial, but that's okay, I'd love to know what you think down below, so feel free to leave your ranking in the comments and let's talk.
8. 3 Dev Adam (1973)
And in last place we have Turkish bootleg 3 Dev Adam. So maybe this is cheating a bit because it isn't technically even a properly licensed film, but this Turkish rip-off is just awful from the start. I'm not even sure why I watched the whole thing, it basically starts with crime-boss Spider-Man straight up murdering some girl, and then Captain America and Santo are called in to find and track him down. But the footage is so shaky during the action scenes that you can barely follow along with what is happening, and the plot, even with subtitles, is complete non-sense. All in all, do not watch this film, unless you want to make fun of it, which could be an option for any of these pre-MCU Cap films.
7. Captain America (1979)
So speaking of movies to make fun of, next on the list is the first TV movie from 1979, Captain America. Most of the movie is spent with this beach bum who just likes to chill and travel, but apparently his father used to be Captain America in the 1940s, so they want to use his fathers serum to make him Captain America. But for about two/thirds of this movie he keeps turning them down, until he gets into a car accident and they unwillingly give him the serum, then he's like oh okay I'm Captain America now. The costuming was also hugely inspired by daredevil Evil Knievel, who was a motorcycle stuntman at the time, so that's why the costume looks so awful. But they do give him a slightly better suit near the end of the film, which would also carry over into the sequel. But all in all, the plot is super rushed and undeveloped after he become Captain America, so this is certainly a skip it and miss it kind of film.
6. Captain America (1990)
And now, what many consider to be the worst Captain America film, Captain America from 1990. And while I agree it's pretty nonsensical, at least he become Captain America pretty quickly and stays that way for most of the film. Unfortunately he doesn't really feel all that heroic, and since the first part of the film is spent in the 1940s then the rest is spent in the modern day, the plot feels like it's two films mashed together, and the first part would have probably been more interesting, and funnily enough it's basically the plot of the MCU's first Captain America movie. But after he gets unfrozen the story hits a snooze and I'm still barely awake after watching it. So yeah, another skip it movie.
5. Captain America (1944 Serial)
And coming in at number 5 is the 1944 serial, Captain America, and yeah I realize that 3 films in as a row are named Captain America, but titles could be simpler back then, they didn't have to worry about Google SEO and searching for films. But anyway, yes I sat through this whole 3 hour long black and white serial, and while it's a little bit repetitive, I think of all the serials I have watched – so basically the two Batman ones and this – this one is actually the most entertaining. The villain is super cheesy, Captain America looks awful and out of shape, and the acting is sub-par at best, but I think a lot of that adds up to is at least a watchable film in one way or another. But I wouldn't suggest watching this outright, maybe in the background while you're working or playing games, otherwise you will get bored.
4. Captain America 2: Death Too Soon (1979)
So coming in a number 4 is the sequel to the 1979 TV movie, Captain America 2: Death Too Soon. Now this one fixes a lot of the issues I had with the first TV movie. To start with he's Captain America from the start, so no dragging the plot out with the will he, won't he storyline. Second it uses the more accurate costume, while it's still a motorcyclist outfit, at least it's a little less ugly looking and looks a little more like the comics. And third and most importantly, it adds Christopher Lee as the main villain. That's right, Count Dracula, Darth Tyranus, and Saruman himself, and whenever he's on screen I just light up because no matter how awful something is he adds an air of dignity to it and makes it easy to watch. So I'd say skip the first one, and skip all the other films before on this list and just watch this one, it's cheesy fun and if you have a couple of friends around to make fun of it all the better. Also fun fact, this and the original TV movie were made to be pilots to a possible TV series, sort of like how Hulk got picked up after it's initial two pilots, but the Captain America pilots didn't do well enough critically or ratings wise to launch a series.
3. Captain America: Civil War (2016)
Okay now we come to the top three, and probably the only films that most of you have seen from this list. And I just want to say that from here on out these are actually good films, in fact I may call them great films. But I think my ordering of them may be surprising to some of you, but just know that I like them all. So coming in at number three is Captain America: Civil War. While I think this is a solid entry in the MCU, it just doesn't feel quite as grand as I feel it wanted to be. While the Airport fight is fun, some of the cinematography and colour-grading make it feel a little toned down. Plus I knew that basically none of the characters could die at this point in the story so the stakes felt a little low. But I do think that Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. Bring their A-games and really sell the emotions about what their fighting for, and in the end that's truly the crux of the movie and with that it lands very well.
2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
Alright, so coming in at number 2 is Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Now this one for the longest time was actually at the top of my list, but after watching it again it went down a little bit in my ranking. While I think the action plays out very well, the hand to hand combat is at it's best in the MCU, particularly the elevator scene is a classic, and I feel like it must have been inspired by the Die Hard 3 scene, but I don't know. But it has some of the same issues as Civil War for me, washed out colours and sometimes bland cinematography, but it works a bit better for this film as it's on a smaller scale and doesn't include an all out battle between the Avengers. I also prefer it because Cap gets more screen time, all though some of it is shared with Black Widow and Nick Fury.
1. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
And coming in at number 1 is a movie I thought was boring when I first saw it nearly a decade ago, but has since slowly ranked higher and higher on my list for Caps solo movies, and that of course is Captain America The First Avenger. It's really the only solo movie that puts Cap front and centre and makes the story 100% percent about him and without sharing screen-time with other Avengers, which allows us to get to know Steve Rogers and learn what makes him tick and how he functions within this world. And some people may say he's a little boring as he's a hero without a dark or brooding side, but I think that helps to differentiate him from some of the other Superheroes of the time. I also think that the emotional final scene really defined Captain America in the MCU from then on out, helping us to care very much for his Arc over the whole film series.
So what do you think of my list, is it awful? Do you disagree? Leave your own ranking down below. And I'm thinking about maybe doing a live-stream on here at some point where I can draw and talk movies and stuff with you guys, so let me know if you would be interested in that.