Laura's screening with Laura Weaser

Review: The First Avenger: Captain America 3D (Te Puke Capitol Cinema)

Home of the free and the land of the…fake tan?

Hello, My name's Laura and I am a comic book-a-holic. Since it was announced four years ago with the first Iron Man that Marvel/ Paramount Studios would be doing a The Avengers movie – tying in Iron Man, The Hulk, Thor and Captain America – I have been annoying fellow movie goers with my squeals of excitement through the movies.

Captain America was no different. Following the Marvel hero comic book formula, the camp looking comic book hero was lifted off the pages and brought to life in a whole new way. As the cinema went black and the Marvel logo came up, I was grabbing the arm of my flatmate going ‘oooo it's starting' (yes, I am that lame).

And like Thor and Iron Man before, Captain America didn't disappoint. Set on the backdrop of World War Two, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is a little guy with a big heart. Turned away again and again from recruitment, he is determined to lay down his life for his country. When a military scientist (Stanley Tucci) hears of his courage and determination, he gives him the opportunity to be a new ‘super solider' using a serum.

And what do you think happens? He becomes Captain America and all around good guy, fighting against Nazi leader Johann Schmidt (Hugo Weaving).

The movie did feel a little long, but to be honest there was a lot of get-through. The movie spans across Steve's beginnings to his development as Captain America through to taking on the whole German army. What I like about this new series of Avenger movies is realism. Sure, the film was littered with cheese (he is called Captain America after all) and a touch of the supernatural ridiculous (it is based on a comic book where anything is possible) but Steve's character development is believable. He didn't just don those tights and become a different person.

Chris Evans is really leading the way on this one, but is flanked by some great side characters. Cap's lady love Peggy Carter (Haley Atwell) is witty and sharp, and as the only female officer in the entire film it was inevitable these two would hook up. Meanwhile, Tommy Lee Jones' hard-arsed Colonel only pops up a few times, but he's a little bit of Men in Black with No Country for Old Men as you would only expect.

Slow motion fighting through mud, explosions and a flying shield were lifted off the screen clearly with 3D, adding an extra dimension (literally) to every battle.

Littered with references to previous Avenger's films (Iron Man's dad is a key character in the film), uber-fans like me will also make their friends wait for the 30 seconds of footage at the end which serves as the first teaser trailer for The Avengers (out next May).

American propaganda paves the way for this film, with a whole lot of red white and blue, but you can't help feeling like they are taking the piss (considering America wasn't part of World War Two at the start of it), but that said, Captain America is a great action film – packed with a good heart.