Captain America

was the obvious choice for an end-of-beach Saturday evening movie, so last night we checked it out. After two weeks of doing almost nothing, you don't want a serious film that aims to illuminate the human condition. No, you want action-packed fun.

Captain America delivered both the action and the fun. I very much liked it.

Director Joe Johnston wisely kept both the look and the story focused squarely on the original, 1940s, Nazi-fighting Cap, so we could always cheer unreservedly for the good guys and equally unreservedly boo the bad ones. The movie covered a great deal of ground in its two hours and five minutes, but at no point would anyone, even those completely unfamiliar with the source comic books (as several in our group were), be likely to get confused about what was happening. Each small action or relationship-building sequence stood well on its own, and the collection formed a coherent and fast-paced whole.

The lead actors all chewed just the right amount of scenery, with Chris Evans, as Captain America, to my surprise delivering the most nuanced performance.

Definitely stay all the way to the end of the credits on this one, because the sneak peek at Joss Whedon's summer 2012 blockbuster, The Avengers, is well worth watching.

I very much recommend Captain America to anyone who wants an action-packed good time.