Truly Dreadful Film

Highly Overrated But Still Good

A lot of fun.

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

Way back in 1979 when I was a kid, I watched part of this movie when it was originally broadcast on television. Although I was quite young and didn't have a lot of knowledge of comic books, all the same I confidently said to myself, "This is not Captain America!" Just now I finished rewatching this movie, and having learned a lot more about the comic book character Captain America in the years that have past, I see that this movie is even less faithful to the comic book character than I originally thought as a kid. Despite Stan Lee being listed as a consultant in the closing credits, everything you know about Captain America is thrown out the window and the movie comes with its own origin story. Captain America rides a motorcycle! Captain America has a plastic shield! You have to wonder why the producers of the movie bothered to get the rights to the character if they decided to ignore practically everything established about the character.Well, maybe the movie could still have worked despite betraying the origins of the title character. But it fails in every way you can think of. It looks really cheap, the dialogue is simplistic, the story is lame-brained, and the action (what little there is) is totally drained out of any possible excitement.The only possible reason to see this movie is if you want to see that the 1990 Albert Pyun directed movie adaptation of Captain America is not as terrible as you might think it to be.

The pacing, fight scenes, and vehicular chases of this Made-For-TV-Movie/Pilot Film are classic examples of the style, production values and technology used by commercial TV of the 1970's. One who is not familiar with CHIPs, Dukes of Hazard, or Starsky and Hutch and their ilk is not in a position to fairly evaluate the quality of this opus.Having said that, however, I must admit this film makes the Bill Bixby 'Incredible Hulk' TV-movie look like Citizen Kane by comparison.We might as well hit the flaws first: Stolen elements from the 6 Million Dollar Man, especially usage of a goofy sound effect every time Our Hero uses his super strength.Our Hero seems only able to change into his Capt. America suit by means of getting into his van, mounting his cycle, and shooting out the back doors in a burst of smoke. Potentially an enjoyable gimmick, this would soon prove awkward over time.Our Hero's costume leaves a lot to be desired. The whole thing about wearing his motorcycle helmet when he is off the bike seems pretty awkward. And the suit he wears during the main action of the film is needlessly changed from the original, as though the Village People had redesigned Cap's suit.Now the biggest problem. Reb Brown, although likable and certainly muscular, has to be among the worst actors to be ever seriously considered as the star of a weekly TV series. Inexperienced thespians with dreams of glory should view this film so as to see just how hard the untalented and untrained can struggle in order to deliver the simplest and most basic of lines. (Amazingly, a 2nd pilot film was made after this, and Reb Brown's performance improved to the point where it was almost possible to imagine him being at some future date somehow employed somewhere in the television industry.) Now let us move onto the more favorable aspects. A lot of people have problems with the fact the producers created a new back story for Cap, but I could accept that as this back story was interesting and could, perhaps, have been mined later on for dramatic material.The supporting cast is good here, and the idea of Cap working with some scientist/intelligence types had lots of story potential and is similar to the way Cap in the comics works for a super spy organization called SHIELD.I especially enjoyed the smoking-hot Heather Menzies, who wears a nice bathing suit in one scene. She played one of the Von Trapp kids in 'Sound of Music'...in an interesting coincidence, Nicholas Hammond, who played Spider-Man on TV around this time, had also played a Von Trapp kid...funny, that.Overall and despite its shortcomings, this film can be a pleasurable nostalgia trip for those of us who grew up in the 1970's and still love that kind of cheese, and I think kids will also enjoy this. There are vehicular chases and crashes, espionage, fights, a cool super motorcycle, and some superheroic type action...the kinds of things one might need to see on his TV on a certain kind of day, the kind of spiritual comfort food one sometimes needs in these days where everybody takes superheroes way, way too seriously.

Stan Lee, shame on you! This is the true origin of the Cap!Reb Brown..I've previously judged you solely by Space Mutiny, but I began to see the light of realization that he's done other movies providing amusement and entertainment. Unfortunately, Captain America comes up short in that department, but the whole 70s made for TV look gives it charm in a B grade good kind of way.On the plus side, Reb plays Steve Rogers as a laid back, good hearted guy from Cali. Add hilarity points for the very haphazard process for how Steve becomes his alter ego. Sheesh, the guy is an artist who loves to drive up and down the coast. Look at the can of worms you've opened up you baddies! The first half involves Steve reasoning (a lot) with Simon and dealing with a bizarre twist of events. The second half includes semi-action scenes including the testing of Cap's new toys and finally taking a stand against these bullies who've been giving Steve trouble from the get go.Ignoring the fact that this was a pilot for a canceled series, and if it's not taken too seriously, this is an enjoyable romp where sides of beef and oil slicks have never been deadlier. Come to think of it, if Reb wasn't in this one, then you really would have yourself a real stinker. Thankfully, there's a second helping of Captain America goodness in 'Death Too Soon'.

I basically went into this movie thinking, "Ooof. This is going to be really bad." I felt that way mainly because of the motorcycle helmet Captain America wears, although the rest of the suit seems pretty faithful.It looks like this movie did what the Hulk series did: Change the story of the comic to fit the parameters of a television budget. And for the most part, it did this very well.It's hinted that the Captain America from the comics is basically the father of the star of this film. Although this sounds like a very cheesy and very bad idea, the actors and the dialogue convey this point in a believable and credible fashion. So this is definitely one of the film's strong points.The story involves the death of a friend and the detonation of an atomic bomb, but those are more like entertaining plot devices since I found the story to be mostly an origin story, showing how Steve Rogers is slowly led to his destiny to become Captain America. The film wisely focuses on this and the interaction of the actors, and this is where the film's strength lies.Reb Brown is a good Captain America, but for me, I found it a pleasure to watch Len Birman as Simon Mills, the government official who assists Captain America. To my knowledge, this Simon Mills character does not exist in the comics, (though I can't be sure since I never really read the Capt. America comics), but I really enjoyed watching Len Birman's sincere performance. He was the most interesting character in the movie, and he could be the reason I enjoyed the film so much.The first 15 minutes of the movie are kinda laughable. You might find yourself wondering why you're watching this, but I think it will reward the patient (and forgiving) viewer. You'll have to wait for a few minutes before the movie settles into its own.It's not as good as the Hulk pilot, but it's in the same mold. Or if you've seen the live-action Spiderman TV series, you get more of an idea of what to expect.Worth a look for comic fans.