Trailer Breakdown: Captain America

Here we go then…a pair of steel doors swing open to give us our first look at Chris Evans as Steve Rogers. And my, doesn’t he look scrawny? It’s all thanks to some nifty CGI trickery mind…that weedy frame won’t be sticking around for long.

Meanwhile, Stanley Tucci begins his voiceover as scientist Abraham Erskine, gravely warning Rogers that, “whatever happens…stay who you are.” Sounds as though life is about to take a get a little bumpy for our underweight hero…

Cap Fact: Poor old Steve looks a little peaky, but then, sickliness runs in the family. His old man died when he was just a child and his mum went the same way a few years later, bowing out to a chronic case of pneumonia.

Are you sitting comfortably Steve? No, it doesn’t look like it either. Still, nobody will be kicking sand in his face for too much longer, as Rogers is about to be administered with a healthy dose of the Super-Soldier serum.

Note how he’s doing his level best to ignore the nurse’s prominent cleavage. That’s proper military discipline for you.

Cap Fact: In the comics, Rogers is turned away by army recruitment officers for being in poor physical condition. However, in the film, he is already a fully paid-up member of Uncle Sam’s ranks when he undergoes the Super-Soldier treatment.

Here’s a first glimpse of Stanley Tucci’s Erskine, still giving it the old “with great power comes great responsibility” routine. “Remember you’re not just a soldier, but a good man,” is what he’s actually saying.

Rogers listens intently, but you can tell he’s already daydreaming about his new six-pack. And who can blame him?

Cap Fact: Erskine is the creator of the Super-Soldier serum, although he more frequently goes by his codename Joseph Reinstein. He’s a secret agent you see.

As Rogers screams and hollers his way through the transformation process, Colonel Chester Phillips (Tommy Lee Jones) looks on impassively. Note the way the rest of the onlookers are flinching…they’re not real men like Chester.

Meanwhile, the process seems to have fused a fair bit of the techno-kit in the laboratory, with sparks flying left right and centre…has it been a success?

Cap Fact: The Colonel is a bit more forward-thinking than your average military man. Looking past Rogers’ physical deficiencies, Phillips hand-picked him as a test subject for Project Rebirth, noting his patriotism as above and beyond the norm. How right he was…

Wow. If that’s how you look after a dose of the serum, sign us up right away. The spotty oik who stepped into the machine has been replace by a buffed, chiselled fighting machine.

“How do you feel?” asks Peggy Carter (London-born actress Hayley Atwell). “Taller” quips Rogers. Oooooh yeah, we’re firmly in super hero mode now!

Cap Fact: Carter might be the love interest, but as a WW2 freedom fighter she’s not afraid to kick a bit of arse herself. As Hayley Atwell says, “she can do everything Captain America can do, but backwards and in high heels.”

Newly bulked up, Rogers is thrown in at the deep end, heading up a group of US troops known as the Howling Commandos as they engage some bad guys in a nice, loud shoot-out.

That’s right, Steve Rogers is now firmly ensconced in his Captain America regalia, and he’s out to lay a patriotic beatdown on anyone who gets in his way. That shield packs a serious punch…

Cap Fact: The film will see the Cap taking on those seminal boo-hiss merchants, the Nazis, just as he did in the first comic. That issue’s cover image pictured our hero planting a sweet right-hook on the Fuhrer’s jaw and went on to sell nearly a million copies!

This first action sequence comes to a satisfying close with a slow-motion shot of the Cap hurtling himself through the air amid a hail of enemy gunfire. And whilst it’s difficult to draw any firm conclusions from such a break-neck sequence of visuals, it certainly seems as though the combat scenes are going to be suitably meaty and visceral.

Plus, we have to say, Chris Evans really does look the part in the suit, which has a pleasingly retro feel to it. As comic-book characters go, this one looks like a pretty faithful recreation.

Cap Fact: The seminal Captain America outfit has stayed broadly the same since its first outing, although the shield is crucially different. The original was a far more pointy affair, which didn’t look half as good as its circular replacement.

Captain America is in the midst of another scrap, this time with added explodiness as shotguns go off and assorted heavy weaponry makes mincemeat of the surrounding terrain. A quick look at the logo sported by his enemies, confirms that these are HYDRA troops, a pesky bunch of Nazi-affiliated terrorists. Yikes.

We also get our first look at one of the character’s more distinctive features…he’s holding a gun! How many other superheroes allow themselves to fall back on a good old-fashioned firearm? Not enough in our opinion…

Cap Fact: In the comics, Cap is given an upgraded version of his shield made from an indestructible alloy of steel and vibranium. It proves so devastating that he soon disposes of his firearm. Will the movie version go the same way?

This dusty scene shows the Captain wearing some bog-standard army fatigues above his outfit, serving as a welcome reminder that he is primarily a super-soldier, rather than a super-hero.

Shelly Johnson’s cinematography is looking pretty sharp here, and it’s another scene that contributes to the generally epic feel of things. We’re getting excited now…

Cap Fact: Repulsed by the Nazis and feeling that US intervention was a necessity, creators Joe Simon and Jack Kirby claimed to have written the character in response to America’s anti-war lobby. “The opponents to the war were all quite well organized,” said Simon. “We wanted to have our say too.”

Crikey, looks like HYDRA have got a few techno-tricks in their locker too, as Cap goes face to face with a pair of heavily armoured flame-throwing types. Look at them! They’ve got him penned in!

Let’s just hope that shield is as fire-resistant as it is bullet-proof…

Cap Fact: The HYDRA organisation are the arch-nemeses of the decidedly more heroic SHIELD outfit. That’ll be where Sam Jackson’s Nick Fury comes into play then...

It’s the moment everyone’s been waiting for as Hugo Weaving’s Red Skull unmasks, and looks pretty darn impressive, not to mention creepy. Blink and you’ll miss it mind…

We have to say, we’re mightily relieved to see the Red Skull looking so convincing, as there was a fairly high chance he could have been thoroughly naff. Bravo!

Cap Fact: In the comics, the Red Skull’s horrific visage was actually a mask designed to strike fear into the enemies of the Third Reich. However, in the trailer, he appears to be peeling off a mask to reveal the Red Skull. Is it a mask over the mask? Or has this Red Skull fallen prey to some sort of mutation?

Finally, there’s a suitably feisty exchange between Peggy and Steve to round things off. “What do you think?” asks Rogers brandishing his new shield. “I think it works,” responds Peggy, having suddenly unloaded a round of ammo into it. She’s a live one, isn’t she?

All in all, a fairly breathless thirty seconds, but one that’s got us suitably excited to see more of the Sentinel Of Liberty in all his glory. Will it be a pretender to The Dark Knight ’s crown? We’ll find out come 29 July.

Cap Fact: In the comics the shield is presented to Rogers by Franklin D. Roosevelt. Whether he will crop up in the film remains to be seen…