Captain America

Captain America: The First Avenger

Chris Evans stars as Steve Rogers, a weakling who participates in a government experiment that transforms him into super soldier Captain America. Armed with his newfound powers, he fights on behalf of the US Army to stop German forces — all while finding the time to romance soldier Peggy Carter (Haley Atwell). The film has all the perks of a superhero movie, like intense fight and chase scenes, plus a relatable story about an underdog that's touching without being sappy. DVD extras include deleted scenes and featurettes, including a behind-the-scenes look at Chris Evans's transformation into a superhero.

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Father of Invention

After serving a prison sentence for selling an exercise product that caused bodily harm, inventor and infomercial personality Robert Axle (Kevin Spacey) finds his once foolproof pitches are out of step with the latest technology. He struggles to rebuild his fortune hawking his latest product, all while trying to reconnect with his ex-wife Lorraine (Virginia Madsen) and daughter Claire (Camilla Belle). While Spacey gives a good performance, the movie misses a lot of comedic opportunities. The DVD includes a behind-the-scenes featurette about the making of the film.

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Rise of the Planet of the Apes breathed new life into the franchise as the film drew in $54 million in its opening weekend and taking first place at the box office. The Smurfs took a distant second with $21 million, followed by Cowboys & Aliens, which earned $15.7 million in its sophomore weekend. The Change-Up saw a disappointing debut of $13.5 million, which isn't a particularly strong showing compared to other comedies that bowed this Summer. Captain America: The First Avenger added $13 million to its box office run, which put it in fifth.

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Fox

In the box office showdown between Cowboys & Aliens and The Smurfs this weekend, neither film emerged a definite winner. Instead, the tiny blue creatures lassoed in as many dollars as their Wild West counterparts, with each film grossing $36.2 million. Captain America: The First Avenger saw a steep 62 percent drop, falling to third place with $24.9 million, followed closely by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, which brought in $21.9 million. Though Potter fell to fourth place it took in another milestone this weekend as it crossed the $1 billion mark worldwide. Newcomer Crazy, Stupid, Love rounded out the top five, bringing in $19.3 million.

Photos courtesy of Universal Pictures and Sony Pictures

Captain America: The First Avenger gave patriotic Americans a reason to rejoice, beating out Harry Potter for the number one spot this weekend. The comic book movie was a definite hero at the box office, bringing in $65.8 million—more than any of Summer's superheroes, like Thor, Green Lantern, and the X-Men in their debuts. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 was somewhat of a fallen hero, dropping from a debut of $168.5 million to $48.1 million (that's a 72 percent decrease for the boy wizard). Friends With Benefits opened with $18.5 million, coming in third, followed by Transformers: Dark of the Moon with $12 million. Horrible Bosses finished fifth with $11.7 million.

Photo courtesy of Paramount

Chris Evans is no stranger to playing characters with superpowers, playing a cocky Johnny Storm in the Fantastic Four franchise, and arrogant Lucas Lee in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, but his turn as the leading man in Captain America: The First Avenger is decidedly more endearing. Set against the backdrop of World War II, where men from all across America are lining up to serve their country, Brooklynite Steve Rogers is rejected from enlisting in the Army again and again due to his tiny stature and long list of physical ailments. Steve has lots of problems: asthma, social anxiety, and a tendency of getting beat down by bullies because he stands up for common decency. Thankfully, these same characteristics are what get him drafted into a secret government project called the Strategic Scientific Reserve run by Dr. Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci), and assisted by the technological genius of Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper) that will turn ordinary humans into super soldiers to fight Hitler's army.

The plot also centers around Johann Schmidt, the leader in Hitler's own scientific project called Hydra, who is tasked with obtaining an artifact called the "jewel of Odin's treasure room," which will undoubtedly give a wartime advantage to the Germans. As it turns out, Johann was actually the failed first test subject for Dr. Erskine's super solder project, and once he learns that the American project has been successful, he gets a giant chip on his shoulder and breaks off from Hitler to turn Hydra into an army dedicated to destroying the world with the power of the gods he now possesses.

To see why I think Captain America could be one of the best superhero comic adaptations yet, just keep reading.

As military woman Peggy Carter in Captain America, Hayley Atwell is much more of a heroine than a classic damsel in distress. We recently spoke with Hayley about taking on the role, which marked her first time working on a big-budget action movie, and what surprised her about Captain America himself, Chris Evans. Hayley talked about getting physical with Chris on set, helping to create her character's gorgeous World War II-era look, and whether Peggy might be making a return in The Avengers. Here are some highlights:

For more from our interview with Hayley, just read more

Sebastian Stan might be best known for portraying Carter on Gossip Girl, but that could change with his role in Captain America. We talked to the actor, who plays Captain America's best friend and sidekick, Bucky, at a press day for the movie last weekend. Sebastian told us he initially auditioned for the lead role, which ended up going to Chris Evans, but said Bucky turned out to be the perfect fit. In the Marvel comics, Bucky eventually becomes Captain America, and Sebastian didn't rule out stepping into Chris's shoes in the future. He also talked about the fast friendship he and Chris struck up on the set and the stunts gone wrong that kept them cracking up behind the scenes. Here are highlights :

• On how he reacted when they asked him to play Bucky: "[I said] yeah, let's work together. [laugh] I'm so glad this isn't over. I hadn't even looked up one thing about the character. At that point, I was just still very much in the whole Steve Rogers thing, and then when I heard I didn't get it, I just thought it was done. I hadn't read a script. They just sort of talked to me about it, and so all my instincts to it were really fresh."
• On whether he ever gave Chris a hard time for nabbing the role: "Oh, no, no, no. I was very happy for him. I was like, 'You go ahead and get all buff. What are you having to eat? A piece of lemon? OK.' [Laughs] We really hit it off since the beginning. It was nice that we had some time before the movie shot to really get to know each other. And I've known him briefly here and there — just a small world in Los Angeles. I mean, the biggest challenge with him was that sometimes we'd just get on these laughing fits, and it'd be time to shoot, and I'd be like, 'All I'm really doing right now is trying not to laugh.' I thought all that went really well, fortunately, toward the parallel we have in the film."

For more of our interview with Sebastian just read more