With casting rumors flying fast and furious over who will wield the star-spangled shield in Marvel Studio’s new Captain America film, I felt it was appropriate to look back on what is perhaps one of the worst Marvel adaptions ever committed to film.
No, I’m not talking about the Dolph Lundgren Punisher (or the Ray Stevenson Punisher for the matter), I’m speaking of Captain America. This version was supposed to be released the summer of 1990, and was pushed back several times before making a heroic debut direct to video, before direct to video was in vogue.
Directed by cult-fave director Albert Pyun, this version starred J.D. Salinger’s son Matt as Steve Rogers a.k.a. Captain America. And that was about as much star power as they could line up. I guess Ned Beatty, too. For those who complain about the current Marvel adaptions with their multi-million dollar budgets and slavish adherence to the cadence of the story, I recommend taking a spin with this. This is how it used to be for comic fans. So yeah, it’s not as bad as it used to be.
The origin story is pretty much intact. Scrawny Steve Rogers gets the super-soldier serum, turns into buff patriotic fighter, takes on Nazi mastermind Red Skull, gets frozen in ice, and is thawed in modern times. But that rough sketch is about it. Red Skull spends most of the time looking like a bad 80’s villain – seeming more Jigsaw in appearance. And Captain America spends more time running around in a trench coat than his traditional gear.
Let’s just be clear: This movie is awful. So before you get all bent out that Jim from The Office may be Captain America, take some time to watch this horrible mess and be happy that it can’t possibly turn out as bad.
Oh look, it’s now available on Hulu – you don’t even have to rent it: Captain America on Hulu.
Enjoy.
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