Captain America Kicks Booty - in 3D

Last night, my wife and I shared the 7:40 p.m. show with about a dozen other folks to see Captain America - the latest movie based on a Marvel Comics character. And, like the other Marvel movies, it did a great job of presenting the hero as complex, troubled, and, well, heroic.

Taking place nearly entirely during World War II, the story shows how skinny, sickly Steve Rogers wants only to serve and, thanks to amazing technology, ends up a superman. He fights an evil enemy who, ironically, owes his super powers to the same genius who created the Captain's. It's just one of the twists that keep you watching, despite what feels like a long run.

Of course, in the theaters today there are not only trailers for upcoming movies (I like these) but numerous promotions of TV shows (not a favorite, but makes some of them seem worth watching) and just plain ads too. It's like giant-screen TV. A trailer for the new, redone Spider-Man teases but then shows the date it will debut--July 3, 2012. That's a long lead time.

In any case, without giving away any of the plot, Steve Rogers survives the trials and personal tragedies that every Marvel character endures, but shows that he is truly heroic, and makes the sacrifices he must to save the day. His evil counterpart, the Red Skull, is the opposite. Remember, this is based on comic books. However, you can't help cheering the good guys and hissing the bad guys--but this shows once again that despite all the muscle, it's what's inside that counts.

Many comic moments relieve the intense action, including scenes with Tony Stark's (Iron Man) grandfather, who owns the high tech gadget market in 1940's America. Naturally, the devices explode and dials get turned up too high and fry their wiring. We laugh, but it gets the job done.

This was the 3D version, and I feel that this is both an amazing and an unnecessary technology. However, I also believe that it will become standard for all movies before too long.

We get to see Captain America next May as part of the Avengers. Can't wait.