Captain America (1989):  This low-budget, live-action movie of the Marvel Comics superhero was made in 1989, but not released on video until 1992.  In fact, it was never going to be released on video, but there were so many people making bootlegs that the producers wanted to cash in too by making an official release.  This is actually a very good, entertaining movie.  Captain America actually looks like he's supposed to.  He starts his adventures in the WWII era, is frozen for five decades, thawed out, and returns to fight evil in present-day (just like the comics).  There are several things that make this movie different from the comics version.  One is that he has no sidekick in WWII time.  There is no Bucky like in the comics.  Another is that Steve Rogers (Captain America) has brown hair, not blonde.  But the biggest thing that really sticks in critics' craws is the fact that Red Skull is Italian in this film, not German like in the comics.  I think it's good that he is Italian in the movie.  They were our enemies in WWII too, not just the Germans and the Japanese.  Plus, haven't we had enough of the mad Nazi villains in movies?  This goes against the cliche.  Red Skull's origin is also a little different.  He is taken from his home as a child by Mussolini's forces and put through horrible experiments that give him super-strength like Captain America would have and a disfigured face (hence the name "Red Skull").


    Red Skull sends Captain America to freeze in the Arctic (how and why you'll have to see for yourself).  As the years go by, he gets plastic surgery to make him look somewhat human again.  You only see Red Skull with his Red Skull face at the beginning of the film.  For the rest of the movie you see a hideously scarred, but still human-looking Red Skull.  This is another thing that die-hard comic fans didn't like because you never see Red Skull looking any different than having a red skull.  When Captain America comes back, he ends up having to fight the Red Skull again.  This time he has a sexy-looking daughter that carries out his orders with her entourage of female assassins.  It's like the "Sisters of Sin" team of supervillains led by Red Skull's daughter in the comics, but they do not call themselves Sisters of Sin, nor do they have fancy costumes.  Instead, they were normal clothes.  Fancy, expensive clothes, but normal.


    But comic fans will have to admit there are plenty of action scenes where Captain America shows off his great feats of strength and shield-slinging prowess.  It bugs some critics that Captain America only had one mission in WWII (which failed) before being frozen and thawed out in present-day.  For many years in the comics, Captain America had many successful adventures with sidekick Bucky before his frozen fate.  Anytime you watch an adaptation you have to let certain things slide.  The fact is that the movie is well written, well acted, and well filmed.  The settings are great and the stunts and special effects are wonderful.  Plus the basic character of Captain America looks like he is supposed to with the costume we all know and love.


    The best actors in this show are Matt Salinger (Captain America), Scott Paulin (Red Skull), and Francesca Neri (Red Skull's daughter, Valentina de Santis).  They are really quite captivating in their portrayals of these characters.  Watch for them in their other film projects.