Blade (1998)

[thecolorsblend]

Seems like someone is missing.

[Silver Nemesis]

I almost suggested Salinger, but I figured he'd be too embarrassed to reprise the role. His dad is best remembered for writing Catcher in the Rye, while he's best remembered for donning rubber ears in a bad Marvel movie.

Still, I have a lot of affection for Cap '90. That and the Incredible Hulk TV movies were the only live action Marvel films I had on video back in the nineties, and as a comic fan I was grateful for them. I've also got to give the movie credit for using a comic villain at a time when most live action Marvel productions didn't. Wasn't Kingpin in Trial of the Incredible Hulk the first live action Marvel villain? And if so, wouldn't that make Red Skull the second? 

I must have been about 9 when I first saw Cap '90, and back then Mafioso Red Skull terrified me. His origin story, where his family is slaughtered in front of him when he's just a boy, is disturbing enough for a film ostensibly aimed at kids. The fact he was kidnapped, brainwashed and transformed into a monster resembling Frank from Hellraiser only adds to the nightmare fuel. He also seems to be stronger and more skilled than Captain America. He dominates and humiliates Steve during their first fight.

And he almost beats him a second time during the finale, despite being much older then. The MCU Red Skull might be closer to the comics, but I find the Cap '90 version far more intimidating.

Maybe they could bring back Reb Brown's Captain America for Deadpool 3, but also bring back Scott Paulin as Red Skull. A more subtle way of referencing Cap '90 would be to include the song 'Memories of You' in the soundtrack.

One more thing I'll say for Captain '90 is that it had some impressive names on the cast. Ronny Cox, Darren McGavin, Melinda Dillon and Ned Beatty all appeared in that movie. McGavin and Dillon had previously played husband and wife in A Christmas Story (1983), and I imagine the ordeal of appearing Cap '90 made Cox and Beatty's previous collaboration Deliverance (1972) seem like a pleasant boating trip.

[thecolorsblend]

The only reason I suggested Salinger is because these cameos all seem to relate to Marvel film characters from the Nineties and 2000s. Salinger would be a conspicuous (but understandable) absence.

I only saw Cap 90 once. And I was far less familiar with Marvel then than I am now. Still, I don't remember being very fond of the movie. The majority of my criticisms ultimately go back to the movie's low budget nature. Very limited action (even by late Eighties/early Nineties standards), very limited makeup/prosthetic effects for Red Skull, a general made for TV vibe plaguing the majority of the production and so forth.

I am inclined to the belief that a quality, high budget Cap film could've been big in that era. Plenty of Greatest Generation types were still alive and they would've remembered Timely Cap comics or else they would've generally related to the WW2/patriotic stuff. I think it would've been an easier sell in the early Nineties than the late Nineties, that's for sure.

Anyway. My hazy memory of Cap 90 is that the movie isn't everything it could've been. It was made on the cheap and it looks made on the cheap.

And I still don't know what was going on with those rubber ears.

[The Joker]

Seems like someone is missing.

No argument heard here. 

I almost suggested Salinger, but I figured he'd be too embarrassed to reprise the role. His dad is best remembered for writing Catcher in the Rye, while he's best remembered for donning rubber ears in a bad Marvel movie.

Honestly, I never noticed that as a kid. Course, this was during the VHS era, but I just never noticed the fake ears.

Still, I have a lot of affection for Cap '90.

Same.

"Captain America 1990" is another one of those movies that I have a fond nostalgia for that has to do with memories that happen to be associated with my discovery of the movie, as it does the movie itself. Allow me to explain myself, sometime in 1992, I had a doctors appointment and thus wasn't going to school that day. My mom worked night shift, so she was taking me that morning and my dad was working at his job. Following the doctor's visit, my mom, being nice, decided to bring me to a local Blockbuster Video to rent a few movies. I remember looking around the new releases sections, and to my bewilderment, there was like 4-5 CAPTAIN AMERICA VHS boxes sitting right there on the shelf, and if memory serves, only one left for rent. First off, I had no clue such a movie had been made, and I remember feeling VERY lucky to be able to rent the last one. As I'm sure had every copy been rented out, I would have been begging my mom to go to another local Blockbuster just in the hopes that they would be in stock (whether she would have gone for that is debatable, but luckily for me I didn't have to find out). Needless to say, I couldn't wait to get home and watch that movie. My mom soon after went to bed, and I remained in my parents living room, absolutely glued to the screen. I must have watched it five or six times before having to return it, but I can't say I was disappointed whatsoever. Sure, it wasn't Batman, but I found a lot of enjoyment out of it.

So yeah, whenever I think of "Captain America 1990", I can't help but think of that day and the fond memory of finding out a Captain America movie had been made by seeing the VHS box at a local Blockbuster Video. 

That and the Incredible Hulk TV movies were the only live action Marvel films I had on video back in the nineties, and as a comic fan I was grateful for them. I've also got to give the movie credit for using a comic villain at a time when most live action Marvel productions didn't. Wasn't Kingpin in Trial of the Incredible Hulk the first live action Marvel villain? And if so, wouldn't that make Red Skull the second?

Pretty much as far as I can tell. About as close as the Bixby/Ferrigno Hulk came to showcasing a comic book style villain, was in "The First" 2-parter. 

I must have been about 9 when I first saw Cap '90, and back then Mafioso Red Skull terrified me. His origin story, where his family is slaughtered in front of him when he's just a boy, is disturbing enough for a film ostensibly aimed at kids. The fact he was kidnapped, brainwashed and transformed into a monster resembling Frank from Hellraiser only adds to the nightmare fuel. He also seems to be stronger and more skilled than Captain America. He dominates and humiliates Steve during their first fight.

Yeah, despite the Italian lineage backstory, the 1990 film certainly made for a compelling villain. I remember thinking that the Red Skull looked aesthetically great during the WW2 segments, and was a bit disappointed seeing the modern Skull with the plastic surgery to hide his true visage be used for the remainder of the film. Though it did make sense if we're looking at it from a verisimilitude light. The fact that he has a daughter is straight from the comics, and I kinda like how the recording of his family being murdered jars his memory, and the subsequent line towards Cap with, "We are both tragedies ...."

Speaking of the tragic backstory, I admittedly still like the angle of the italian female scientist going rogue against Mussolini, and becoming the lead scientist for America's "Super Solider" program. It's a pretty good juxtaposition of the Red Skull receiving a (presumably) harsh upbringing as a experiment, where Cap was guided (if just briefly) by a gentle and soft spoken female scientist looking for redemption.

And he almost beats him a second time during the finale, despite being much older then. The MCU Red Skull might be closer to the comics, but I find the Cap '90 version far more intimidating.

Oh, for sure. I do like the scene where he's trouncing Cap during their first meeting/fight, and he confidently looks up at Mussolini exclaiming, "Pity him! He is like a child!" Giving the notion that the Skull would be an incredibly difficult villain to physically overcome.

Maybe they could bring back Reb Brown's Captain America for Deadpool 3, but also bring back Scott Paulin as Red Skull. A more subtle way of referencing Cap '90 would be to include the song 'Memories of You' in the soundtrack.

That "Memories of You" song, along with the montage of Cap state of confusion in the modern world is still wonderfully well done in my estimation. Criminally underrated.

One more thing I'll say for Captain '90 is that it had some impressive names on the cast. Ronny Cox, Darren McGavin, Melinda Dillon and Ned Beatty all appeared in that movie. McGavin and Dillon had previously played husband and wife in A Christmas Story (1983), and I imagine the ordeal of appearing Cap '90 made Cox and Beatty's previous collaboration Deliverance (1972) seem like a pleasant boating trip.

True. I didn't realize until years later that Bill Mumy's character is actually a younger version of Darren McGavin's military character. Melinda Dillon was always good portraying a caring and loving mother.

[Silver Nemesis]

The only reason I suggested Salinger is because these cameos all seem to relate to Marvel film characters from the Nineties and 2000s. Salinger would be a conspicuous (but understandable) absence.

I only saw Cap 90 once. And I was far less familiar with Marvel then than I am now. Still, I don't remember being very fond of the movie. The majority of my criticisms ultimately go back to the movie's low budget nature. Very limited action (even by late Eighties/early Nineties standards), very limited makeup/prosthetic effects for Red Skull, a general made for TV vibe plaguing the majority of the production and so forth.

My affection for Cap '90 is based on nostalgia. It's a guilty pleasure, and even back in the day my big brother used to make fun of me for watching it. The score, editing and special effects are all dreadful, the cinematography is bland, the fight choreography incredibly basic. There are lots of continuity errors (like Cap's shield suddenly appearing when he's found in the ice, even though he didn't have it when he was strapped to the missile), and visible shadows of camera equipment. It's objectively not a good movie.

But it reminds me of a more innocent time in my life, back when I first started reading the Captain America comics and was excited just to see the character in live action. Even then, I knew it was grossly inferior to the Superman and Batman films. But it was all Cap fans had at the time. I didn't see the Reb Brown Cap movies until I was an adult. So Salinger was the Cap of my childhood and I'll always have a soft spot for the 1990 movie for that reason.

I am inclined to the belief that a quality, high budget Cap film could've been big in that era. Plenty of Greatest Generation types were still alive and they would've remembered Timely Cap comics or else they would've generally related to the WW2/patriotic stuff. I think it would've been an easier sell in the early Nineties than the late Nineties, that's for sure.

Anyway. My hazy memory of Cap 90 is that the movie isn't everything it could've been. It was made on the cheap and it looks made on the cheap.

The Rocketeer is what Cap '90 ought to have been. Which is presumably why Marvel hired director Joe Johnston to helm Captain America: The First Avenger.

Same.

"Captain America 1990" is another one of those movies that I have a fond nostalgia for that has to do with memories that happen to be associated with my discovery of the movie, as it does the movie itself. Allow me to explain myself, sometime in 1992, I had a doctors appointment and thus wasn't going to school that day. My mom worked night shift, so she was taking me that morning and my dad was working at his job. Following the doctor's visit, my mom, being nice, decided to bring me to a local Blockbuster Video to rent a few movies. I remember looking around the new releases sections, and to my bewilderment, there was like 4-5 CAPTAIN AMERICA VHS boxes sitting right there on the shelf, and if memory serves, only one left for rent. First off, I had no clue such a movie had been made, and I remember feeling VERY lucky to be able to rent the last one. As I'm sure had every copy been rented out, I would have been begging my mom to go to another local Blockbuster just in the hopes that they would be in stock (whether she would have gone for that is debatable, but luckily for me I didn't have to find out). Needless to say, I couldn't wait to get home and watch that movie. My mom soon after went to bed, and I remained in my parents living room, absolutely glued to the screen. I must have watched it five or six times before having to return it, but I can't say I was disappointed whatsoever. Sure, it wasn't Batman, but I found a lot of enjoyment out of it.

So yeah, whenever I think of "Captain America 1990", I can't help but think of that day and the fond memory of finding out a Captain America movie had been made by seeing the VHS box at a local Blockbuster Video. 

Nowadays it's relatively easy to track down an obscure movie. If you can't buy the DVD online, you can probably find it on a streaming site, or on YouTube or the Internet Archive. At the very least you can find information, pictures and clips online. But back in the nineties, discovering a rare movie in a video rental store, or seeing it listed in the TV guide, was an exciting experience. Particularly if you didn't even know that the film in question existed until you stumbled across it.

For that reason, people of our generation ended up cherishing films we might otherwise have disregarded. If we saw those films today listed among hundreds of other movies on a streaming platform, we mightn't look at them twice. But back then, when rare films were harder to get hold of, we appreciated them more. Even if they were bad. I remember it being a big deal when a movie like Ghostbusters or Back to the Future was shown on TV. There were far fewer channels back then and a classic film might only air once a year, and everyone at school would be talking about it on the playground the next day. Nowadays seeing a movie on television doesn't seem as special.

I learnt a lot about movies by hanging out in my local video store, just looking at the boxes and reading the descriptions on the back. This was pre-internet, so if I wanted to research a film further I had to look it up in my dad's copy of Leonard Maltin's film guide. I think experiences like that helped shape many of us into the film buffs we are today. We got into the habit of researching older movies and seeking them out, rather than just watching the new films that were trendy at the time.

Oh, for sure. I do like the scene where he's trouncing Cap during their first meeting/fight, and he confidently looks up at Mussolini exclaiming, "Pity him! He is like a child!" Giving the notion that the Skull would be an incredibly difficult villain to physically overcome.

Also the way he casually catches Cap's shield and throws it back at him was menacing. We'd just seen the shield tear down a searchlight tower, but Red Skull's strength and reflexes are such that he can intercept it as though it were a Frisbee.

True. I didn't realize until years later that Bill Mumy's character is actually a younger version of Darren McGavin's military character. Melinda Dillon was always good portraying a caring and loving mother.

Funnily enough, I just watched Close Encounters again a couple of nights ago, and Dillon's great in that. The sequences with Jillian and her son feel like a test run for Poltergeist, what with the toys moving by themselves and the creepy abduction scene. I'm half thinking of creating a thread about that movie to discuss it in more depth.

[Kamdan]

Ooh, I gotta throw my hat into the ring when it comes to a discussion on Captain America '90. I'm convinced this movie saved my life.

When I was around three or four, when it came out initially on VHS, I had to have a dental procedure where crowns were placed on my back teeth. It was excruciatingly painful and not fun at all for a kid that needs to endure. When I came home I was in a feudal state but thankfully we had rented this film and spent the evening watching it. The way it started off with the Red Skull as a child being put through a horrible procedure made me relate very hard and also subsequently when Steve Rogers undergoes his treatment.

I am eternally grateful for this movie, giving me a sense of strength of overcoming an ordeal like I suffered. Sometime later, I remember us, renting the first Reb Brown Captain America movie, and if we would've saw that, that would've killed me dead right there.

[The Joker]

That's pretty cool.

Yeah, I can appreciate the Reb Brown movies, but I don't have nearly the nostalgia/attachment as I do the 1990 Cap film. If memory serves, I think the first time I saw the Reb Brown movies was during one of those "Marvel Movie Marathons" that the Sci Fi Channel had (prior to the Syfy spelling change) during, I think, the late 1990s.

You know, back when movies based on Marvel properties were fairly sparse, and mainly consisted of made-for-tv movies. 

[Kamdan]

That's pretty cool.

Yeah, I can appreciate the Reb Brown movies, but I don't have nearly the nostalgia/attachment as I do the 1990 Cap film. If memory serves, I think the first time I saw the Reb Brown movies was during one of those "Marvel Movie Marathons" that the Sci Fi Channel had (prior to the Syfy spelling change) during, I think, the late 1990s.

You know, back when movies based on Marvel properties were fairly sparse, and mainly consisted of made-for-tv movies. 

Oh, yes. I spent many weekends watching those Mighty Marvel Marathons. My uncle walked in on one of those and gave me a scholarly talk about Marvel since he was big into them when he was a kid.