CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER (Rated PG-13)

Nazis always make great cinema villains. Working off this premise, “Captain America: The First Avenger” delivers the goods for a rousing World War II yarn of bravery and heroism, along with a good dose of patriotism.

As fans of the Marvel Comics know well, the scrawny Steve Rogers, a Brooklyn kid yearning to join the Army to fight for his country, is the unlikely titular superhero.

In true American fashion, the proverbial 90-pound weakling, socially inept and constantly harassed by bullies, shows true grit and heart as he tries to enlist in the Army by using a series of pseudonyms.

Contrary to the wishes of his best friend Bucky (Sebastian Stan), Steve Rogers finally succeeds in getting enlisted, and in doing so catches the attention of German-American scientist Dr. Erskine (Stanley Tucci), who is working on a secret program for biological enhancement.

Portrayed by Chris Evans, first by CGI magic on the body of a puny kid, Steve Rogers is an implausible recruit, but he demonstrates an abundance of heart as well as brains, particularly to British military liaison Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell).

During his basic training, while still in his pre-enhanced mode, the scrawny Steve outwits his bigger and more muscular fellow boot camp recruits by being the only one able to snatch the battalion flag from high atop the flagpole. Cleverness trumps brute strength every time.

The courageous Steve also captures the attention of the tough-talking Col. Phillips (the perfectly gruff Tommy Lee Jones), who marvels at his recruit’s pluck before reluctantly consenting to the scientific experiment that will transform the skinny kid into a superhero.

Under the watchful eye of scientists, military leaders and even politicians, Steve volunteers to be the guinea pig for the physical enhancement serum administered by Dr. Erskine.

Entering an airtight contraption emitting sparks and fumes from which could emerge either the human fly or the Son of Frankenstein, the blond-haired Steve is magically and ironically transformed into what looks like the muscular poster boy for the Aryan race.

Almost immediately, the augmented Steve Rogers proves his worth as a fighting force by single-handedly tracking down and eliminating an enemy agent in spectacular fashion on the Brooklyn docks.

Though Steve becomes the All-American hero, taking on the moniker of Captain America, he is relegated to a nationwide tour to raise funds for the war effort.

Paradoxically, Steve’s talents are wasted as a costumed song-and-dance man, backed up a chorus of pretty showgirls dressed in patriotic colors, causing him to yearn for battlefield action.

His wish comes true while on his Captain America theatrical assignment to entertain troops on the front lines of the European theater.

Carrying his trusty star spangled shield and dressed in the superhero part, Steve takes off on an unauthorized mission to liberate 400 American soldiers being held behind enemy lines by the secret Nazi program called Hydra.

Assisted by Peggy Carter and inventor Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper), Steve and a platoon of skilled soldiers embark on a quest to hunt the Third Reich’s rogue unit under the command of Johann Schmidt (Hugo Weaving), whose villainy is fully realized in the identity of his alter ego, Red Skull.

Schmidt’s renegade Hydra unit is so powerful that its troops pledge allegiance to the maniacal world domination ambitions that come to the fore when Schmidt unleashes his Red Skull persona.

Most of the action, fittingly for the story’s comic book origins, consists of Steve Rogers in full bloom in his Captain America guise, devastating his enemies with mortal blows, often with the help of his Frisbee-like shield, in a fury of fast-paced action.

“Captain America’s” sense of old-fashioned wartime melodrama is oddly contrasted with the futuristic weapons at the disposal of the Hydra soldiers, who look more like storm troopers in “Star Wars” than Hitler’s goon squad.

One must bear in mind that “Captain America,” after all, achieves its brilliance at the hands of its comic book origins, where the notion of a bionic wartime superhero is pure science-fiction.

In this summer’s sweepstakes of high-octane action pictures, “Captain America” deserves to be saluted as an impressive entertainment that easily surpasses other entries in the superhero genre. Go and enjoy.

DVD RELEASE UPDATE

The mind-bending action thriller “Source Code” might play better now that it is being released on Blu-ray and DVD.

This sci-fi, action thriller found Jake Gyllenhaal’s soldier Captain Colter Stevens waking up in the body of an unknown man as part of an experimental government program that enabled him to cross over into another man’s identity in the last eight minutes of his life.

Armed with the task of identifying the bomber of a Chicago commuter train, Stevens must relive the incident over and over again, gathering clues until he can solve the mystery and prevent an even deadlier second terrorist attack.

While both editions of “Source Code” are packed with bonus features, only the Blu-ray version gives viewers the option to explore different aspects of the film as the movie plays.

This interactive feature offers scene-specific behind-the-scenes information, Including exclusive interviews with the cast and crew, pop-up trivia, animated shorts, commentary from scientific experts on time travel and more.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.