Who's More All-American than John Krasinski?

Rumors have circulated on the interwebs that the upcoming Captain America movie is narrowing the search for it's star. One of the names that has risen above the fray and is causing the most chatter is that of John Krasinski, star of The Office.

Let's look at this logically for a moment and put aside our heated devotions to both a recently deceased superhero who made his name fifty years ago and to pseudo-documentary sitcoms as well. John Krasinski is a great choice for Marvel to place a new franchise upon. Fanboys will say that he's not a big enough star, he's not tough enough or they won't be able to 'buy him' as Steve Rogers. Face the facts, not only do most people not even know Captain America's real name, Brad Pitt cannot play everyone and Cool World was a loooong time ago. Krasinski, on the other hand, is a younger actor, on the rise in both television and film and will bring an established fan base to the movie that might not otherwise see it. I am, of course referring to the tween audience who idolize Jim Halpert and have helped to make such schlock as New Moon open as big as The Dark Knight. Financially, it's a smart move for Marvel. Get him on the cheap and watch him blow up in the summer of 2011. Furthermore, Krasinski is recognizable without being a huge star. This is key for a very important factor. Fanboys, pay attention - if you want to see an Avengers movie anytime soon, Krasinski needs to play Captain America. The studio already has it's huge movie star to lead the franchise, and now they need someone to play off of him.

The casting of Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man was not without some skepticism as well and I think we all know how that turned out. But let me tell you about another man. He was an actor, mostly known for his comedic roles and not though of as an action star. He was cast as one of this country's most iconic characters amongst outrage and disbelief from fans worldwide. He ended up becoming, in many people's mind, the definitive version of the World's Greatest Detective. That man was Michael Keaton.

Fortune favors the bold and bold casting makes for interesting movies. Love them or hate them, you had to like either Eric Bana or Ed Norton as the Hulk. Was Christopher Reeve an action star? When you cast those actors in these roles, you get Dolph Lundgren as the Punisher, Sylvester Stallone as Judge Dredd, and basically every single one of the Fantastic Four. John Krasinski as Captain America makes as much sense to me as Ryan Reynolds as the Green Lantern, Eva Mendes as Selina Kyle (my personal casting choice) or Heath Ledger as the Joker. Cast an actor who can bring something different to the character and watch them make magic.

This Hulk isn't Incredible, he's Incredulous

The Incredible Hulk is as ferocious as its title character. Never mind the fact that it comes just a month after Marvel’s huge success of Iron Man and five years after the original that it would just as soon forget. Less than two months ago, nobody was very interested in this movie and just last week the buzz was unbelievable. After coming in at number one at the box office, the Hulk proves he’s got strength and smarts.

I’m not really a fan of the Hulk character and I did not think much of Ang Lee’s film outside of the curious casting of Eric Bana. But, I was interested in seeing this one because I am a big Ed Norton fan and like the fact that he rewrote much of the movie, even without an eventual credit.

Directed by Louis Letterier of Transporter fame packs much more action than the first movie, and maybe even more than Iron Man, but still retains much of the sensibility of the Hulk comics. There are great references to both the comic books and the television show and in jokes throughout the movie (Gen. Ross drinks Incredible Hulks!) and a requisite cameo from Stan Lee, Lou Ferrigno and Robert Downey Jr. But, it is a really good movie, with enough character development to really keep you interested in them, especially both Banner and Blonksy.

While it goes without saying that Norton is typically brilliant, I thought the real stand out was Tim Roth as Emil Blonsky. He took what could have been a rather one dimensional villain and made a soldier that you actually started to root for against the Hulk just for keeping up with him. He didn’t go complete DeNiro-Raging Bull for the role, but he did change his body type for the different levels of the super serum sequences. I would really like to see him back in the eventual sequel. I think he could be the Harry Osborn to Banner’s Peter Parker. Except with a good actor.

Ed Norton was really good, channeling his role in b to show Banner as a guy who is constantly getting pushed around and trying to brush it off and go about his business. He was really good internalizing his conflict and his feelings for Betty. Liv Tyler was really good as Betty Ross, showing the lighter side of her character that I didn’t get from Jennifer Connelly in the first movie. Of course, she’s pretty easy on the eyes too, but I’ve always thought she makes the most out of her material, especially when she wears glasses i.e. Jersey Girl. William Hurt played Gen. Ross ably. He was very stone faced in the film, but I think that’s a very specific decision by both the director and the actor to portray a man who has nothing but his work which is running down the street, tearing up Harlem.

All these characters work together very well in a story that doesn’t try to hard to explain where it came from, but only where’s it going to. The pace is fast, the action exciting, and there are great moments in between where I found myself totally involved without even realizing it until the movie was over. Some fanboys might argue over the Hulk’s perceived strength or different abilities, but when he Hulk Smashes in the final showdown, even I started clapping like a kid again. I like this movie, especially considering everything that it was up against. It was not as good as Iron Man, but definitely the third best comic book movie this summer.