CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER joined the expanding ‘Marvel Cinematic Universe’ in 2012, the 5th installment in the mob, though chronologically the first, kicking back to the simpler Smash Evil With Clear Conscience days of WW2: the legendary comic book creep clobberer first showed up late in 1940, ready to tackle Hitler a year before the country officially joined the fight. This super-duper cine-realization of patriotic pulp prowess was the 12th most popular movie of ’12 (the year we were all supposed to go up in Mayan smoke: well, the smoke’s on us now, to stay), beaten a bit to the money punch by Marvel’s 4th entry, Thor, hammering spot #10. Fear not, puny mortals, these mega-dudes would soon bond.

Though he’s game as can be, diminutive, health-troubled 90 pound ‘Steve Rogers’ (Chris Evans, with clever digital de-enhancement) is rejected for military service until Germany-fled scientist ‘Abraham Erskine’ (Stanley Tucci), sees unfit Steve a fittingly fierce candidate for his ‘Super Soldier Serum’. Zapped into fighting form that would shame most anyone (maybe not Thor) Rogers, nicknamed ‘Captain America’ takes his new self into battle against demonic Nazi ‘Johann Schmidt’ (Hugo Weaving) aka ‘Red Skull’, boss freak of ‘Hydra’. Prepare for selective decimation of the supporting cast.

Like the other Marvel epics, this looks like a million bucks—make that $140,000,000, with perhaps half again as much on marketing—and the component parts are high grade examples of craft. Evans is a solid choice (recalling Christopher Reeve, suit-fit as Superman), Weaving adds another of his dastardly villains, and there’s action aplenty. The first half is a lot of fun, then it loses momentum and coasts to an indifferent finish. Responsibility for losing grip on the pace and plot belongs equally to director Joe Johnston and writers Christopher Markus and Steven McFeely.

In the cast: Tommy Lee Jones (easy role, been there), Hayley Atwell, Sebastian Stan, Dominic Cooper, Toby Jones (fun), Neal McDonough, David Bradley (key bastard in Game of Thrones), Natalie Dormer (winsome Thrones alumnus, little to do here), Laura Haddock and Kenneth Choi. Samuel L. Jackson (‘Nick Fury’) shows up in due time. Running time clocks 124 minutes. Worldwide box office gross amounted to $370,600,000 (12th in the States, 18th globally).

As with other Marvel marvels, this one has a great closing credits sequence, here rousing enough to make you want to sign up and paste Nazis. Um, looks like there are plenty on hand at home now without having to ship out to Europe. Past time for real heroes to step up.