Captain America II: Death Too Soon (1979)

Touches You

One of my all time favorites.

I'll tell you why so serious

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

This is a sequel to the made for television movie "Captain America", which was released later in the same year as the first movie, and things haven't improved that much. True, this sequel has the advantage that it doesn't have to explain the origin of its hero, and it has a bit more action than the first movie, but that's about it when it comes to improvements. Like the first movie, it moves really slowly for the most part, and in the few moments where there is some action, it feels very sluggish and not the least bit exciting. It also has a cheap feeling like the first movie, with obvious shooting on studio back lots and other inexpensive locations. Sometimes it's stupid enough to provoke a few unintended laughs, but for the most part it's tiresome inanity. If you are still curious about the movie because Christopher Lee is in it, be aware that it's obvious that Lee had his limited number of scenes knocked off in two days of shooting at the most.

This is an awful movie, much worse than its prequel "Captain America" from the same year, 1979. The action scenes are ridiculous, the soundtrack is horrible (perhaps the worst I have ever listened, together with Captain Battle's) and acting is as bad as in the previous Captain America TV film.Besides that, the words "terrorism" and "revolution" are used as synonyms, and the hero attacks workers in the harbor because there is a chance that they are the ones who deal with illegal commodities (but off course it was possible that they were innocent!).Everything is bad in "Captain America II: Death Too Soon", in spite (or not) of Christopher Lee (yes! he did not act badly) as the villain.

Reb Brown stars as Captain America and fights for truth, justice and the American way. An sinister terrorist, Miguel, played by Christopher Lee is trying to blackmail the United States. Unless his demands are meant; he plays on unleashing a dangerous toxin that causing rapid aging on it's unsuspecting victims. This portrayal of the "star spangled avenger" is definitely not the comic book version; but, Reb Brown sincerity and honesty make it work.

OK! Well, this is so bad its funny. First off, this film has nothing to do with the Captain America we all know and love in the comics. Some background from the first movie that I watched but am not going to review: Steve Rogers is a former motorcross racer, now free lance artist and is the son of the original Captain America....(may be the one in the comics). He was in a wreck and was injected with "FLAG" serum by the goverment....Riiiiiiight. Steve rides around in a big blue van...when trouble arises, the back doors of the van open, smoke poors out, and the Captain shoots out on his red, white, and blue motor cylce. He wears a helmet over his traditional mask and his shield is small...very small. Everything on the original design on the shield that was white is now clear. It is a super flimsy piece of work too. it bends and folds whenever he uses it, especially in a seen where he is pushing pack a pack of wild dogs. The story sucks here too. Instead of the Red Skull or Baron Zemo we get the villian from The Man With The Golden Gun. His name is Miguel and he is holding the country hostage. He is spreading an aging formula over cities and he will only provide an antidote for lots of money. Though we get to see a pretty fair amount of Cap in costume, he spends that time riding his motorcyle. I guess the director thought ten minutes of Cap riding his bike to be entertaining...whatever. The fighting seens are also kinda lame. Cap would rather throw a thug into a mud puddle than punch him. Also, every time he uses his enhanced strength or makes a big jump, we hear this supper annoying whistle sound and we hear it a lot. I will say this about the actor playing Cap, Reb Brown, is very big and very built,however, he sounds like a hick when he talks. This movie came out in the late 70s when Marvel comics and this big spread of superheroes on TV. The Hulk, Spiderman, Dr. Strange, and Cap were all planned TV shows. The Hulk and Spiderman both made it past the pilots but only the Hulk would last more than a season. The last try at making a Cap into a movie was in 1990. The movie was supposed to go to theaters but was held back and put on video in 1992. I personally find it to be a much better movie...you be the judge.