Captain America

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Captain America

PG-13

1990

1h 40m

Action

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

16%

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19 Reviews

19%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

The comic-book superhero (Matt Salinger) fights Red Skull, his 1940s foe, who aims to give the president a brain implant.

Critics Consensus

Lacking a script, budget, direction, or star capable of doing justice to its source material, this Captain America should have been left under the ice.

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Frank Lovece

Entertainment Weekly

Jul 21, 2011

F

The movie isn't merely wrong for kids -- it's just all wrong.

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Lawrence Cohn

Variety

Jul 21, 2011

Salinger has some good moments dealing with the cultural shock of his Rip Van Winkle reawakening, but film never takes flight under Albert Pyun's leaden direction.

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Scott Mendelson

The Outside Scoop (Substack)

Sep 6, 2025

6/10

Albert Pyun’s intended cut, with a haunting Tangerine Dream-like score, traumatizing violence, and eulogies for the failed promise of the Baby Boomers, feels like a relic from when Hollywood’s power fantasies didn’t mostly focus on the already powerful.

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Fred Topel

United Press International

Aug 24, 2025

A Captain America film that relies on no wisecracks is enough of a contrast to be worth seeking out.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

May 10, 2025

2/4

The film isn’t as bad as its reputation, with its bold ambitions mainly neutralized by the lack of skill on the part of director Albert Pyun and the lack of finances on the part of notorious cheapo producer Menahem Golan (of Cannon Group infamy).

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James Berardinelli

ReelViews

Oct 4, 2022

2/4

The biggest flaw isn’t so much the acting, the directing, or the screenwriting (all of which deserve demerits) but that the movie’s meager budget doesn’t allow it to look cinematic.

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Conor T

@RT72920782 Aug 9, 2026

I don’t need to explain.

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S S

@SShol Jul 23, 2026

The best version of this film is the one you checked out on VHS in the mid-90s and fondly remember through nostalgia. There is no reason to revisit and ruin those fond memories (speaking from experience)

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Blake B.

@Marvelfan67 Mar 3, 2026

I would rather watch Howard the duck over This absolute disaster of a movie. They thought of a bit too cool superhero and made stuff up as they went the story made little to no sense and red skull look so stupid it’s kind of funny. HE DOSENT NEED HAIR

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Edwin V

@JustAnAverageComicsFan Jan 26, 2026

I've seen the movie, it's not bad. Yes i know Cap is a car robber, Red Skull is italian, and Cap being WEAK also having the serum in his body. But overall it's actually pretty cheesy in a good way, Cap is hilarious when stealing cars which shows he is very capable to break laws to do the right thing. Second, his relationship with Sharon is slow and steady. Third, Red Skull has an actual origin story for the first time rather than being straight evil and power-hungry. Fourth, Cap's costume is very comic actually including the shield (even though the ears are plastic😅). So to be honest i do not understand the hate, it's just the Cap origin story, just a little different (Let's not talk about the 1979 version, oh boy). Plus it's not film's fault for being bad. It had a low budget, a rushed script, very not so recognizable Captain America, and a horrible Red Skull design. So I'd give it 2.5 stars.

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Enrique R

@NostalgicNerd Jan 25, 2026

Captain America, one of the worst movies ever made. There are so many wrong things about this film. This is a direct to video action film that made people think at a time that we don’t need superhero movies. But the villain, Red Skull looks like a cut up tomato. But, overall, I give Captain America a 1.2/10 or 1.5/5 stars.

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Ella D.

@Dilger Jul 22, 2025

I rated it a c for efficiency

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Albert Pyun

Director

Matthew Salinger

Steve Rogers

Ronny Cox

Tom Kimball

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Synopsis

The comic-book superhero (Matt Salinger) fights Red Skull, his 1940s foe, who aims to give the president a brain implant.

Director: Albert Pyun
Producer: Menahem Golan
Screenwriter: Stephen Tolkin, Lawrence Block
Production Co: Jadran Film, 21st Century Film Corporation, Marvel Enterprises
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action
Original Language: English
Release Date (DVD): Aug 30, 2011
Runtime: 1h 40m
Sound Mix: Stereo, Surround

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