First there was Thor, then there was X-Men: First Class – there’s no denying 2011 has found itself the year of quality comic to film adaptations. And overall these films have been hugely successful in bringing these fondly loved superheroes to life on the big screen.

Captain America: The First Avenger, has however blown the competition out of the water. It’s probably even the one movie that will really give Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 a run for its money at the box office.

Captain America: The First Avenger is not only a superhero movie, but also a war film and a period piece. Writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely with director Joe Johnston clearly understood this when creating this film, and watching it on the big screen it doesn’t forget this or fall into a spandex-covered cliché. The most awesome thing I that I enjoyed about the movie was the fact it feels less like a superhero film set in World War II and feels more like a World War II movie that just happens to have a superhero in it.

The performances are solid and believable and as the titular hero Chris Evans gives the title character an impressive amount of depth that is often lost and overshadowed in a superhero movie by copious amounts of action and CGI.

For fans of Captain America and those who are dying for the Avengers movie, Captain America: The First Avenger is loaded with cameos, references and foreshadowing of what’s to come – and once again you’ll want to stick around until the end of the credits for a nice surprise!

What I really loved about this film is that among all the explosive action the plot remains solid and doesn’t sacrifice itself for the sake of making money at the box office. The film has heart and nearing its climax you can’t help but feel sad for its title character, because you know what is to come.

Humour, a bit of romance, action and suspense are all rolled into one, added with the morality of a true hero who draws his strength from within – it all makes this a film for everyone. Captain America: The First Avenger is by far the best comic movie to come out in 2011, it successfully raises the bar for comic adaptations. While showing Christopher Nolan that his Batman has competition, we can only hope that when The Avengers hits screens in 2012, this new standard in superhero films continues.