'Captain America: The First Avenger', the latest entry in Marvel's quickly-expanding movie franchise, arrives a month from now, and the marketing is beginning to ramp up in a major way. The film features Chris Evans as Captain America, a 98-pound weakling-turned-super-soldier and patriotic icon. He's going to be fighting Nazis in World War II and, more specifically, Hugo Weaving as the Red Skull.

Judging by the info that's been released thus far, there's a lot to like about this flick. Now's as good a time as any to break down the top five reasons to go and see 'Captain America.'

5. The Cast
There's one danger that almost always comes along with superhero adaptations. What about the actors? Will you get people who will ham it up, like John Travolta in 'Punisher', or overdo it out of a misguided sense of staying true to the comics? 'Captain America' looks to be in a very good place, as far as the cast is concerned. Hugo Weaving and Tommy Lee Jones are both well respected veteran actors, and talented enough to turn an okay movie good and a good movie great. On top of these two, Derek Luke, of Spike Lee's 'Miracle at St. Anna,' has a role of as-yet-unknown importance. He's a seriously underrated actor, and hopefully this will spring-board him into bigger roles.

The supporting cast looks good, and Hugo Weaving plays great villains. While some superhero movies have had weak characters in every role but the starring ones, 'Captain America' looks like it's going to buck the trend. I'm looking forward to seeing how the cast ends up performing, and I'm willing to bet cash money that one of these guys is going to steal the show.
4. Howling Commandos
The Howling Commandos are a good example of how comics can sometimes "fix" history by portraying past times as more enlightened than they were. The Howlers were a fully integrated World War II unit who went into action years before segregation ended in the military in real life. They were a mixed up crew of various ethnicities and personality types, and the sort of crew who you could see easily see getting into 'Dirty Dozen'-style missions on a regular basis. As a comics fan, seeing them in a movie is very, very cool. They're a relatively tiny part of the Captain America mythos, or really comics in general, but they're a neat idea and an indicator of how comics can show us something to strive for, instead of just being disposable entertainment.

3. War Story
If you look at most of the past superhero movies, you'll find that they all take place within the same general genre. Most of them are essentially action comedies, with the addition of a small dose of sci-fi to account for the powers. While 'Captain America' is sure to be at least a little comedic (you don't hire Chris Evans and not let him grin at the camera), there's a good chance that it'll be more of a war movie than an action comedy.

If they go that route, and they almost have to, considering the source material, expect a number of differences in how the movie scenes play out. There will be a greater emphasis on teamwork amongst the soldiers who make it into the supporting cast, supporting characters who get a brief moment to shine before the big ending, and the action sequences can be much more intricate and lengthy than they would be with just one person fighting another.

Branching out into new genres is going to be essential for comics movies, and a good way to try and head off a possible glut of cape films at the pass.

2. The Costume
How can you make one of the corniest, but most classic, costumes work on the silver screen? Turns out the answer is you keep the colors, but make it look a little more like actual combat gear. If you take a good look at the screenshots they've released of the costume, Chris Evans is wearing a more or less reasonable facsimile of a uniform. There are belts and latches that cinch and connect how things should in real life, and pouches to keep things in. He's got sturdy combat boots, too.

The only thing that makes it outlandish is the coloration. Evans is wearing subdued shades of red, white, and blue. It looks good, and manages to be both faithful to the original costume while moving that costume into the modern day. It turned out far, far better than I expected.

1. Chris Evans
Chris Evans has been an actor who I've loosely followed over the years. I thought he was quite good in 'Cellular', and he did a great job in 'Sunshine'. He played the Human Torch in the two 'Fantastic Four' movies, and was hands down the best part of those films, particularly his interactions with Michael Chiklis as The Thing. When you add in his funny performance in 'Scott Pilgrim', you've got an actor who is on the cusp of greatness. He's an actor with a lot of potential, good looks, and some pretty great comic chops. All he needs is one big, meaty role to push him over the edge. My guess is that 'Captain America' is that film.