This 'made for TV movie' was also the 2nd pilot film for a proposed Capt. America TV series, being made at the time that Marvel Comics and CBS TV had a hit in the form of the Bill Bixby 'Incredible Hulk' show.
The creators of the 2 Cap pilots messed around with the Cap legend so as to make the concept work on TV and so as to avoid having to bring in the whole super-team of Avengers who fished Cap out of the arctic ice flow in 1964. All those extra heroes would have been expensive and would have required a lot of back-story.
The new back story created for these 2 movies is not horrible and could have worked. The supporting characters are pretty good
they would have been counter-point to the Hulk, who had no supporting cast. It's good if a hero has other characters to talk to.
Reb Brown, as the eponymous hero, is not horrible but neither is he good. He is suitably muscular, but as a thespian, he makes Lee Majors look like Lawrence Olivier.
There is some fun superhero action in the form of fights and motorcycle stunts. The cycle is clearly a guest-star in this show
but for some odd reason, however, the only way Steve Rogers can put on his Cap suit is to go into his van, change clothes, hop on his cycle, and burst out the back doors of the van in a big puff of smoke. I imagine the creators figured this was a good gimmick, similar to the bat-poles in Batman, but in an ongoing series it would have been pretty darn silly and awkward. Suppose Cap wants to do something that doesn't involve him riding his cycle? Silly.
Speaking of silly, the final showdown is marred by poorly worked shield-slinging FX. The producers really should have hired a good fight choreographer.
The villain is played by Christopher Lee, heaven knows why he took this role, but he does add to the enjoyment.
In defense of this film, I should point out that our Capt. is portrayed as a straightforward, principled guy, not some whiny self-pitying narcissist douche like a lot of the modern superheroes. And generally, this film does not overextend itself
it does not try to blow our minds on the most wild cosmic fight scene ever
that is to say, it stays within its means.
This is modest, somewhat better than average 1970's cheese.
