Why do people keep making fun of me for liking Chris Evans? Have you seen Chris Evans? Look:
Why am I justifying liking this? HE’S HOT. And if you don’t think he’s hot, that’s cool. Just means more for me.
But I also like Chris Evans the actor. He’s entertaining. I don’t consider anything he’s been in as particularly distinguished, but on several occasions, I have thought he was the best part of an otherwise mediocre movie (Fantastic Four and The Losers, for instance). And now that he has recently been named as Captain America, Evans seems poised to be the next Harrison Ford.
What?!
Hear me out.
Think about Harrison Ford for a second. What comes to mind? Handsome, charismatic, good screen presence, decent enough actor, seems like a cool guy to hang out with. Now consider Evans. Handsome? Check. Charismatic, has good 
screen presence? Yes and yes. Decent enough actor? Well he’s never made me roll my eyes at obvious cheese, even in cheesy movies, so sure. He might not win an Oscar, but he’ll get the job done. Does he seem like a cool guy to hang out with? I don’t know. Evans’ public persona is pretty nondescript. He’s not famous enough to have a big personality. But what I have seen from him, especially recently as the media attention swelled around the Captain America announcement, is a nice guy, a humble-ish guy. I caught a couple interviews from Wondercon a few weeks ago and he demurred from talking about himself, preferring to stick to the work he was promoting (The Losers). That’s always a good sign. He definitely seems like he could be That Guy the way Ford is That Guy—the one men want to have a beer with and women want to be with. We’ll have plenty of opportunity to see more of the public Chris Evans over the next year as he gets into Captain America’s star-spangled body suit. For now, Evans is more of a known quantity on-screen than off. Check him out in this clip from The Losers:
See? Charismatic and entertaining.
Now consider Harrison Ford’s movies. By and large, Ford makes (made?) action/adventure movies, some in a lighter vein like Indiana Jones and some more serious in tone, such as The Fugitive. Evans is already treading that ground. His 
resume is full of action movies both comic (The Losers) and dark (Push). For the record, I prefer funny Chris Evans to scowly Chris Evans. He’s at his best when he’s cracking jokes in the middle of a fight scene. I’m really hoping Marvel/Paramount picked him for Captain America because they intend to give Cap a personality. And Evans has plenty of personality to give. He does motor-mouthed sarcastic wit extremely well. I’ve made the comparison before—Evans is like Ryan Reynolds minus Reynolds’ douche attitude. Where Reynolds often sulks down red carpets pouting, prissy-faced and sour, Evans at worst sometimes looks confused. Both of these guys will be selling superhero movies next year. It will be interesting to see who wins.
I like Chris Evans. I’m rooting for Chris Evans. I hope Captain America works out well, and that he gives us a sexy, modern superhero with some wit and bite. Someone who can go toe to toe down the line with Robert Downey, Jr.’s Tony Stark. And I expect that, as Harrison Ford slows down his output, Chris Evans picks up the slack and brings us entertaining action/adventure fare for years to come.
PS: Looking at Evans’ IMDb, he has some random indies I’ve never heard of before. I may be Netflixing a couple titles to judge his actual acting talent. If he can really act, and not just entertain—watch out.
