As a child of the 1980s, I have a special place in my heart for “Footloose.”

So I’ll admit I was a little skeptical – OK, I openly voiced my displeasure – when I heard that a remake was in the works.

And while I went into the remake expecting to hate it, imagine my surprise when I actually enjoyed it. This is a fun little update that fans of the original will enjoy, but it’s good enough to stand on its own and entertain a whole new generation of teens who just want to dance.

Directed by Craig Brewer, this “Footloose” doesn’t stray far from the original – there are only a few minor tweaks to the basic story. This time Ren MacCormack (Kenny Wormald) is a Boston kid transported to a small rural Georgia town after the death of his mother.

He quickly learns this town is a lot different from the one he grew up in, mainly the city’s ordinance that bans dancing and has strict curfews governing the teen population – a result of a tragic accident that killed several teens, including the son of the town’s preacher (Dennis Quaid).

Ren tries desperately to fit in, but his rebellious nature gets the best of him as he begins a quest to get the town to repeal the anti-dancing law.

Ren finds plenty of opposition to his cause, but plenty of allies too, including his new best friend, Willard (Miles Teller), and the preacher’s defiant daughter, Ariel (Julianne Hough).

Brewer previously directed “Hustle and Flow” and “Black Snake Moan,” films that had a distinct Southern flavor. He brings that same tone to “Footloose,” and it gives the film a grittier, sexier feel than the 1984 original.

Wormald won’t make anyone forget Kevin Bacon, but he’s good here. I also think Hough is actually a slight improvement over Lori Singer.

Teller is the biggest surprise, comfortably slipping into the role that defined Chris Penn’s career. He’s nearly as good as Penn, providing most of the film’s humor.

Fans of the original will recognize and appreciate many of the original’s bellwether moments that Brewer leaves in the remake. Brewer also manages to work in two of the first film’s most iconic songs – the title track and “Let’s Hear it for the Boy” – in a clever fashion.

It’s moments like these that made me realize that perhaps Brewer was, like me, a fan of the original and felt a great responsibility to stay true to that material.

He pulls that task off in rousing fashion, creating a remake that nearly matches the original dance step for dance step.

DVD dandy of the week

This week’s dandy is “Captain America: The First Avenger” (B-), a fun little throwback that evokes memories of “The Rocketeer” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”

With director Joe Johnston (who also happened to direct “The Rocketeer”) at the helm, this is a breezy, two-hour action excursion that might not be quite up to the standards of other Marvel Comics entries such as “Iron Man” and “Thor,” but it works, thanks to a lot of nostalgic charm.

Chris Evans stars as Steve Rogers, a 90-some-pound weakling who is determined to enter the military and do his part to help fight World War II.

After a handful of rejections, Rogers gets his chance – he’s chosen by a scientist (Stanley Tucci) to be part of a secret government project.

The project is a success when Rogers is transformed into a super soldier, but an accident makes it virtually impossible to re-create the process. Because of the accident, the government decides to use Rogers as a rallying point for the troops instead of putting him on the battlefield.

Rogers travels through Europe playing the role of Captain America during USO shows, but finally gets the chance to save his country when a rogue Nazi agent named Johann Schmidt (Hugo Weaving) threatens to turn the tide of World War II in his favor.

Johnston gives “Captain America” the same “Rah! Rah!” vibe that worked so well in “The Rocketeer,” and the results are mostly positive.

Evans is fine in the lead as the computer-generated weakling who transforms into a dashing hero, but he gets a lot of help with a strong and talented supporting cast.

Weaving has a lot of fun as the heavy and Tucci makes a nice mentor, but both are upstaged by Tommy Lee Jones, a no-nonsense colonel who aids Captain America, and Hayley Atwell, the love interest. Providing the perfect mix of brains and sex appeal, she is a walking, talking pinup girl who brings more to the table than you would expect.

“Captain America” may be too corny for its own good, not afraid to substitute action for (gasp!) verbal exchange between the characters. But I appreciated the old-school approach, which won me over as the film progressed.

This might not be an elite-level comic book movie, but it’s still a lot of fun – definitely a step above the week’s other superhero release, “The Green Lantern.”

“Captain America: The First Avenger” is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and will be available Tuesday on DVD.

— To get sportswriter/movie reviewer Micheal Compton’s up-to-the minute thoughts on all things movies, visit his blog at mcompton.wordpress.com or his Twitter page at twitter.com/mcompton428. You can also email him at mcompton@bgdailynews.com.