Around the release date of International Women’s Day, Captain Marvel soars in as the the first super heroine in the Marvel Universe to have a stand alone film. With Avengers: Endgame tip toeing right around the corner, there were plenty of backlash comments and social commentary on where a film like this should stand. Coming to grips, Captain Marvel upholds itself in a formula we’re all now familiar with, but gives a sense of fun and nostalgia back to the 1990’s. Performances by Samuel L. Jackson (Fury) and Brie Larson (Carol Danvers) are top form and the two hold a strong chemistry when they’re on screen together. Although, we don’t see or HEAR much from him, Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) has his sense of who he is and gives us a fresh reminder of some of the SHIELD status before it truly became SHIELD. On this note, the film is an origin story and we clamor to a cold open that rises to a solid expositional mark. There are moments where the film fell flat such as jokes and editing on cuts deemed unnecessary, but the film stands out as giving us enough back story and introduction for Larson’s first steps into the MCU. Another piece to the performance is Jude Law (playing Yon-Rogg) and other cast members performances feeling nice for the moments, but shouldn’t overstay their welcome. The supporting cast should’ve been more interactive and given more into Carol’s past history. As most films go, the idea was to start off with who we are dealing with and Captain Marvel doesn’t shy away from these notions. Larson’s strong-willed, quirky, and soft heart streams in each scene she’s in and she brings a sense of sarcasm that could be perfect and a breath of fresh air for the likes of other Marvel heroes such as Captain America and Iron Man. The Skrulls and Kree serving as the bridge for Carol’s world balances out the choices and makes us wonder why and how she was seen as hope from each spectrum. There’s not much else to go on except for some throwaway jokes, out-of-character moments (mainly from Fury since this was him in his earlier days), but where it stands, the film has many fun moments and doesn’t slack in its action department.
Becoming the first film in the ending of Phase 3 and being a kick-off before Endgame challenges us, the audience, to see what the future of Marvel hopes to bring and that’s a message that staggers along in each of its films: what’s going to happen next?
My final rating of this film is 6.3/10 for its adventurous and fun-filled approach. Ideally, the film could have reached new levels if not for the community backlash, but in today’s society, that’s a hard lump to swallow. For an origin film, no less, Captain Marvel succeeds in fulfilling the quota of bringing in a new hero and telling us where we will be seeing the future of the MCU and the change it will bring.
If you haven’t gone to see it, I suggest you get out of your chair, workplace, grab your best friend, girlfriend, etc. and have a nice night out with some super heroism from a female perspective…not that Wonder Woman isn’t regarded.
Captain Marvel Trailer:
As it stands, I haven’t had much time to get back to writing reviews, so for the next while, I’ll be playing catch up with plenty of films I’ve watched over the last few months. If there are any suggestions to what I should watch, leave a comment and don’t forget to subscribe for more to come! – O.
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