MOVIE REVIEW — Captain Marvel
Mother-Flerken, This Movie is Great!
Captain Marvel marks Marvel’s 21st entry into the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe (that’s A LOT of Marvel in one sentence). With their most recent release Marvel Studios is finally bringing their first female-led superhero film to the big-screen, following in the footsteps of DC’s Wonder Woman in 2017. In the lead-up to the newest filn in the MCU, it is more than likely that you have seen some of the controversy surrounding Captain Marvel, and more specifically Brie Larson. The actress stated that she wanted her press tour to be “less white” which many took as an attack on ALL white males for some reason, deciding to piggyback on an earlier comment she made in which she mentioned that there needed to be a reassessment of critics in Hollywood, with the vast majority of them being old white men. Brie Larson never said that she did not want white men seeing this movie, continually stating that she doesn’t hate white people and just wanted Captain Marvel and Hollywood in general to be a more inclusive space. Since then a boycott has been called from trolls across the internet in an attempt to destroy the film’s reception, with it currently sitting at a 34% on Rotten Tomatoes audience score with 58,000+ reviews. In comparison, Avengers: Infinity War which is one of the biggest movies of all time, released almost a year ago, has only 52,000 audience reviews compared to Captain Marvel which has been out for less than 24 hours. Personally as a white male, I can say that I was not offended and do not see any issue with her comments, as the film industry does need to open its doors in an effort to increase diversity.
This whole situation is a shame, however it does not seem likely that it will end up hurting the film’s success with it being tracked do quite well on its opening weekend. With all of that background information being laid out as clear as possible, here is my review for Captain Marvel.
First off, Brie Larson is great as Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel. Many reviewers seem to have targeted her for wooden acting, but that really is only prevalent in the first act of the film when she is still struggling to find out who she is and has almost zero memories of her entire life. Being devoid of memories would most likely cause a person to be emotionless, with her continually coming out of her shell and gaining more charisma as the plot unravels and she begins to realize who she is. Larson is one of the most talented actresses in Hollywood today, and she sells the believability of Carol’s situation throughout the film.
Samuel L. Jackson and Ben Mendelsohn are the two standouts though, with the two of them showcasing impeccable comedic timing and bouncing off of whoever they are paired with on-screen. Jackson and Larson has exceptional chemistry that helps elevate the movie whenever it does slow down. Jude Law, Annette Bening, Clark Gregg, Lashana Lynch, Gemma Chan, Lee Pace, and Djimon Hounsou round out the stellar supporting cast of the film.
Goose the cat is also one of the highlights of the film, being used to great comedic effect throughout.
The visuals of this movie also seem to be a point of contention among reviewers. Seeing this in IMAX is definitely the way to go, with the bright colors of Carol’s powers popping right of the screen accompanied with higher quality sound then your regular theater. YouTube reviewer Chris Stuckmann referred to the film as “visually bland”, and while Captain Marvel is no Thor: Ragnarok it clearly has its own identity and look, especially when compared to older MCU movies. The visual effects look consistently great, and the de-aging technology used on Sam Jackson and Clark Gregg is truly incredible (namely on Jackson’s Nick Fury).
While the comparison to Phase I MCU Films is fair, Captain Marvel does implement a rather unique plot structure for a Marvel movie, integrating flashbacks and visions quite frequently throughout. This is quite the welcome addition into what would otherwise normal origin story, helping the film standout against its counterparts.
The strongest example of this comes early on in film after Carol (Vers at the time of the incident) is captured by the Skrulls and has her lost memories analyzed. Visually, this is the most striking sequence in the film with constantly flips in timelines while Talos (Ben Mendelsohn) instructs his Skrull scientist what to look for.
One other aspect of the plot that needs to be mentioned is the late game plot twist. It was actually shocking, while also feeling plausible. It helped bolster the final act of the film and really gave it another layer to its emotion. A well executed plot twist is something that does not often happen in these Marvel movies, (unless we are counting The Snap/Decimation) with this being another positive hiccup in the movie’s favor.
The film’s score, composed by Pinar Toprak, is also quite excellent, similar in vein to Mark Mothersbaugh’s electornic wizardy on the score for Thor: Ragnarok. The electronic instrumentation set against a rich orchestral backdrop provides a great sense of identity to this space-themed hero. Instrumental scores are one area that Marvel can be hit or miss, but Captain Marvel’s is mostly a hit.
The opening fanfare pays a fitting tribute to Stan Lee, with the Marvel Logo that normally features the superheroes now featuring all of Lee’s cameos throughout the MCU’s history. His actual cameo in the movie is also pretty great, with any fans of Kevin Smith’s Mallrats likely to be pleased.
While Captain Marvel does not reinvent the superhero genre, like Black Panther before it, this is a film that is inherently important due to its tackling of representation in a genre led predominantly by white men. Characters like Carol Danvers and T’Challa will grow to be role models for those who have previously not had big-screen heroes for them to directly identify with, either in race or gender, and this movie takes another step towards a truly inclusive MCU.
Captain Marvel is a great addition to the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe, giving the MCU’s first female lead (sorry Black Widow) a unique origin story, filled with unexpected twists and turns, as well as being layered with comedy and Easter Eggs throughout. It expands the ever-growing nature of this comic book universe and leaves the door open for a sequel while also continuing to build towards Avengers: Endgame. For me, Captain Marvel has to be an 8 out of 10.
Be sure to check out Captain Marvel, playing in theaters now.
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