Captain Marvel

Starring: Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Jude Law, Annette Bening, Djimon Hounsou, Lee Pace, Lashana Lynch, Gemma Chan, Clark Gregg, Rune Temte, Algenis Perez Soto, Mckenna Grace, Don Cheadle (uncredited), Chris Evans (uncredited), Scarlett Johansson (uncredited), Mark Ruffalo (uncredited)
Directed by: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure, Science Fiction
2019

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: A soldier (Brie Larson) in Starforce finds herself on Earth and discovers a plot that connects to her missing past.

Review:

Tim: At long last, the MCU features a woman in the starring role of a film. While there's been a ton of strong, incredible women characters populating the MCU, it's a shame that it took until the 21st film for a woman to headline a movie. Still, we're here, and despite some grumblings from online trolls, Captain Marvel continues the MCU's unprecedented winning streak with another really good movie. This film made bank at the box office and maintained a high level of quality. Any way you look at it, this film is a success.

I have to admit, despite being a huge Marvel fan, I wasn't that familiar with Carol Danvers. I knew a little bit about her, but my knowledge was limited. This movie did a good job of introducing this character to the masses. I like how they approached this story in a nonlinear way. This made it feel different than your typical origin story. Sure, we do learn about how Carol got her powers, but it's in a roundabout way that weaves into the larger story the film is trying to tell. It's a small thing, but it helped this movie to feel unique. The 1990s setting was also a brilliant move. By setting this film years before the "official" start of the MCU, it expands the scope of Marvel's amazing story while giving this movie a distinctly unique vibe in the MCU. It was so much seeing callbacks to Blockbuster, Nine Inch Nails, and many others. This combination of different factors certainly helps differentiate Captain Marvel.

I thought the film did a great job of telling a story about a fascinating, incredibly powerful character. The fact that the character is a woman is an added benefit because great women characters have been so vastly underutilized in Hollywood. We need more strong women characters like Carol Danvers. The film does a terrific job of balancing the fact that we shouldn't be awed and surprised that Carol is a strong lead with the appreciation of her femininity and what that means for her as a character. I loved how they made this a part of her identify and a part of her story. The scenes where she falls down (and of course, gets back up) gave me chills. The major one towards the end was the pinnacle of this film and an extremely cool moment for the under served gender.

As far as the overall story and how it fits into the larger MCU, I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it. The movie played with our expectations a number of times. It certainly seemed like the film was hinting at a Secret Wars-type event in the future, but there's a pretty large twist that rewrites fan expectations from the comics. As I wasn't overly familiar with the source material, it was easy for me to not get caught up in the shifting expectations. I think the twist was brilliant in many ways and I applaud Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck for not being afraid to step out on their own. I do have questions about the role the Skrulls and the Kree will play in the future of the MCU. It felt like this film could have pointed in the general direction, or at least given us an hint of what was to come. That didn't quite happen. We assume the Kree and Skrulls will continue to play a large role in the MCU, likely in Phase Four. But, we're not left with much idea of what that means. On the positive side, it helps this film feel standalone. On the downside, a big appeal of these movies are the connection to the larger MCU and this one left us with more questions than answers, which was a tad unsatisfying.

I was ecstatic when they cast Brie Larson as Carol. Larson has been building an impressive filmography and has delivered some powerful, memorable performances. I went into this film rooting for her quite strongly. Unfortunately, I have to say her performance wasn't great. I love the energy she brought to the role and she absolutely nails the physicality of the part. However, her performance occasionally felt a bit too forced. Her smugness didn't come across as natural or authentic. I thought she was good, but I wasn't blown away by her. The best MCU performances (Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, etc) are so good that you cannot imagine another actor ever inhabiting the role. I didn't feel like that, here. Larson is good, but she didn't embody the role. I could see another actress playing this part quite easily.

The supporting cast is good. It was crazy to see Samuel L. Jackson and Clark Gregg de-aged for this film. I really enjoyed having Jackson play a major role. It was fun to see a young Nick Fury and Jackson clearly had fun with this role. I wish Gregg had more to do, although it was rewarding to see Coulson back on the big screen. Ben Mendelsohn gave a mostly strong performance, although his comedic timing wasn't always up to snuff. Jude Law felt like a little bit of a bland character. He's a great actor and I was so excited to see him join the MCU, but he makes a surprisingly little impact on the film. Annette Bening was great in her role- I just wish she had more screen time. It was fun seeing Djimon Hounsou and Lee Pace reprise their roles- that was a great idea to weave previously-used characters here. Leshana Lynch was a great addition and I hope we see her character show up in future films (although the time difference would be problematic). As a whole, this movie might have had slightly less effective use of the cast than in other movies, but it's not a major detriment.

The visuals and the action scenes are good. They're probably slightly better than Black Panther, but don't get close to the best of the MCU. I loved the scenes when Carol finally embraced her powers. She's a badass character and I loved seeing that depicted on the screen.

As much as I enjoyed Captain Marvel, it also felt like a lower-tier effort of the MCU. It was still enjoyable, entertaining, and exciting, but it didn't blow me away. The story was worthwhile and it effectively introduces an important character into the MCU, so it was certainly a success. I tend to believe the inevitable sequel might improve on this first effort. Still, this is a thoroughly effective movie and another big win for Marvel.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Guardians of the Galaxy, The Avengers, Thor