Review: Captain Marvel
- Tom
- Mar 9, 2019
- 4 min read
Marvel Studios' highly anticipated female-led flick soared into theaters this weekend, but its eponymous heroine somehow gets lost in her own movie.
Well folks this is going to be a tough one to talk about. Let me start off by saying that I really liked this film. There's a lot of great stuff going on that proves Marvel has still got the magic touch and I will gladly continue to eat up what they crank out. However, there's a critical flaw that I just can't ignore that takes things down a few notches in my eyes. Let's dive in.
Released on International Women's Day (I see what you did there Marvel) "Captain Marvel" takes place in 1995 and focuses on amnesiac Starforce recruit Vers as she finds herself caught up in a centuries long war between two alien races while she tries to uncover the secrets of her past as Carol Danvers. Along the way she teams up with a young Nick Fury and Goose the cat as she fights to discover who she truly is.
Let me start by talking about what I liked about this movie. The story is fantastic. This is Marvel's 21st film it its cinematic universe and they somehow manage to still find a fresh take on a superhero origin story. The movie finds the titular heroine stranded on earth while in the middle of an all out war between the self-righteous Kree and the shape-shifting Skrulls. Not only is the intergalactic conflict compelling, the whole thing takes place during the mid-90's which allows for some really fun jokes, a great soundtrack and plenty of nostalgia. There's also a few juicy twists (including the film's link to Endgame) that fans will no doubt enjoy.
Therein lies one of the movie's greatest strengths. Seeing the core characters interact with 90's staples like Blockbuster, pagers and internet cafes while a TLC song plays in the background is just plain fun. The 90's setting also gives fans an in-depth look at an early S.H.I.E.L.D. and a Nick Fury that still has two eyes at a time when aliens falling from the sky was still unbelievable. There's plenty of cool Easter eggs for fans to look for and Samuel L. Jackson does a fantastic job of playing this naive fledgling field agent that will one day bring the Avengers together. Plus, I don't know what kind of anti-aging CGI they used on him, but I need to get me some of that.
The action and CGI look amazing. There's some really great action sequences that are dazzling to the eye and fun to watch. The shape-shifting Skrull enemies allow for some particularly enjoyable tricks and skirmishes. The Skrulls have always been my favorite comic book alien race and they're brought to life beautifully in this film through practical makeup effects and a little CGI. I've got my fingers crossed that we haven't seen the last of them in the MCU. There's a little bit of action for everyone in here. Space battles, aerial dogfights, hand to hand smack downs, etc. It's action-packed but never overwhelming.
The cast includes Jude Law as Yon-Rogg, Carol's mentor and Starforce commander, and the always-great Ben Mendelsohn as Skrull leader Talos. Mendelsohn once again proves that he's fantastic at playing a villain, but the script gives him quite a few laugh-out-loud moments as well. I give him a lot of credit for probably having to sit in a make-up chair for hours each day and still give a great performance.
Alright, it's time to voice my biggest complaint about the film. The character of Vers AKA Carol Danvers AKA Captain Marvel had no personality the entire movie. Brie Larson is a fantastic actress and I was so excited when she was cast in the role. But the movie's biggest weakness is her lack of depth and emotional dynamics. The core story revolves around her not knowing her past and trying to piece it together while on Earth. I can forgive her wooden acting due to having no memory for the first third of the movie, but after that it's truly the script that lets her down. Her dialogue is uninspired and delivered with mostly no emotion at all. In some scenes it feels like Larson is literally just reading off lines. As the titular heroine, she's supposed to be the most compelling character that adds the most emotional weight to the story. But none of that happens until the last 30 minutes of the movie.
The worst part is that the other actors do such a great job that they only reinforce how bland her character feels. I almost want to say that even Goose the cat outshines her. I really do understand what Marvel was going for but if they had revealed more about Carol's past earlier in the film, I think it would have landed better. It's not all bad. Her buddy-cop/fish out of water dynamic with the young Nick Fury is a lot of fun at times. However, again there's hardly any meaningful character development until the last 30 minutes.
My other problem with the movie is the numerous on the nose feminist moments spread throughout. Now if I can quote Ron Swanson really quickly here, I love powerful women. I get that "Captain Marvel" is the studio's first entry about a female superhero and it SHOULD be a huge feminist achievement for them. However it comes off as a little cheap and mildly annoying with the extremely unsubtle ways it conveys those themes. This may be the first rock solid instance where I can honestly say that DC did it better. You go Wonder Woman.
With all that being said, I still really enjoyed this movie and I know that audiences will too. There's so much fun to be had in this intergalactic mid-90's adventure but it simply lacks the emotional punch that other Marvel movies usually deliver. Don't worry, you'll still have a great time if you can overlook the fact that Captain Marvel never really manages to stand out in her own movie. Fingers crossed she fairs better in her next outing.
FINAL THOUGHTS: Captain Marvel " boasts high-flying intergalactic thrills combined with fun mid-90's nostalgia, but a lack of character development and emotional depth prevent the titular heroine from reaching the heights she deserves.
OVERALL GRADE: C+
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