Just as the sun shall rise in the morning and the snow shall fall in winter, there will always be another Marvel film to entertain us and ever since the visceral gut punch that was Avengers: Infinity War, fans have been clamoring for another dose of MCU goodness. Captain Marvel is another addition to Marvel’s ever-growing roster of colorful, crowd-pleasing blockbusters that we seem to get a double dose of every calendar year. On that note, ‘colorful’ and ‘pleasing’ are definitely the two adjectives that best describe its latest addition: Captain Marvel.
The character of Carol Danvers, played by Brie Larson, is one that comic book fans have wanted to see for a very long time, so when this very movie was added to the slate for 2019, people got very excited and apprehensive. Is Captain Marvel a visually and narratively revolutionary cinematic achievement… no. Is it a colorful, funny and very charming sci-fi action romp? Absolutely. The plot concerns Vers, a Kree soldier who goes from being on a run of mill rescue mission to being thrust into a plot that reveals long speculated mysteries of the Marvel universe, her enemies and her own origins. Where the film suffers, however, is in its rather generic sci-fi beginning. After visually eclectic and stimulating films like Thor: Ragnarok and Guardians of the Galaxy, this one falls very much into the tired and generic category of introductory scenes. Yet, the film shines when Vers first comes to earth and begins interacting with the environment and people around her, including a young SHIELD agent named Nick Fury, played to perfection by the always wonderful Samuel L. Jackson. What ensues are some wonderfully choreographed chases and fight scenes which are all scored by original tracks and 90s era pop hits. In addition, the human element, ironic considering many of the characters are aliens, is in top form here and includes many humorous, charming and somber moments. While the film is extremely conventional, it truly gets its stride in its brisk pacing, witty and likable characters and its moral which ultimately boils down to ‘don’t let anyone tell you how to view yourself.’
One place where the film falls flat is that unlike in the MCU films preceding it, the villain is not shockingly interesting. The villain is not terribly acted, but not particularly memorable in terms of dialogue or depth. And definitely not up to snuff with other MCU Villains like Loki, Vulture or Thanos. Speaking of which this film has the distinction of being the first MCU film post Infinity War. The film does connect back to the post-credits scene of that film and even provides a neat little sneak peek of Avengers: Endgame, but I dare not spoil it here.Captain Marvel might not reach the lofty standards set by the top tier MCU outings that have preceded it, such as Civil War, Guardians or Ragnarok, but it does provide a good story, likable characters, a solid soundtrack and good universe building. Definitely check this one out.
