Director: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
Writer: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck, Geneva Robertson-Dworet (Screenplay) Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck, Geneva Robertson-Dworet, Nicole Perlman, Meg LaFauve (Story)
Starring: Brie Larson, Gemma Chan, Ben Mendelsohn, Samuel L Jackson, Lee Pace, Jude Law, Lashana Lynch, Annette Bening
Plot: Carol Danvers becomes one of the universe’s most powerful heroes when Earth is caught in the middle of a galactic war between two alien races.
Tagline – Discover what makes a (her)o
Runtime: 2 Hours 4 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Superhero Movie 101
Story: Captain Marvel starts as Vers (Larson) a Kree soldier is still figuring out how to control her powers, with her trainer Yon-Rogg (Law), her first mission sees her captured by the enemy alien race the Skrulls who help her learn about her past, on Earth as a pilot.
Vers must learns who her true self is once on Earth with Nick Fury (Jackson) helping down memory lane, before deciding which side of the war she should be fighting on.
Thoughts on Captain Marvel
Characters – Vers is how we meet her first, she has been trained to be a Kree warrior soldier, ready to get into the war against the Skrull. Vers does have powers she hasn’t fully learnt how to control yet and returning to Earth on the mission, will help fill in the blanks in her memory to show her a life she had before her training, as a fighter pilot named Carol Danvers. This is a character that is easier to write for, because it is the trademark design of a hero needing to learn about their powers for their first battle. Nick Fury is a younger agent in SHIELD, he witnesses first hand what Vers is fighting for and decides to help her even if it means going against the rulebook, he gets the bigger picture and in this film loves cats. Talos is the leader of the Skrull, he needs information from Vers to help his side in the war, he has become desperate and can shapeshift into any species he sees. Yon-Rogg is the leader of the Kree unit, he has been training Vers for combat and with his team, can be a threat for any opponent. Mar-Vell is a scientist that Carol worked with on Earth, her research is key to the war, she also appears as the Supreme Intelligence for Vers communication, which is meant to be somebody important in your life. Maria is the old pilot friend of Carol’s she believed her friend died and has spent her time raising her daughter away from the busy world.
Performances – Brie Larson does a strong enough job in the leading role, she doesn’t quite have the comic timing for her jokes to come off, like many other actors in this universe, but does shine in the more serious moments. Samuel L Jackson gets to enjoy playing a younger version of himself, he gets to poke fun at the ideas people might have about him as a person too. Ben Mendelsohn is strong too, his accent can jump around in places, but for being under the makeup, we understand his characters emotions. Jude Law does well in his role too, he takes the mentor role, which is better than his outing in Fantastic Beasts. Annette Bening becomes the one you most want to see more from, in dual roles, she can make us want to see more of her characters.
Story – The story follows Vers a Kree soldier that must learn about her past to understand her own powers, to make a decision on which side of a war she should be fighting for. This is an origin story for Captain Marvel, so we know the stakes are going to be less, because we don’t need true end of the world stuff going on here. The strangest way to describe most of this story would be like a Star Trek story, a person meets both sides of a war and must decide which side to fight on and once we get to the decision it plays out like how Kirk or Piccard would deal with the situation. This doesn’t mean it isn’t good or entertaining. The rediscovering the past is interesting to see and gets to play a lot of 90’s nostalgic moments too. One of the biggest negatives in the story does come from having the inclusion of characters we have seen die latest in the universe, because this does take peril away from them, both good and villainous figures. This does tick al the boxes for an origin story, it makes us care about this new character and ties in nicely to what will be happening next in this universe.
Action/Sci-Fi – The action involved in the film is a mix of hand to hand combat, weaponry combat and flying combat, be it space or on Earth, everything is enjoyable enough to get what is required from this side of the film. the sci-fi side of this film uses the idea of an inter galactical war that Carol has become a part of, showing that the human heroes and enemies might not be the only threats to Earth.
Settings – The film uses the settings well, we have the space location each has it own unique look to show us on different planets, while on Earth we go through the military bases and quiet of the radar places without needing to just blow everything up.
Special Effects – The effects in the film are strong throughout, we know and expect this by now in the Marvel machine.
Scene of the Movie – It’s just a cat.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Captain Marvel seems too powerful.
Final Thoughts – This is another entertaining fun addition to the MCU, it gives us a by the book origin story that we can understand the difficulties that Carol must be going through.
Overall: Fun, entertaining origin story.
Rating
