Captain Marvel burns brightly and proves that it doesn’t need approval from overzealous fans that are voicing out their hatred for the film.
I fully expected Captain Marvel to be the next mediocre Marvel film. That it wasn’t going to be anything special. This was mostly because of the controversy that surrounded the film, angry fans, and Brie Larson. It shrouded my thoughts and made me judge it prematurely, but I know now that the film is more than what everybody thinks.
Since this was Marvel Studio’s first female lead film, it had to match the high standards that DC’s Wonder Woman set in 2017. However, Captain Marvel meets these standards, if not goes above and beyond them.
The film takes a break from the generic superhero origin story and uses a more entertaining formula that proves to be quite effective. It follows Carol Danvers/Veers (Brie Larson), a human amnesiac who has been living with the Kree race as a warrior. While on a mission with an elite squad of Kree soldiers, led by Yon-Rogg (Jude Law), Carol is kidnapped by the alien Skrulls. She manages to escape, and while doing so, her escape pod crash lands on Earth. Realizing that she had a previous life on Earth, she begins to unravel the secrets behind her memory loss. At the same time, trying to stop the Skrulls from taking over the planet.
I found Captain Marvel to be very inspirational and full of laughs. There were some onscreen jokes that were weird and confusing, but as the story progressed and more background information on the characters was given, those jokes became much clearer and less weird. The film is light-hearted, so if you were expecting a more serious tone, then this isn’t it. I am not saying that there aren’t any serious moments, just the majority of it is cheerful.
The film is set in the 90’s, and very much lays into the time period with the setting; allowing funny gags, hit songs from the time to be featured – and nostalgia to take effect.
One of the main things that people had with Captain Marvel is because of its leading lady, Larson. When the first trailer of the film came out, fans were angry because Larson didn’t smile at all in the trailer even though her comic book counterpart always smiles. I will admit that the trailers did make her look like a brooding superhero like Batman, but that isn’t the case at all. Larson was, if anything, goofy and fun-loving as the titular character. She made jokes, smiled, and proved to be the hero that we all need. Carol’s character progression, from her being a Kree warrior to her remembering what it really means to be human, is just inspiring. Larson had fun with this role, and you could tell that being Captain Marvel means a lot to her.
Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) starred in the film as well, making many fans happy to see him back in a Marvel film. However, he isn’t the director of S.H.I.E.L.D that we all know are used to, he is a younger version of himself that is just an agent. This brings in a whole new side of Fury that is intriguing, which makes you want to watch more adventures involving him. Young Fury was delightful to watch, especially when he was interacting with the orange-colored cat, Goose.
Jackson isn’t the only actor to reprise his role in the film. Clark Gregg, A.K.A Phil Coulson, came back as a younger version of his character after a seven-year-long disappearance in Marvel films. It was great to see Coulson back on the big screen and will make you smile when you see him. He isn’t in the film too much, which is sad because the character is a fan favorite amongst audiences.
Captain Marvel doesn’t lack for action, which was constantly engaging and groundbreaking. Although, one of the disappointing things about the character is that there are no real physical threats posed to her; she just bulldozes right through everything. It is interesting to see just how strong her character is though.
The majority of the action owes a thanks to the visual effects. Larson’s character literally illuminates and can shoot a “photon blast” from her fists, not to mention that there are a handful of other things that relied on CGI, so special effects were a big part in the making of Captain Marvel. The special effects team did a great job with the CGI, which is surprising because the special effects in most Marvel films are usually bad. The transformation of the Skrulls as they changed their appearanc and the de-aging CGI that was used on Jackson and Gregf gets a special mention here.
The Kree and Skrull costumes are just outstanding and aesthetically pleasing to see, especially when Carol turns the original green and black color scheme of her suit, to the red, blue, and gold version.
Overall, Captain Marvel is a great film to past the time. It is certainly worth the cost of a movie ticket because of how splendid the characters and cast are, the booming action, the light-hearted tone, and the thoughtful special effects that were put into the film. There are two post credit scenes in the film, one is a fun little gag and the other is an upcoming scene in Avengers: Endgame, so don’t forget to watch them. Captain Marvel is certainly a film that I will watch again this weekend.
