Captain Marvel (2019)

(SPOILER WARNING!!)

Just a little disclaimer before we begin; I do not want to hear any hate-filled comments about the film having a "femnazi agenda" or being "SJW bait". I am not here to discuss the social or political relevance of a superhero movie with a female lead. I am here to look at the film as it was intended; as a superhero movie that was made to entertain audiences. All I'm going to say in regards to this film's "controversy" is this; James Cameron, Captain Marvel had nothing to do with Alita: Battle Angel being a commercial flop. Stop being a condescending smeghead and start making GOOD Alien and Terminator movies.

With that said, I'm not acting like there weren't any concerns that I had in regards to the films release. Chiefly, it was based on a character I was not very familiar with and was thus unsure of what to expect, especially with the constant "Captain Marvel/Brie Larson will ruin Marvel" clickbait bullshit I keep on seeing online. Also, to anyone still saying "it will be a disaster":

"[...] the movie made $153 million in the United States and Canada, with a further $302 million coming in from international markets [...] $455 million dollars for its first weekend despite an otherwise slow start [...]" -- Gamespot, March 11th 2019.

Grow. The fuck. Up!

Anyways, story synopsis.

The film is set in 1995, with the amnesiac Kree warrior Carol "Vers" Danvers (played by Larson) fighting alongside the Starforce captain Yon-Rogg (played by Jude Law) in the conflict against the Skrulls, a race of alien who can mimic the appearance of other bipedal beings. During a mission, however, she gets captured by the Skrulls, lead by Talos (played by Ben Mendelsohn), which ends up in a fight that sends them to Los Angeles on Earth. leading to Carol meeting a young Nick Fury (played by Samuel L. Jackson) whom she convinces to help her in stopping the Skrulls from invading the planet. As she and Fury travel, however, things she uncovers about her past and her relation to Earth make her question as to who to side with in the Kree-Skrull conflict, while also learning more about the scientist Dr Wendy Dawson. Oh, and a cat. Don't forget about the cat.

Very simple premise, very simple execution. Which, in turn, makes for the main issue I have with the film.

While I prefer it when the story is easier to comprehend, the best Marvel films are the ones that can throw the audience for a loop while still having a coherent narrative. This is part of why the Captain America movies worked well for me. While there was much to unravel, it was still straight forward enough to keep the audience engaged while still treating them with a sense of respect and intelligence.

That's not to say that this film treats the viewers as idiots, but it doesn't really do anything new with it's narrative or it's characters. You recognise the set-up almost immediately, with the film jumping just as quickly into that set-up. It's a generic buddy-cop-go-on-an-adventure movie mixed with the hero-can't-remember-their-past narrative, just with superpowers and aliens. But by this point in the MCU, nothing surprises us anymore. Even the (SPOILERS) reveal of the Kree being the bad guys and the Skrulls as victims of the Kree's aims to rule the universe is not that surprising, especially if you're watching Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D where they are an antagonistic presence in Seasons 3 and 5, so we're not shocked when they suddenly appear guns blazing to try and kill the Skrulls. The story is still consistently written so it never comes off as stupid, but it doesn't throw any surprises and comes off as a bit bland.

Speaking of bland, and I really do hate saying this; Brie Larson was not at her best in this film. She sort of just plays the role fairly straight forward with very little emotional nuance in her performance. She does at least try to come off as a bit of an adventurous tomboy, but she never has any real stand out moments where I really believed her as Carol Danvers. I'm hoping that the Russo brothers are able to reign her in and get her to really embody the character, as she isn't really selling me on her acting in these films.

Thankfully, however, the rest of the film worked out pretty well. The action scenes, for instance, are a lot of fun. They're shot well and the actors do a great job with the choreography, which is complemented by the film having some pretty decent special effects to back it up. I'll give Larson this much; she definitely looks great in her hero outfit and can pull off some cool fight scenes. And in spite of her minimalist performance, Larson does have a lot of great chemistry with Jackson in the film. Also, I love how they made Jackson look young again, same with Clark Gregg as Agent Phil Coulson. It is a simple use of CG, but it looks like fucking sorcery. Good on you, special effects team.

Frankly, I can't think of much else to say. Captain Marvel is, at the very least, a fun time if you want to find one. It's not a spectacular movie, but it is certainly not the trainwreck that a lot of close minded jackasses thought it was going to be. I only wish that Larson's acting and the storytelling was handled better and if there was more to the overall plot. Oh, and the cat. I fucking love that cat.

Overall rating: 7/10 (pretty good, just a little bland).

So, until next time; this is Callum Lewis, the Media Hood, signing off!