Captain Marvel Review




Captain Marvel follows Carol Danvers as she becomes one of the universe’s most powerful heroes when Earth is caught in the middle of a galactic war between two alien races. Set in the 1990s, Captain Marvel is an all-new adventure from a previously unseen period in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.


Captain Marvel stars Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Jude Law, Ben Mendelsohn, Anette Bening, Lashana Lynch, Gemma Chan, Clark Gregg, Lee Pace and Djimon Honsou. The film is written by Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck and Geneva Robertson-Dworet, produced by Kevin Feige and directed by Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden.


For all the, undeserved, flak Captain Marvel has received heading into its release the end result is a nice palette cleanser heading into the culmination of this stage of the MCU, by both loosely tying into Avengers: Endgame but also teasing the franchise in the coming years particularly the forthcoming cosmic Marvel.


Brie Larson brings a certain presence and ease to the main role, and I say this as someone who was not particularly hot on her casting 2 years ago, and end sup carrying the film on her shoulders well albeit supported by a terrific supporting cast. Ben Mendelsohn does a good job, with the narrative around his character the core of the movie. Across the board performances are convincing, and Jude Law is as high quality as always although I wish they had given his character a bit more to work with as in the long run his characters suffers and seems a bit one dimensional. The returning characters of Djimon Honsou and Lee Pace too deliver mixed results. In the case of Honsou who stars in a limited role, though this is a good thing as he does not feel forced into the movie like say Pace was. Though the appearance of Pace was in a sense contrived the narrative leaves open a return for him, and with the significant gap between Captain Marvel and Guardians of the Galaxy it is a scenario I would be most open to see.


                                                              Image result for captain marvel
                                                               Brie Larson feels fills the role of Carol Danvers
                                                                               Image via Marvel Studios


Captain Marvel suffers from a clash in the sense of world building. The action that takes place on earth which is the majority of the 2nd and a significant portion of the 3rd is excellent and it is during this period where the film thrives, and the film finds its legs. However, the first act takes place in a cosmic world and the world building is not quite there like it was in Black Panther and Guardians of the Galaxy. Despite this the Skrulls and Kree are established pretty well within the broader landscape of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and potential future films will have a plethora of material to explore, material which is already existing within the film franchise itself. Whilst structurally, Captain Marvel might be hard to get into particularly in the opening half hour when the film struggles to find its identity however as soon as Earth and Nick Fury come into play the film thrives and really starts to shine.


As previously mentioned, the 2nd and 3rd acts take place on Earth, with the film kicking into gear hereon in. The action is well structured and well directed, which deserves credit given a directing duo with very limited experience on the action film. The scope and scale of the action feels crescendo like, slowly building to its peak. Furthermore, in terms of the portrayal of Captain Marvel’s power set I am looking forward to the Russo brother’s depiction of her.


One of the biggest problems with the Marvel Cinematic Universe films is the visual look often looking a bit plain, and this rears its head again, to a certain extent, in Captain Marvel. When you consider the striking visual nature of the Guardians of the Galaxy films it is frustrating to see such a basic colour palette in use. On the note of Guardians of the Galaxy the use of a soundtrack is in play in Captain Marvel, and for the most part this succeeds and adds to the narrative with seamless integration with the film, and not serving as a distraction from the main events occurring onscreen.


Captain Marvel is not the best Marvel film and that is fine. What it is however is a solid addition to the ever-expanding MCU and opens up doors to cosmic Marvel which will be the next destination especially with the forthcoming The Eternals prepping up for production. Brie Larson makes this role her own and manages to push the film up a level. Overall, an entertaining time at the multiplex and perfect to lead us into Avengers: Endgame.

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