The hype and tension related to Captain Marvel’s release may be more emblematic of the culture surrounding the film rather than the merit of the film itself. Several have touted the film as a feminist think-piece offering up Marvel’s first female lead comic book movie. Others have taken to giving the movie negative reviews before even seeing the film.
Whatever interpretation audiences may subscribe to, when the movie itself is given a chance to be submitted for audience approval as most films usually are, the objective questions remain. Is it a well-made film that tells an interesting story? Do characters come to some realization by the film’s end, or do they change or grow through suffering? Is the audience drawn into the world the movie has created, leaving some insight (if only in a small way) into the human experience?
Captain Marvel succeeds in some areas and is lacking in others, like most films. It isn’t bad, but it isn’t great, and when movies fall into that in-between category, they lend themselves to polemic reactions: some like it, and some don’t.
Directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (Half Nelson), Captain Marvel stars Oscar winner Brie Larson (Room) as Carol Danvers (Captain Marvel), Samuel L. Jackson as a younger Nick Fury, and Ben Mendelsohn (Rogue One). It is a somewhat unconventional origin story in that it doesn’t follow the typical beginning, middle, and end of the protagonist’s transformation. Instead, Carol Danvers begins the film in battle as an already established hero of sorts on an alien planet where she fights with a Kree Starforce squad against the wiles of their sworn enemies, the Skrulls.
After being captured, and undergoing some kind of memory scan from Skrull forces, the story flashes back and forth from her childhood on Earth to present day and everything in between and it becomes confusing even when paying attention carefully. Maybe that’s the point, but the first hour or so is slow, and the buddy cop relationship between Carol and Nick is established enough for future movie purposes (Nick Fury contacts Captain Marvel at the end of Avengers: Infinity War).
The story does seem to suffer from having to make so many connections to the rest of the Marvel cinematic universe. At times, it’s more about that than Carol herself.
Ben Mendelsohn’s performance as Skrull Talos is well acted, as well as Brie Larson’s titular role. The trailers portrayed her as a stoic, emotionless warrior, but her performance in context proves otherwise. Her character, although understood to be the most powerful in the Marvel world, in fact, does face struggles, engages those struggles, and grows into the hero she learns she can be.
There are a few cheesy one-liners, and relationships that are given dramatic depth that hasn’t earned it, but it’s a comic book movie. The last thirty minutes deliver on the superhero action and shine as well as any other Marvel has released, and the post-credits scenes do well to seamlessly connect her role in April’s forthcoming Avengers: Endgame.
Although it isn’t a perfect film, Captain Marvel is a consistent installment in the ever-growing world of cinematic superheroes. It’s on par with other similar productions, its protagonist learns and grows through suffering, and its world is realized enough to pique the audience’s interest and wonder just how Carol will interact with the already established cast of characters in future movies.
