‘Captain Marvel’ expands the MCU as the cosmic war comes to earth
Marvel’s new film, Captain Marvel, expands the MCU beyond any film we’ve seen at this point. Brie Larson’s heroine brings the intergalactic Kree-Skrull War to earth and sets up chaos for the entire franchise.
Like Black Panther, Captain Marvel brings diversity and attitude to the Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy with powerful new aliens and their superior tech.
The film opens with Vers (Larson) training in the Space Force (with Jude Law) before heading into a dangerous mission against the shapeshifting Skrulls. Fans learn that Vers has clear memories of a childhood and events on earth (also called C-53) as she struggles to control her growing powers.
Directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, from a script they wrote with Geneva Robertson-Dworet, Captain Marvel is an origin story unpacked in a Christopher Nolan manner, as pieces of her memories are threaded together to paint a clear picture of how she became a human experiment for the Kree.
Sadly, this isn’t Black Panther and Captain Marvel falls short, not because of Larson, but because of the film’s weak villain(s) and the threat against her.
Fans learn very little about Carol Danvers, her struggles or motivations, but see her find inner struggle to fuel the true power of Captain Marvel. Twists and turns center around Mar-Vell, true loyalties and who is really who as Carol becomes as powerful as Thor and as funny as Tony Stark.
The journey is highly entertaining with a great performance from Samuel L. Jackson as Fury (don’t call him by his other names), Carol’s close friend (played by Lashana Lynch) and a cat named Goose.
Is this the greatest superhero film ever? No. Is it a great commentary on feminism? No, Wonder Woman is better (sorry Ms. Larson).
None of that matters. Captain Marvel does what it needs to: it entertains fans, introduces the superpower figure into the MCU ahead of Endgame and, of course, sets up more adventures for Carol and company.
All of this comes with a great 90’s soundtrack(with references like Blockbuster, RadioShack, Nine Inch Nails, a Fonzi lunchbox, pagers and references to The Fresh Prince and Mallrats), a younger Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg), more backstory between the origins of SHIELD and the Avengers project.
Captain Marvel gets 3 1/2 stars out of 5 stars
NOTE: There are two after credit scenes, one which sets up Avengers: Endgame and one that is…well, just for fun.
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