One sentence review: Captain Marvel is a fun, corny, and empowering origin story that feels like a bridge between the past and the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
One paragraph review: Captain Marvel harkens back to the MCU origin stories that kicked off this wave of superhero movies — and that’s a good thing. It’s smaller, tighter, and more character driven than the other movies in the franchise, even if it feels non-essential. It also helps that Brie Larson and Samuel L. Jackson have firecracker chemistry and are supported by a stellar cast — Ben Mendelsohn and Lashana Lynch are standouts.
Where to watch Captain Marvel: Available to buy or rent on Amazon.
Grab your leather jacket and sunglasses. Full review after the jump ?
Captain Marvel had one of the hardest time slots on the Marvel Cinematic Universe calendar. If the forthcoming Avengers: Endgame is the series finale, then Captain Marvel is the penultimate episode. However, like many penultimate episodes, it feels like any typical entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe — for both better and worse.
Like last year’s Bumblebee — the out of sequence 80s dripped entry in the Transformers franchise — Captain Marvel is a prequel to almost all of the MCU — except Captain America: The First Avenger. Taking place in the 90s and following a Kree soldier called Vers (Brie Larson), Captain Marvel is less about forwarding the overall storyline of the MCU — though it certainly connects some dots — and more about giving Captain Marvel a warm welcome to the MCU with her own origin story.
And while the movie hits a lot of the same beats as a typical superhero origin story, it presents them in an interesting way. That’s because Vers spends most of the running time of the movie trying to make sense of these dreams of a life on Earth that feel like memories.
Along with her crew of Kree warriors — Vers’ mentor and commander Yon-Rogg (Jude Law), Minn-Erva (a criminally underused Gemma Chan), Korath (Djimon Hounsou reprising his Guardians of the Galaxy role, among others — Vers continues the long-running war with a shape-shifting species called Skrulls. However, after being captured in a battle, Vers escapes only to crash land on Earth.
There, she catches the attention of S.H.I.E.L.D operative Nick Fury (a de-aged Samuel L. Jackson — the CGI is phenomenal) who helps her on her quest to find out who she is and defeat the Skrulls.
The movie balances funny fish-out-of-water moments as Vers marvels at the 90s culture and technology — she literally crash-lands into a blockbuster — with a charming buddy comedy between Fury and Vers. And while it’s all fun and entertaining, the movie does get at something deeper.
So much of what works in Captain Marvel comes from directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (best known for Half Nelson, which scored Ryan Gosling his first Oscar nomination). MCU mastermind Kevin Feige choosing the duo to tackle the introduction of what is most likely going to be their most important hero to date was surprising. They’ve directed quiet character-centric indies for most of their careers. But it’s that indie intimacy that drives the movie’s best moments.
Vers finally tracks down some answers in the form of her former best friend on Earth Maria (a terrific Lashana Lynch). And instead of it being this huge melodramatic moment where the hero reunites with their best friend or finally learns their identity, the movie slows down and gives a genuinely emotional moment between these two women. Lynch nails the scene. She’s a standout.
To both its benefit and detriment, Captain Marvel is essentially inconsequential in the MCU timeline. We could have jumped into Endgame without this story. It pulls some of the tension and stakes out of it — even the villain of the piece Talos (Ben Mendohlson — truly great) is mostly benign. However, it also allows the movie to be that corny, fun, and uplifting origin story that we’ve seen, but still eat up.
It helps that Brie Larson is magnetic as Captain Marvel. She’s not your typical superhero. There’s something genuine about her. Even when she truly harnesses the extent of her powers, it feels like a real person experiencing something extraordinary. Speaking of the extent of her powers, Thanos better beware.
At just two hours, Captain Marvel is really just a blast to watch. It’s a movie that I think will replay a lot better than in this current moment when we can separate it from the conclusion of the franchise. It doesn’t bring much new to the table other than the fact that the hero is a woman. But with that, it inherently has these touching moments of empowerment that make this an important entry in the MCU.
Also, did I mention there’s an adorable cat named Goose and Annette Bening?
Hey! I’m Karl. You can find me on Twitter here. I’m also a Tomatometer-approved critic.
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