Smash Cut

Tag: Gemma Chan

  • ‘Captain Marvel’ movie review — A 90s origin story throwback

    ‘Captain Marvel’ movie review — A 90s origin story throwback

    Captain Marvel features Brie Larson as the first lead female superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as she a young Nick Fury solve the mystery of her identity.

    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?

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  • ‘Mary Queen of Scots’ review — Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie are dueling queens

    ‘Mary Queen of Scots’ review — Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie are dueling queens

    Mary Queen of Scots is a solid well-made historical drama with powerhouse performances by Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie

    Mary Queen of Scots is an exemplary example of how a historical drama can feel modern and have modern themes without sacrificing the story its based on. Saoirse Ronan—following up her career-high performance in Lady Bird—is a powerhouse as the titular famed young queen with high ambitions.

    So much of the power of the film comes from the performances, specifically Ronan and Margot Robbie, who plays Mary’s rival Queen Elizabeth of England, and Jack Lowden—most recently seen in the underrated Calibre or 2017’s Dunkirk—who is a revelation as Mary’s second husband Lord Darnley.

    When Mary Queen of Scots focuses on the interactions between these players it soars. It’s no wonder considering the film’s director Josie Rourke has a decade and a half of experience directing stage plays, which is what the movie often feels like—a stage play.

    It’s also apparent in the striking staging of many of the scenes. The film’s opening introduction to the two queens at the center of the film is so powerful. As Mary—introduced as she’s being walked to her execution—and Elizabeth appear on screen, we watch them walk from behind through a sea of men separating as they pass. It’s marvelous.

    Mary Queen of Scots
    Margot Robbie in Mary Queen of Scots. Courtesy of Focus Features.

    The film begins with Mary returning to Scotland after her husband King Francis II of France dies leaving her widowed. With a claim to both the thrones of Scotland and England, she quickly begins maneuvers to strengthen her position in Scotland and secure her place as the successor to Queen Elizabeth.

    Mary has the council of her illegitimate half-brother James, Earl of Moray (James McArdle) and the Earl of Bothwell (Martin Compston) guiding her through the politics, however, Mary clearly wants to be the one making the decisions. A main theme through the film is the two queens struggling to get men to look past their gender and allow them to rule as if they were kings. Queen Elizabeth even says at one point, “I choose to be a man.”

    As the political intrigue continues, Queen Elizabeth—represented by her ambassador played by Adrian Lester and counseled by her lover Robert Dudley (Joe Alwyn)—slowly begins to become jealous of Mary’s youth, beauty, intelligence, and ability to produce an heir.

    The slow descent that Queen Elizabeth experience is incredibly captured by Robbie who is especially convincing as someone who is developing an inferiority complex to a seemingly invincible rival. On the other hand, Ronan’s steely confidence as Mary—her motivation is sometimes terrifying—is juxtaposed with moments where she is losing a handle of it all, particularly when Lord Darnley comes into the picture.

    The political intrigue is what makes the movie enjoyable to watch like an episode of Game of Thrones. Though, since it has less than two hours to tell an epic of a story House of Cards creator Beau Willimon‘s screenplay sometimes feels overstuffed. It also doesn’t give room for the audience to discover the character’s motivations or inner workings. Rather it dictates them.

    Mary Queen of Scots
    Jack Lowden and Saoirse Ronan in Mary Queen of Scots. Courtesy of Focus Features.

    Still, there are some stunning sequences that are captivating to watch thanks to Rourke’s strong direction and John Mathieson’s naturally lit cinematography. A battle sequence midway through the film—we watch as Mary on a cliff high above her rivals looks down knowing the physically and metaphorically has the higher ground—is chilling as is Mary’s execution scene—spoiler alert for history.

    Though Mary Queen of Scots is obviously a historical drama it feels updated. Many of the characters and background actors are actors of color and one character is even updated to being a queer character—Mary’s confidant David Rizzio (Ismael Cruz Córdova). It proves that there is no excuse to not have diversity in a film.

    Oddly though, Mary Queen of Scots feels less than the sum of its parts. There are rousing scenes mostly thanks to Rourke’s direction and Ronan and Robbie’s powerhouse performances—Lowden, Alwyn, and Lester deserve some credit on this front, as well. And the costume design by Oscar-winner Alexandra Byrne deserves to be in the Oscar conversation. However, the movie sometimes feels cold and disconnected.

    Still, its feminist themes around women trying to succeed in a world stacked against them and dominated by men is particularly poignant and one of its successes. Mary Queen of Scots may not be perfect, but it has so many elements that make it a solid historical drama. The meeting scene between Mary and Elizabeth is worth the price of admission alone.

    Mary Queen of Scots will be released in theaters on December 12th.

    Karl’s rating: