Have you read a Captain Marvel Review by a Marvel Fan? There be potential spoilers ahead peoples.
This is a FAIR Captain Marvel Review
I’m a Marvel fan. Nuff Said. I’m also a comic book movie fan. So even when comic book movies are wrong, I’ll still think they are great! Will never say a bad word about a Marvel movie or a comic book movie. As you may have heard there has been maybe a little bit of fuss around the Captain Marvel movie. You may have seen the news about how 1000s of Captain Marvel Review were purged from Rotten Tomatoes.
Captain Marvel is a Great Movie!
Fuss that perhaps has been a little negative from trolls who were not keen on Captain Marvel. All I can say is ignore them and in all other Captain Marvel Review. Captain Marvel is a fun, entertaining movie. Is it Marvel’s best movie? No, of course not. Avengers One, Avengers Infinity War, Captain America Civil War and Black Panther are Marvel Studios best movies. Captain Marvel is absorbing, enthralling, and rewarding on different levels. The most significant feel-good factor is seeing Marvel’s first female superhero get her film. It is 2019, and we should not have waited so long. Captain Marvel shows us a determined female superhero battling evil and her demons, totally devoid of insecurities. Not something we see very often now is it?
Captain Marvel “Official” “Story”
As part of this Captain Marvel Review we should go over the story one more time. Captain Marvel is an extraterrestrial Kree warrior [is she now?] who finds herself caught in the middle of an intergalactic battle between her people and the Skrulls. Living on Earth in 1995, she keeps having recurring memories of another life as U.S. Air Force pilot Carol Danvers. With help from Nick Fury, Captain Marvel tries to uncover the secrets of her past while harnessing her unique superpowers to end the war with the evil Skrulls.
However, as those of us that have seen the movie now know that not ALL is as it seems. Captain Marvel is not ‘Vers” and is not Kree. She is human, i.e. from Earth and was essentially kidnapped by Yon Rogg who appears to be one of the good guys but turns out he isn’t. And the Skrulls are not evil. Yes, unlike the comics, the Skrulls are refugees and misbegotten. The bad guys, and we should have known this from Guardians of the Galaxy a la Ronan, are the Kree. Were you expecting that reveal in our Captain Marvel Review?
Can Brie fill the big MCU boots?
Brie Larson plays an unpretentious Carol Danvers, much more like a Guardian Of The Galaxy rather than an Avenger. She is no Tony Stark. A big theme of the movie involves various people telling her to stay controlled. Telling Carol, she cannot do this and that. That she will fail, that she needs to keep her powers in check. When she finally realises she does not need to control her powers and unleashes, its a beautiful moment. Captain Marvel and Brie Larson are in the unenviable position of having to introduce a new character to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, break down her complex origin story, tie her in with the current MCU timeline, create backstories for several previously established characters, and set up even more significant elements for the MCU finale called Avengers: Endgame. Larson is essentially playing three roles in this film as it transitions: Vers, Carol, and Captain Marvel. Each has her journey and mountains to climb, and at least Carol and Captain Marvel feel fleshed-out and relatable. Vers does not seem like an MCU goodie and comes across as a fanatic. Larson’s ferocity in the action scenes and her quiet pain in deeper moments all feel genuine and real. A non-super fan who watched the movie with me felt confused and jumbled at times, but Brie Larson’s strong, relatable performance provides the connecting thread.
We first see Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) as mentioned as Vers, an agent of Starforce, a team of crack commandos for the Kree, the same race as Ronan from Guardians. The Vers ‘story’ has been created for the movies and isn’t a plot from the original Captain Marvel or even newer comics. Other Starforce members may be more recognisable like: Korath known as Korath the Pursuer from Guardians of the Galaxy, Minn-Erva, Att-Lass, and their commander Yon-Rogg played very well by Jude Law.
Vers has strong Kree powers: inevitable super strength, extreme endurance, and photon blasts of energy from her hands. Flight also comes later. She cannot, however, recall how she has those powers, with Jude Law doing a lousy job of gas-lighting Carol and convincing her that her powers were bestowed upon her by the Kree.
Starforce is assigned a mission to recover a spy. From here Carol realises its an ambush and ends up captured by Skrulls, a race of shape-shifting aliens in a bitter battle with the Kree. The Skrulls at this stage we are led to believe are bad guys. The Skrull leader Talos has a single objective, and he’s ready and capable to have a dig in Vers’ memories to get what he wants. Something called the Lightspeed Engine, which could turn the tide of the war in the Skrulls’ favour. However, Talos’ digging through Vers’ memory unlocks visions of her past as Carol Danvers, which lead her to Earth, and an Earth in the 1990s, 1995 to be precise.
On Earth, Carol inevitably attracts Nick Fury and Phil Coulson from Avengers and Agents of Shield. Danvers and Fury’s chemistry and sarcastic verbal duelling becomes a fun part of the movie. As Vers wearing a Starforce uniform and talking about shape-shifting aliens, coming from an advanced civilisation into a world of pay phones and mini-malls. The look of bemusement on Carol’s face is priceless.
Captain Marvel’s central relationship between Carol and fellow Air Force pilot Maria Rambeau is the linchpin. Same as Captain America and Winter Soldier, Carol and Maria have a bond from a shared past and a friendship, even though Carol can’t recall it. Captain Marvel is the rare Marvel character with, get this, NO token love interest. The heart comes from the love of two platonic friends.
The villains steal the movie a little. Mendelsohn as Talos is dangerous and even charming. Even in full pointy-eared, green-skinned Skrull visage and costume. Jude Law as Yon-Rogg is excellent at capturing all that is arrogant and holier-than-thou about the Kree. He’s emasculated and threatened by Captain Marvel’s power. He seeks every opportunity to put Carol down and gaslight her, by convincing her that her abilities aren’t a miracle and are a gift. He tries to make her believe she does not need her powers and that they are crutches she leans on. And that those powers make her less legitimate as a Kree warrior. Law is almost a more insidious a villain than any of Carol’s more apparent enemies. Jude Law’s Yon Rogg is a villain you can’t help watching. This Captain Marvel Review loves Law!
Goose, a cat consciously set up to be an immediate audience favourite upstages them all ultimately. Talos’s weariness of Goose is hilarious, as Goose is a Flerkan. An Alien species that is indeed one of the most enjoyable plot lines about the movie. And the eventual reveal of Goose’s true nature is one of its biggest twists, with repercussions that effect, in a roundabout way, the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Carol’s battle against ethos and people that delegitimise her are a common element of Captain Marvel. A little like women face every day in real life today. Everywhere she turns, she’s facing down someone who doesn’t think she’s worthy of the power she has or doesn’t think she belongs in the position she’s in – and yet, again and again, Carol finds a way to prove them wrong and keep fighting regardless. Higher, further, faster, for a Captain Marvel Review. This is ultimately what Captain Marvel is about. Be the best you can be regardless of who or what you are.
Ultimately, keen MCU fans reading this Captain Marvel Review will want to know how Carol fits into Avengers Endgame, and this movie is set up to tell us that she is more powerful than Thanos. The post-credits scene with the Avengers is spine-tinglingly good. The end credit scene with Goose the Cat is similar in comedic tone to the end credit scene from Ant-Man and the Wasp. It may also lead to some confusion that there is a second Tesseract and that Endgame might explore the 7th Infinity Stone story from the comics. It won’t, and it is most certainly not a second Tesseract. But just for a moment, you might be confused. The film introduced Monica Rambeau, child of Maria and as all Marvel fans know Monica Rambeau also went by the name of Captain Marvel in the comics. And was also known as Photon. Given that the movie is set in 1995, by the time Endgame comes round won’t Monica be an adult? Will she join the fight against Thanos?
Feige told us recently that Captain Marvel is the strongest hero in the MCU hands down. Stronger than Hulk, than Thor, more potent than Scarlet Witch and able to kick Thanos butt. We shall see. Now thats one way to end a Captain Marvel Review.
Have a look at our Captain Marvel Playlist on YouTube. Tons of interviews for you to enjoy.