I saw “Captain Marvel” last week and I am only now getting around to writing my review of the film even though I am pretty sure everyone and their mother has seen the movie already. A downside of having a regular job (in addition to running my own eBay store) is that free time isn’t something I have in abundance. Having seen all the other Marvel Cinematic Universe films, I naturally had to check out “Captain Marvel”.
To be absolutely honest, I wasn’t dying to see “Captain Marvel”. The film looked decent but the trailer didn’t exactly ‘wow’ me. I wanted to see the movie largely due to it tying into “Avengers: Endgame” to be completely honest (and I have a feeling a lot of people felt the same way).
The film largely serves as a prequel to the bulk of the MCU (with the exception of “Captain America: The First Avenger”). The film follows our hero Carol Danvers as she tries to regain her memories while serving as a member of the Kree military. While on a mission fighting the shape shifting Skrulls, she is captured and the Skrulls manage to bring back memories she had of Earth while probing her mind. After escaping, she lands back on Earth and must defend the planet from alien threats with the help of S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Nick Fury.
If the concept of a human joining an intergalactic space force protecting the Earth seems familiar, well, it’s because that is basically the same premise as DC’s “Green Lantern”. I love DC and Marvel (I am not a fan/nerd that picks a side) and while “Captain Marvel” is overall a better movie than “Green Lantern”, I couldn’t help but feel that DC took some of the wind out of Marvel’s sails by releasing “Green Lantern” first.
Unlike almost all the other films in the MCU, “Captain Marvel” wasn’t able to escape the kind of controversy that normally plagues DC films. The star of this film, Brie Larson, made several controversial comments before the film’s release which angered a large group of individuals. It is not my job to pick a side on such issues, but I have to wonder how such comments might swing reviews in favor or against the film.
All that being said, what did I think of the film? Well, I thought it was okay. Perhaps I am being too harsh on the film because it certainly wasn’t the worst of the MCU (that dishonor belongs to “Thor: The Dark World”) but it also didn’t reach the heights of films like “The Avengers” or “Iron Man”.
“Captain Marvel” is filled with a slew of excellent performances from it’s supporting cast but the same can’t be said about it’s lead. While I know Brie Larson can be very good in some roles, I found her to be wooden in most of her scenes and one of the worst parts of the film sadly. Luckily for us, the supporting cast shines. Samuel L. Jackson returns in de-aged form to showcase the origins of Nick Fury. Jackson is both bad ass and hilarious in the movie. The weight of the film is really carried on Jackson’s shoulders in my opinion. Clark Gregg had a small role which provided the audience with an understanding of the trust and friendship Nick Fury and Agent Coulson had with each other. Ben Mendelsohn was also a scene stealer throughout most of the movie. As the leader of the Skrulls, Mendelsohn was a slimy and excellent foil to Captain Marvel and I can’t say anymore without going into spoilers (though I will say I found his accent a bit distracting while he was in Skrull form). Lastly, I will say I expected a little more from Jude Law. It felt a little like Law phoned this film in.
We have to talk about the best part of the film now, Goose. Goose, at least to me, was the clear star of the film. My only complaint about Goose is that there should have been more of him. Goose provided much of the levity the film had and I would love to see some sort of spin off featuring Goose. I know Hulu has a bunch of animated Marvel shows in development, I would love to see Goose team up with Howard the Duck.
The film managed to have a unique 90s action movie feel to it that I enjoyed. The touches of nostalgia with references to businesses like Blockbuster and Radio Shack also were nice touches. Like most other Marvel movies, it is nice to see how this ties to the bigger picture of films. One possible good or bad thing about the ending of this film is that it left a lot to be explored in sequels.
So, “Captain Marvel” is far from the worst two and half hours you could spend watching a movie. In fact, I can say most people will find something they enjoy about the movie. It is also far from the game changer the studio was hoping for considering “Wonder Woman” already led the female empowerment charge a few years back.
Grade: B-
