Movie Review: Captain Marvel
Vers (Brie Larson) is training with an elite Kree corps. Their leader Yon-Rogg (Jude Law) has high hopes for her and wants her to achieve her best. She gets abducted by the Skrulls on a rescue mission. Talos (Ben Mendelsohn), a Skrull leader interrogates her using a memory machine and she comes to know that she’s actually Carol Danvers, a fighter pilot belonging to Earth. Skrulls are shapeshifters who want a lightspeed engine designed on Earth. She runs away to Earth to stop the Skrull invasion, where she teams up with Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and agent of the SHIELD to stop the bad guys from winning. She also reunites with her best friend Maria Rambeau (Lashana Lynch), who was also her flying buddy. Maria and her adorable daughter, Monica Rambeau (Akira Akbar) help fill in gaps in her memory. Slowly, she learns to control the full extent of her powers, with time achieving space flight, as also energy manipulation to a degree where she can convert her whole body into an energy beam.
Captain Marvel is Marvel’s biggest female superhero. She’s their counter to DC’s Wonder Woman. The film is releasing on International’s Women’s Day and as such carries a huge feminist stance. Danvers, during her stay on Earth, is shown to battle her male peers every step of the way right from when she was a toddler to when she was a cadet in the flying academy. Even as a fighter in the elite Kree corps, she’s constantly under the thumb of Jude Law. Her breakaway into a being of pure energy can be interpreted as her symbolically shaking off the male bondage and evolving into her own being. It should be noted that this film doesn’t have any sex or romance. Danvers has no romantic interest growing up and later when she meets Fury, what they have can is more of a ‘bromance’ than anything else.
The film’s fun moments come through the banter between her and Fury. They share an easy camaraderie and one can see both actors enjoying each other’s company. Samuel L. Jackson has been made to look like his ’90s avatar but thankfully the CGI doesn’t stop him from giving his trademark sardonic expressions. One enjoys watching him essay the younger, less cynical, cat-loving version of Nick Fury. Apart from these light moments involving Fury, Danvers leads a sombre existence. Her fight is more existential than with outside forces. Also, we expect her to kick some serious butt the old fashioned way. Mano-a-mano fights are the mainstay of superhero films but instead of that, what we get is her blasting the bad guys to glory. Which is fun in it’s own way but makes her look super invincible in the process. The villain Talos by contrast has a better character graph than her. Ben Mendelsohn seems to have a gala time playing a shapeshifter. The most awesome character in the film is Goose the cat. We definitely need to see her in more films.
The problem with Captain Marvel is that not only is it a origin story for one of the most popular female superheroes, it’s also an origin story of sorts for Nick Fury. You will finally get to know how he lost his eye through this film. It is also setting up the base for Captain Marvel’s inclusion in The Avengers and is kind of setting her up for a prominent role in the final Avengers film. She’s also been pegged as someone who’ll take over the leadership role from Captain America in the future. The directors also have to tie her up with all the past Marvel superhero films, the future franchises as also the TV products. All this has taken a toll on the character development for sure. Maybe things will even out in the later films.
To do her justice, Brie Larson has tried hard to rise above all these constraints and just be the cool, kickass superhero everyone expects her to be. Superhero portrayals are tricky but she has kind of mastered the trick and has you rooting for her and that’s the actor’s real superpower alright...
Trailer : Captain Marvel
Neil Soans, March 5, 2019, 8:23 PM IST
Captain Marvel Story: Carol Danvers becomes one of the universe's most powerful heroes when two alien races go to war, with Earth caught in the middle.
Captain Marvel Review: The first female-led superhero film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has been a long time coming. Despite other strong female superheroes who have arguably earned their standalone film (Black Widow, Scarlet Witch, Valkyrie), the MCU's focus on the build-up to 'Avengers: Endgame' has reached a fever pitch. So, it only makes sense to introduce Carol Danvers (Brie Larson), or Captain Marvel as a vital piece in the puzzle. When we first meet Danvers, she is a powerful soldier of an alien race known as the Kree. Even though she feels a strong connection to Earth, she is unaware of her identity. During an intergalactic battle, she crashes on Earth, known as C-53, where she encounters Agent Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). She then begins to retrace her memories to her origins.
Brie Larson is convincing enough as Carol Danvers. She isn’t as brooding as the trailers make her out to be; in fact, Danvers shares some of the lighter moments with a pre-eye-patch Nick Fury. Samuel L. Jackson seems to enjoy playing a relatively naïve version of the otherwise surly Fury who quickly learns that everything is not as it seems. Jude Law's addition to the MCU isn't exactly memorable, but Ben Mendelsohn particularly stands out. The 90’s tonality, complete with a grunge-era soundtrack is a good look for the MCU, and it lends ample opportunities for humour. Although the script aims at big laughs, it doesn’t always succeed. In fact, real guffaws come from unexpected places. Hint: cat-lovers will be thoroughly delighted with Goose, who arguably turns out to be a real scene-stealer.
There are a few narrative surprises in the script, despite the superhero moments being well intact. But, they come along with a meandering pace that severely drags the film down to a lull during the first act, and somewhere around the middle too. Yes, the plot sets out to establish Carol Danvers as a bonafide bad-ass and thoroughly succeeds in the end. It’s about time Captain Marvel showed up, and the Avengers are a much stronger team with Danvers on their side. This also succeeds in getting you even more excited for ‘Avengers: Endgame’ (as if that was needed). By now, MCU fans know the drill: stick around for the end credits, and you will not be disappointed. Unfortunately, the route it takes encounters some speed bumps, courtesy of the usual superhero origin issues that have troubled the genre.
