I have been waiting for nearly 4 years for Captain Marvel to come out. When the last big movie panel was announcing the whole slate of events for Phase 3 I was rather dismayed that I would have to wait that long to see this movie. Even more so when the release date was pushed back from 2018 to 2019 after the deal with Sony brought Spiderman back into the MCU. But she is here at last and the result was well worth waiting for so long. My reviews always contain spoilers but I will attempt to conceal them as best I can.
Carol Danvers origin story is well defined in the comics. As he was protecting her from the blast of an exploding Psyche-magnetron, the Kree warrior Mar’Vell transfused some of his DNA inadvertently into Carol, thus turning her into the super hero Ms Marvel. Years later, after Mar’Vell had died of cancer (of all things) she took his name to honour him.
The movie has a very elegant twist to this story, which I worried would have been altogether forgone but it wasn’t so. The twist there is very poignant and well done and fits very well within the whole narrative of the movie.
Contrasting what I was expecting with what I wasn’t, when it comes to the Kree vs the Skrulls, there was no doubt that the Kree were always going to be fishy characters, and I don’t mean that in the Atlantian sense. If you’ve ever watched Guardians of the Galaxy or Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. then you’ll know the Kree are anything but a friendly bunch.
On the other hand, the Skrulls were meant to be just as bad. If Secret Invasion is anything to go by then you’d be right to expect them to spread trouble. And yet…
Captain Marvel isn’t just Carol Danvers’ origin story, it is also Nick Fury’s and in that regard we got plenty of him (more so than, say Coulson or Ronan). It’s somewhat refreshing to see a Nick Fury cooing over a cat …
Or see him hoot at Maria’s prowess as a pilot and be generally more light-hearted than the paranoid man we have grown to know (“His secrets have secrets”). I won’t say how he lost his eye though, but it’s quite funny. You’ll have to decide whether it fits with his quote from Captain America The Winter Soldier “Last time I trusted someone I lost an eye”.A quick word on Coulson as there was some fear that the movie would introduce a plot hole with season 1 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. where Coulson does not recognise the blue alien corpse as being Kree. We only really see Coulson at the start and the end of the movie. At no point does he come into contact with anyone other than Carol herself for a brief moment. For all he knows at this point, all Kree are pink skinned. As far as I’m concerned, there is no plot hole (and his memory was all scrambled at that point in the show anyway). I also question how much digital retouching they had to do to make him look younger. He just looks like he’s wearing a wig.
So what about Brie Larson’s performance? I will fully admit that until she was announced as being cast in the role I was holding up hope that Kathryn Winnick (of Vikings fame) would land the role. I felt her looks and her background as a martial artist would suit the role well. However Larson was eventually cast and if Kevin Feige was fully confident she would embody the role, who was I to argue? Because in the end, she does a tremendous job at portraying what a woman, could and should be: a powerful, funny, emotional, kick-ass human being who doesn’t need to justify herself to anyone. She is no damsel in distress and when she falls, she rises up again and again. Determination and Will-power are two powerful assets she displays and rediscovers with confidence.
Yon-Rogg (Jude Law’s character) was always going to be an ass. That’s who he is in the comics and there was no reason for him to be otherwise but here he represents the archetypal male chauvinist pig who treats women around him like pets at best, while pretending to take on the role of mentor or protector. In some ways it feels like his role should be very much on the nose, and perhaps for those who see too much of themselves in Yon-Rogg, it is and it will sting, a lot (see all those review bombs on Rotten Tomatoes) and while I’m certainly not trying to say I’m better than the next man, I found his role to play an important part in the growth of Carol Danvers as a fully-realised Woman and Hero. One has to wonder how many girls and women will see this movie and recognise a father, a brother, or a husband and whether this will awaken something in them. In the wake of the #MeToo movement, this movie feels like the perfect kick in the proverbial nuts.
If I have to say one tiny little negative thing, it would be to complain about not seeing enough of Carol and Maria’s friendship.
Finally, I am always so impressed with the special effects team at Marvel, their work is astounding as always and the use of slow motion, de-aging tech as well as lighting make what is in itself a fantastic story into the visual festival we now come to expect. Including all the Stan Lee cameos in place of the super heroes in the opening Marvel fanfare was such a beautiful touch too. We all miss you Stan!
I extend my congratulations to the directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck for a fantastic movie and to Brie Larson, Sam Jackson, Jude Law, Anette Bening, Lashana Lynch and the rest of the cast for a tremendous performance. Also to Pinar Toprak for a great soundtrack.