Captain Marvel

RATING: B

We still have a little under two months to go until Avengers: Endgame, the follow-up to Infinity War. But until then, we have been given this movie to tide us over--focusing on Captain Marvel, a newcomer to the series. And unlike Ant-Man and the Wasp--which came out two months after Infinity War and was basically meaningless, albeit still fun--this one actually is kind of important, because it introduces to us a new superhero who will likely be playing a big role in Endgame. 

Who is Captain Marvel, exactly? Well, her alias is Carol Danvers--or "Vers," at the start of this movie. She lives with the Kree, who you'll likely recognize from Guardians of the Galaxy or Agents of SHIELD. And she's been infused with some impressive powers--namely photon blasts and impressive strength. Right now, the Kree are at war with the Skrulls, a race of shape-shifters. And after a mission gone awry, she crash-lands on Earth... right in the middle of a Blockbuster Video. 

Yup, this movie takes place in the 1990's. The next clue to that will be when Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury shows up, only he looks a lot more like what Jackson looked like in the 90's, and Fury's still got both eyes. For the time being, Carol is here to help protect Earth from the Skrulls, who have come to Earth as well looking for some energy core MacGuffin (which turns out to be an unexpected source). And she's gonna need Fury's help with that. 

I didn't go into this movie with the highest of expectations; mainly because the marketing really did not do this movie any favors. The marketing somehow sucked out the heart and fun that is actually in this movie. Because this film actually is pretty good. This is not top-tier Marvel material, but it's not low-tier either. It's a perfectly adequate introduction to an important character. 

Brie Larson is generally quite good as Captain Marvel; despite the marketing somehow missing this, she brings a certain liveliness to the character that helps carry the film, while still being appropriately serious when necessary for the most part. She and Jackson also play off each other pretty well. Actually, one of the better things about the movie is its humor; including some of the various 90's culture references. Anyway, also notable in the cast is Jude Law, who plays a different character than usual for him, but does it quite well. 

Perhaps the main issue with this film is the fact that by the time we get to the climactic action scenes, there scarcely feels like there's any stakes--because of how overpowered Captain Marvel becomes. This wouldn't have been a problem if they had given her an equal opponent (like Thanos will presumably be), but they really don't. Instead she basically obliterates everyone all too easily once she unlocks her full powers. It's fun to watch in its own right, but it robs the final act of any tension. 

There's also a trope of sorts that they kind of run into the ground but that never really pays off. Carol is constantly told--at multiple times in her life--to control her emotions, for one reason or another. After we get enough scenes of this and some flashbacks which cement this, you'd think there'd be some kind of payoff, or at least a purpose for why they fed us all that. But there isn't. It ultimately means nothing. 

Still, this is a fun movie and a good installment in the MCU. Besides introducing Captain Marvel, it does tie into the franchise in other ways too, so it's certainly worth a watch and it actually means something in this series--which was my primary issue with Ant-Man and the Wasp. This movie isn't anything special, but it suffices quite well. 

A postscript of sorts: going back to the issue of Captain Marvel possibly being a bit overpowered. I've noticed that many people are excited about this and what it could mean for Endgame, saying things like "Thanos is so screwed." To me, that would actually be cause for concern. It might be cathartic for some, but if Captain Marvel were to be able to defeat Thanos as easily as she defeated this movie's villains... well, that would be kind of a letdown. We don't go into the finale of a long-running series to see the bad guy get KO'ed in seconds. And we shouldn't expect that either.