Captain Marvel Movie Review: This Brie Larson film is an ode to women who refuse to be bent and broken
- Movie Name:Captain Marvel
- Critics Rating: 3.5 / 5
- Release Date: 08-03-2019
- Director: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
- Genre: Superhero/Action
There’s an adage that says, ‘it’s better to be late than sorry’. Marvel took whole long 11 years to come with its first female superhero, however, kudos to the title ‘Captain Marvel’ that attaches enough importance to Carol Danvers as the most powerful Avengers. Captain Marvel is an important link between the inception of Avengers Initiative and the Endgame. It is not as complex as other Marvel films though, but it surely is one of the most intriguing and entertaining feature films after Thor: Rangnarok. The comic element is the salient feature that has made this superhero stand apart from it’s predecessors. Living up to the hullabaloo around it, it would be safe now to say that Captain Marvel is ‘Mar-Vell-ous’.
Captain Marvel Story
The trailer of the film told more than enough about the story. Carol Danvers is a pilot with US Air Force, that is still has an air of misogyny and sexism. She is not allowed to fly combat being a woman. Carol is always looked down upon by her father, friends and colleagues. But being doubted by her own employers (US Air Force) isn’t something she’s going to make peace with. She joins hands with her senior Dr Wendy Lawson aka Mar-Vell from Supreme Intelligence force of Kree (Without knowing that she’s not a Terran). During their clandestine mission to chase off the alien forces in an aircraft run by Tesseract as the energy source, Lawson loses her life while Carol is taken to Kree.
After returning to Terra (C-53 or simply Earth), Carol Danvers gets flashes of her time spent on Earth. Soon she realizes that she doesn’t belong to Earth and her own people aren’t what she thought. She joins hands with Skrulls to chase away the ultimate baddie whose only goal is to capture galaxies.
Captain Marvel Review
The entire essence of Captain Marvel is the pace and the mannerism in which the entire plot unfolds. The piece of cake goes to directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck for keeping the scenes well placed and the audience glued to the screen. The story which is also written by Boden and Fleck is as crisp and absorbing as it can be. There are no lags in the screenplay that would have your attention taking a stroll in the corridors of the hall.
The warm and amicable exchanges between Captain Marvel aka Carol Danvers and Nicholas Fury are cute enough to tug at your heart. While Nick Fury is sorted man in his head, he is not perfect. He makes mistakes but never refuses to learn from them. On the other hand, Danvers is not as quick to jump into new alliances as Nick. She takes her time to believe that C-53 is the place where she belongs.
Ben Mendelsohn who played the role of Talos, the Skrull guy, got the best lines in the film. Nick Fury and Talos triggered many bouts of laughter with their conversations in the film. Another hero of Captain Marvel is Goose, the cat. The feline who looks cute on the exterior is not the furry ball she looks like. God, she even had the guts to eat away an entire block of Tesseract!
Captain Marvel is not as herculean as other Marvel films. You don't have to be a die-hard Marvel fanatic to understand what's going on in the film. There are no easter eggs and everything is kept in the plain sight. It, in a way, a gift from Marvel Cinematic Universe to the non-Marvel people, who would love to watch a superhero film without a back story.
Talking about Captain Marvel aka Carol Danvers, she's no doubt the strongest Avengers if we look carefully. She doesn't rely on anything like Mjolnir, or a technologically-equipped super suit to channel her energies. It takes her long to realise the powers she posesses, but she comes out strong as hell when she does.
Brie Larson, Samuel L Jackson and Ben Mendelsohn's Performance
Brie Larson as Captain Marvel is as good as we can expect her to be. The Academy Award-winning actress is fierce when required, but man, she can sweep you off the floor with her ruffled hair and gleaming eyes when she puts her headgear off. Brie Larson is not seen falling out of the character anywhere in the film. The barely smiles and maintains that stern look on her face. Her performance is on point and we couldn't have imagined anyone else in her place. It would be an absolute delight to see Scarlett Johansson and Brie Larson sharing the screen space in Endgame.
Samuel L Jackson as Nick Fury is a total paradox of what we see in Avengers' franchise. He was hot-headed, goal-oriented Avengers' honcho in the previous films. However, the 1990's version of Nick Fury is affable and less formidable. In fact, there are many instances where Captain Marvel takes the lead.
Ben Mendelsohn with that outlandish Skrull makeup delivers the best punches with a resting expressionless on his face. No matter how much he tries to look like an ultimate villain in the film, we always find him cute.
Jude Law had limited appearances in the film and you will hate him whenever he'll come on screen. That's the winning point for him whose playing a grey-shade character in the film.
Captain Marvel: Yay or Nay?
Though marvel took around a decade to come with a women-centric film, it's better to be late than never. The wait was worthwhile and it's taking us to something big that's coming in April; Avengers: Endgame. If you're a Marvel fan, you wouldn't like to miss out on a film based on the strongest superhero. If you're a non-fan, a superhero film with good VFX and 10 on 10 entertainment factor won't hurt.
