Captain Marvel Review

It has been an annual tradition for Marvel to start the summer season and this year’s offering sees the Studio release their first female-led superhero film.

Vers (Brie Larson) is a member of Starforce, a group of intergalactic special forces soldiers who go on missions to fight the shapeshifting Skrulls. On her first mission Ves gets captured but discovers the Skrulls’ plan to go to Earth and find a device being developed on the planet. Vers hands-on Earth in the mid-90s and has to stop the Skrulls and discover that her past might be linked to this alien planet.

In recent years there has been a culture war on the raging on the internet where any blockbuster with a female lead is targeted. On one side anything with a female lead like the new Star Wars films is seen as feminist propaganda. Whilst on the other anyone who has any legitimate criticisms of these films lead to critics being labelled as sexists i.e. the 2016 version of Ghostbusters. Captain Marvel is the latest victim of this, made worst by Larson’s comments criticising a lack of representation in film criticism.

This was a toxic maelstrom where trolls have deliberately given low scores on review sites regardless of the quality of the film. But general audiences are not that aware of this backlash and fewer still would even care – they just want to be entertained. And fortunately Captain Marvel is – and box-office numbers are proving this point.

Marvel has gotten their formula down to a tee: for good and for ill. Marvel films are generally entertaining but some have used recycled elements. Captain Marvel basically uses elements from the first Thor film and Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Fortunately those are good films to lift from. Like Thor, Vers is an extra-terrestrial being who is powerful and skilled but cocky and raw and ends up on a strange planet. Captain Marvel has the mystery storyline where two characters have to go off the grid. There is also elements of ’50s sci-fi like Invasion of the Body Snatchers where the heroes don’t know who they can trust.

Captain Marvel does differentiate itself from origins stories within the MCU. Iron Man, Ant-Man and Doctor Strange had similar plotting where characters have to learn and train before going on a mission. In the case of Iron Man and Doctor Strange, their lead characters were brilliant but arrogant men who need to be humbled before taken up their roles as heroes. Vers was already highly trained and her story was one of self-discovery.

Guardians of the Galaxy paid homage to films from the 1980s and Captain Marvel does the same with the 1990s. Captain Marvel was shot like films from the decade with wide shots and a bright colour pallet, makes cultural references to the period and has a soundtrack featuring bands like Nirvana and No Doubt. There are also visual references to ’90s actioners like Terminator 2: Judgement Day and Independence Day.

Marvel has been making strides to have more diversity in their films. Black Panther was a hit for audiences and critics partly because the majority of the cast was black. However, I thought the film was overrated because of the lacklustre action and mediocre special effects. Captain Marvel was an improvement in my opinion. It is a film that wears its heart on its sleeve regarding its message of female empowerment. Black Panther was an action-light, Captain Marvel rectifies this by spreading the action sequences more equally.

Captain Marvel does provide the big blockbuster spectacle as one would expect from a Marvel film. There is a strong CGI for the alien cityscapes, the de-aging of Jackson and Clark Gregg, and when Vers’ uses her powers. There were some parts that weren’t as strong like when the film needed to use a CGI cat and when characters have to fight hand-to-hand there was too much shaky cam and quick cutting. This is particularly bizarre because the Marvel Netflix shows are really good showing hand-to-hand combat scenes.

Captain Marvel sees a load of new characters, the biggest obviously being Captain Marvel. Larson is already a recognised actress and she was clearly having fun in the main role. She expedited great comedic timing and the arrogance of her character and she had the physicality for the action scenes. When she finally utilise all her powers she looked like she entered into the Avatar State.

Jackson and Gregg are always a welcome presence and the cast was rounded out with talented actors like Ben Mendelsohn, Annette Bening, and Lashana Lynch. But the true star was Goose the Cat and the moggy and Fury made a great double act.

Recently Marvel seemed to have conquered their villain problem – Vulture, Killimonger, Ghost, and Thanos being standouts in recent films. Captain Marvel is sadly a step backward with Jude Law wasted in a generic role that could have been played by anyone.

Captain Marvel oddly acts as a critique of Scientology. Early on in the film Vers has a training session with commander and mentor, Yon-Rogg (Law). His message to her is she needs to forget about her past and purge herself of emotion to make herself a better fighter. Yet Vers’ determination and emotions are what really make her – she has a defiant streak that makes her. If someone tells Vers that she can’t do something she will do everything she can to prove them wrong.

Captain Marvel is the first film to be released after Stan Lee’s death. He was given a loving tribute before the film started and during his cameo.

Captain Marvel is a blast for fans of the MCU and the superhero genre, being a strong introduction to the MCU’s newest hero.