By Bill Friedell
Captain Marvel (Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, 2019) is the twenty first Film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It is also the first MCU film to feature a female superhero as the lead. The story follows Carol Danvers (Brie Larson), a superpowered soldier in the army of the alien race called the Kree with no memory of her past, begins to learn that she may be from Earth as she learns from the Kree’s enemies the Skrulls. After being separated from her team of Kree elite soldiers and gets stranded on earth, she teams up with S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) to uncover the Skrulls who followed her, led by Talos (Ben Mendelsohn) and uncover who she truly is.
While Captain Marvel is an origin story, showing how she got her powers and become a hero, the structure in which it is told separates itself from other superhero origins. Since Carol Danvers doesn’t remember her past, her origin is pieced together throughout the film. While this structure creates a different structure for the film is unique compared to Marvel’s other origin stories, it also hinders the character from being able to truly convey herself. It becomes difficult to show Carol’s personality. She’s supposed to be an emotional, maverick based on the way the Kree soldiers see her. Consequently, it forces Brie Larson to deliberately hold back the character’s personality for almost half the film, sporadically allowing her to show this side of the character, such as when a Skrull soldier growls at her and she growls right back. Any time the character was allowed to be quirky and human was when Brie Larson and the character shines most.
While Captain Marvel is an origin story, showing how she got her powers and become a hero, the structure in which it is told separates itself from other superhero origins. Since Carol Danvers doesn’t remember her past, her origin is pieced together throughout the film. While this structure creates a different structure for the film is unique compared to Marvel’s other origin stories, it also hinders the character from being able to truly convey herself. It becomes difficult to show Carol’s personality. She’s supposed to be an emotional, maverick based on the way the Kree soldiers see her. Consequently, it forces Brie Larson to deliberately hold back the character’s personality for almost half the film, sporadically allowing her to show this side of the character, such as when a Skrull soldier growls at her and she growls right back. Any time the character was allowed to be quirky and human was when Brie Larson and the character shines most.
 Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) |  Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) |
This also sets Captain Marvel apart from Wonder Woman (Patty Jenkins, 2017), which immerses you in Diana’s story, making you understand who this character is and getting the audience to root for her. Captain Marvel takes a wider distance and works inward. Whenever Carol’s humanity is displayed, the character shines, especially within two montages in the beginning and towards the final act, showing her progression in regaining her humanity.
Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) works alongside Agent Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) to uncover her past and discover what the Skrulls are doing on Earth
One of the best aspects of the film is the dynamic shared with Nick Fury. Seeing a younger Nick Fury before he’s become world weary and carrying the weight of defending the earth as the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. gives a new perspective on the character that allows the audience to better relate to them and creates an interesting new relationship for future movies to explore. His partnership with Carol is a lot more intimate (without being romantic) than his relationships with Tony Stark and Steve Rogers because of what each character experiences with each other, learning more about themselves and the universe around them. It’s also worth noting that the de-aging effect on Samuel L. Jackson is very impressive, never taking you out of the film
Another major positive towards the film was the handling of the Skrull/Kree conflict. While the conflict starts out black and white in terms of morality: the Kree are good, the Skrulls are bad, the film slowly begins to show that the Skrulls may be more sympathetic than Carol or the audience initially realized. Ben Mendelsohn's performance as the Skrull leader Talos is a wonderful surprise as he crafts a quirkier villain performance than his usual villain performances seen in films such as Ready Player One (Steven Spielberg, 2018) and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (Gareth Edwards, 2016).
Another major positive towards the film was the handling of the Skrull/Kree conflict. While the conflict starts out black and white in terms of morality: the Kree are good, the Skrulls are bad, the film slowly begins to show that the Skrulls may be more sympathetic than Carol or the audience initially realized. Ben Mendelsohn's performance as the Skrull leader Talos is a wonderful surprise as he crafts a quirkier villain performance than his usual villain performances seen in films such as Ready Player One (Steven Spielberg, 2018) and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (Gareth Edwards, 2016).
The Skrulls are a race of shape shifters engaged in conflict with the Kree Empire
From a directorial and visual level, Captain Marvel is one of the weaker films of the MCU. A lot of the scenes in space seem underlit and makes the image harder to see, but not in a stylized way. This is especially disappointing considering the other MCU films that take place primarily in space happen to be some of the best looking, such as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 (James Gunn, 2017) and Thor Ragnarok (Taika Waititi, 2017), using vibrant colors and Jack Kirby inspired design. While the style of humor isn’t typical, appearing more genuine and from the characters as opposed to the Guardians, Avengers, or Iron Man’s self-deprecating humor, Captain Marvel contains probably among the least laughs of any MCU film. However, the film doesn’t seem to be reaching as much for jokes so that it doesn’t become the whole appeal of the film, letting the characters and plot take center stage.
Overall, Captain Marvel meets the standards of most MCU films before it, introducing and reexamining characters and ideas with a few twists to it. While it may not have the most distinctive style and visuals, Captain Marvel introduces another character to enjoy for years to come. And based on the film’s worldwide gross of $812,251,537, audiences are making it clear that they desire to see wider representation on the big screen. Audiences want more perspectives to view the world and the success of this film alongside smash hits like Black Panther (Ryan Coogler, 2018) Wonder Woman, Get Out (Jordan Peele, 2017), and Crazy Rich Asians (Jon M. Chu, 2018), audiences are getting good stories and characters that better reflect the world around us and the challenges they face.
“Captain Marvel (2019).” Box Office Mojo, www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=marvel2018a.htm
Overall, Captain Marvel meets the standards of most MCU films before it, introducing and reexamining characters and ideas with a few twists to it. While it may not have the most distinctive style and visuals, Captain Marvel introduces another character to enjoy for years to come. And based on the film’s worldwide gross of $812,251,537, audiences are making it clear that they desire to see wider representation on the big screen. Audiences want more perspectives to view the world and the success of this film alongside smash hits like Black Panther (Ryan Coogler, 2018) Wonder Woman, Get Out (Jordan Peele, 2017), and Crazy Rich Asians (Jon M. Chu, 2018), audiences are getting good stories and characters that better reflect the world around us and the challenges they face.
“Captain Marvel (2019).” Box Office Mojo, www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=marvel2018a.htm
