Middling Marvel....

Rating: 6/10 (7 March 2019)

It has been ~ 10-12 hours since I came back from the premiere if this movie and I am struggling to find moments that stands out in my mind. Perhaps that is the biggest shortcoming of Captain Marvel the character and the movie is it is an unmemorable experience and a somewhat disappointing entry in the MCU (the second since the decidedly worse Ant Man and the Wasp).
Without going into spoilers, one of the strongest criticism I have of the movie is the characterization of Captain Marvel herself. Her character does not have a strong arc and from the beginning to the end of the movie, the character does not go through any sort of meaningful change or development. She already calls herself a noble warrior hero early on in the movie, and by the end of the movie (drum roll) she saves some people.
The hardest thing about a very powerful superhero is to make them seem vulnerable and relatable. The characterization of Superman is incomplete without the existence of kryptonite. In later movies/literature, that was slowly interchanged with Louis Lane/his parents/the inability to save everyone etc. But the central idea is a Superhero is only as interesting as the obstacles (weakness/adversaries) they face. Captain Marvel at best faces what amounts to minor inconveniences before everything is said and done. Even Thor went through a better arc in his debut movie, which is not considered even in the top 10 of the best marvel movies.
As it stands, Captain Marvel is better than Ant Man 2 (in my humble opinion, the worst MCU movie) but only by a margin and an aggressively forgettable movie going experience. Hopefully, just like the other Captain in the MCU, her character and movies will get better with each sequel too.