An overall mediocre film - trying too hard and landing with a thud

Rating: 5/10 (11 March 2019)

I went into the film with high hopes, having watched Infinity War again recently and absolutely loving it.
Captain Marvel falls flat however, being the most dull of the Marvel films I've seen. The copy+paste storyline and skin deep fleshing out of the characters (no thanks to the boring acting at times), leaves the film lacking in anything interesting besides a few good fight scenes. Beyond the good CGI and action, there's little to be in awe of.
Perhaps the film was meant to just introduce us to Captain Marvel. In that sense it did the basic job, and that's it. But there's too much that misses the mark, and at a spoiler free glance here are my opinions.
Some moments weren't just dull, they were insultingly boring. It's hard to say that Carol meets much of an obstacle in the film, with even the psychological and emotional elements being unimpressive - we get she's powerful and tough, because she's captain Marvel, but invincible from the get go in almost every way? Bad guys lose, good guys win, that's the film in its entirety - and not just win, they barely lose a thing in the process. Nothing is a struggle, it's just a one way trip to winning. That's boring. Thats not what I'm interested in with a superhero origin story, and if we can't feel the deep strife of the character throughout the film there's fundamental issues. That's not much to ask for given films like Iron Man and the Avengers which do it great. All the moments where we are supposed to feel for Carol or cheer for her therefore end in eye rolling or sitting back in the chair waiting for the next scene.
The timing feels rushed at times. Arguably what should be one of the best and most impactful scenes at the end is played out in a minute. Even a few action sequences feel horribly choreographed and awkward, such as the screaming-in-the-middle-of-a-quick-paced-fight scene.
People can shrug this off, but we get it, she's a strong female character and so are the other females. I don't think it could be rammed into the film any more. If you want to a see female character shine without the movie writers handing it to you with forced moments and (even more) bad, judgemental males, this isnt it. There are current female led films which let the characters shine and grow all by themselves (Alita, and many recent Disney films).
Now don't get me wrong, it has enjoyable moments. It has some of the classic MCU humour we love, and some good fight scenes too. The film did expand a little on the lore and story, which fits in nicely, and that's something I crave with each of the Marvel films, which has stopped me from rating lower. Why are all these movie elements floating about without much congruence and impact? Because the film simply tries to spend too much time finding its place amongst the other MCU films, trying to do what many of them have done, often drawing on what we already know from previous films and trying to tie it all together.
It seems the people are split. Some see the film for what it is - nothing special - and others seem to not see anything below the CGI and action sequences. If that's your thing then fine, but given the quality we've had from the Marvel films as of recent it's a disappointment nonetheless. Black Panther had the same impact on me, but even then I gave it a 6.5 because the story was mostly all there and executed decently. Dr Strange had its plot issues, but for the most part the visuals were great and it expanded quite nicely on his character and background.
I've seen people give valid criticism, only to brush over it and still give it a 7, 8 or 9 out of 10. Why? Because they're diehard Marvel fans and can't imagine rating it any other way. That, or the idea of giving a stronge female character/lead anything more than the highest praise their gender deserves makes them feel bad. Or they have a childlike appreciation for action and CGI (I do too, I just don't let it be the deciding factor for rating anymore). I give this a 5/10, 5.5 at a push. I'll likely forget about it should I ever rewatch the long line of Marvel films. Go see it for the sake of finding out what happens, but see it for what it is and don't expect to be blown away by the copy+paste action and story.