The film follows the late Marvel formula and does not take chances, does not innovate and does not dare, but delivers a fun, nostalgic result!

Rating: 8/10 (28 March 2020)

About to end its phase 3 with an "Ultimatum", one of the most awaited films of the last decades, Marvel still finds time to introduce new and important characters in its shared universe. In the comics, Carol Danvers, Captain Marvel, debuted in the Silver Age of American comics. The character was featured in a solo series in the late 1970s, before associating with the superhero teams, The Avengers and X-Men, the character was created by screenwriter Roy Thomas and designer Gene Colan. Danvers first appeared as an officer in the United States Air Force and a colleague of superhero kree Mar-Vell in Marvel Super-Heroes # 13 (March 1968). In recent times, Danvers has been labeled "Marvel's greatest heroine" and "possibly" most powerful Marvel Avengers member. "
In theaters, "Captain Marvel", in addition to being the first Marvel film starring a heroine, is the bridge between "Avengers: Infinity War" and the long-awaited "Avengers: Ultimatum". Directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, and written by Geneva Robertson-Dworet, it stars Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Lashanna Lynch, Djimon Hounsou, Lee Pace, Mckenna Grace, Clark Gregg and Jude Law. takes us takes us to before all the other MCU features (except for Captain America: The First Avenger). In 1995, the story follows Danvers when she becomes Captain Marvel after Earth is caught in the center of a galactic conflict between two alien worlds, borrowing elements from screenplay writer Roy Kree-Skrull (1971). Thomas.
For starters, the publisher's homage to his legendary comic artist Stan Lee stands out, putting him in the place of the characters he created in the opening animation of Marvel Studios. Lee passed away in late 2018 and, before that, he even recorded his famous participation in the film, appearing in the scene where the heroine hunts a Skrull in the subway.
Exploring flashes of the past very well, the heroine tries to discover more about her own past, as well as understand and master her powers. Finally, the heroine manages to show a more human facet to the public through the partnership with Nick Fury that generates several situations of comedy that gives lightness to the war by showing it through Fury's still innocent eyes, and also with Maria Rambeau (Lashanna Lynch), which is the heroine's great connection to her past. It is in Maria's memories the memory of facing prejudices as pilots and in the support for the creation of little Monica Rambeau (Akira Akbar). But there are other characters who are doing very well and steal all the scenes they participate in: Talos (Ben Mendelsohn) and the cat Goose. Yon-Rogg (Jude Law) and Dr. Wendy Lawson / Supreme Intelligence (Annette Bening) are good assistants.
Because it is a film that takes place decades ago, it is curious to see several of the characters that we get used to accompany, in another moment of life. Ronan the Accuser, who first appeared as the great villain of Guardians of the Galaxy and a lackey for Thanos, appears as the leader of an elite Kree force, the Accusers; Korath is just a Kree soldier; Agent Coulson appears as a young and promising agent and the main highlight is Nick Fury. At the time, he was an agent for S.H.I.E.L.D. who, after years as a spy, worked outside the field looking for ways to protect the Earth. He is still inexperienced and had no knowledge of intergalactic issues, let alone superpowered beings. Jackson and Gregg - who, among others, reprise their roles in previous MCU films - were digitally rejuvenated in post-production to reflect the setting of the film in the 90s. And the result couldn't be better: they are of an absurd quality, bordering on the perfection.
One of the main aspects of the feature is the infinity of references not only in relation to the stories of the publisher's comics, but also in the pop culture of the 80s and 90s, where the story predominantly takes place. After escaping the Skrulls, Carol Danvers falls to Earth inside a Blockbuster video store. As the feature takes place in the 1990s, it is possible to see references to classics such as Hook: The Return of the Captain Hook (1991), Babe, the Rough Piggy (1995), True Lies (1994), in addition to The Elected: Where the Future Begins (1983). The musical references are also present, with several references of bands from the 80's and early 90's. She appears with a Guns N 'Roses T-shirt - and finds a ticket to the group's concert, a Bush poster appears when she is on the pay phone, Nine Inch Nails, Heart t-shirts appear, a Smashing Pumpkins poster and even a reference to grunge in the heroine's civilian outfits.
Another reference is Captain Marvel's cat, which in the comics is called Chewie in a reference to Star Wars. In cinema, however, Marvel chose to call him Goose, a direct reference to Anthony Edwards' character in Top Gun: Untamed Aces. It is not, however, a conventional feline. Goose arrived on Earth with Mar-Vell and is an alien of the Flerken race, with internal tentacles and the ability to swallow objects as powerful as the Tesseract. In comics, the breed also has the ability to harbor dimensions within itself, being able to teleport from place to place, in addition to laying numerous eggs. In the film, aware of the threat of Flerken, the Kree gag the creature, in a moment inspired directly by the comics. The film also reveals how Nick Fury lost his eye - a scratch from Goose, and how theories emerged about how he came to use his famous eye patch, with Fury insisting on feeding the aura of mystery around the wound. There is also the fact that Fury was inspired by Danvers to propose to S.H.I.E.L.D. recruiting exceptional individuals to defend the Earth together from unconventional threats, and when he discovers that Danvers was codenamed "Avenger" in the Air Force, he names this protocol "Avengers Initiative".
Although the film highlights the friend Maria Rambeau, we must pay attention to her daughter. Monica Rambeau in the comics is one of the most powerful heroines in the Marvel Universe, having even been the first woman to use the name Captain Marvel. In 1982, at Amazing Spider-Man Annual # 16, Marvel introduced Monica Rambeau at the hands of Roger Stern and John Romita Jr. as a New Orleans police officer who has the power to transform into any form of energy. As Captain Marvel, she was a member of the Avengers and even led the team. Then he adopted the name Photon (which in the film appears as Maria's nickname in the air force, as shown in the photo above), Pulsar and currently serves as Spectrum. As the film takes place in the 90s, MÃ´nica is around 30 years old in the present line of the MCU.
However, the film is not just a nostalgic trip and it has different points. Perhaps due to their lack of experience in running large blockbusters, the duo of directors are unable to shoot action scenes that look spectacular. The prevalence of more closed plans and not so imposing scenarios, fail to give the scenes greater proportions as they should. The feeling is that in the hands of another director, the scenes could be reimagined in the way that worked best on the big screen. In addition to not being grandiose, the scenes are scarce, being almost all restricted to the final act of the story, and were also not helped in many moments by the visual effects team. In several scenes, it is possible to notice the use of CGI in the composition of scenarios, giving an air of artificiality, especially in the final stretch when the heroine fights aerial fights with her powers developed.
The rhythm of the film is a problem with the plot starting relatively at a slower pace, taking time to explain the central conflict - deeper than it appears - and, of course, the protagonist's role in this story. So, gradually, Captain Marvel gains a more intense cadence and it is in her arrival on Earth that the film actually begins to take a more defined form. There is also the issue of the Skrull-Kree war, which is summed up in a very simplistic and incoherent way. We have a little war. In the film, everything is very predictable. From the beginning, one feels that nothing is as it seems, and the real villains can be identified with a mere guessing exercise. However, it is the lack of personality of the antagonists, generic in their plans and worldview, that damage the plot more deeply. Seeing this weak antagonism after figures like Killmonger and especially Thanos is, to say the least, something that lowers the experience to a B or C series within this recent crop.
Long before she was Captain Marvel, Carol was a fearless girl finding her place in a world of men. As a human, she has flaws, but whenever she fell, she got up, tried herself and got everything she wanted. A child, a teenager, a young adult. The transformation into Kree would be the starting point for the character, if her entire past no longer assumed a hero's journey. The feminist subtext, although well implemented, does not reach the depth that racial and cultural themes gained in the film of the hero of Wakanda. And you don't even have to reach it. Issues can be raised for discussion without becoming flags blindly defended by a particular group. Overall, the film follows the late Marvel formula and does not take chances, does not innovate and does not dare, but delivers a fun, nostalgic result and a character that will certainly be one of the leaders of The Avengers in the next films!