Marvel films. What I find most interesting about them all is for better and worse, my opinion of them rarely changes;

Rating: 7/10 (12 February 2020)

That is to say unlike a richer drama or biopic etc, my enjoyment of Marvel blockbusters never depends on what state of mind I'm in or who I'm with; They're perfectly the same to me no matter what. Some other movies that I truly and completely love, I re-watch sometimes and think they're utter embarrassing rubbish, then next time, I love it again. That is the exciting part of truly great movies, they can't resonate within you all the time, and some grow and flex with you, both apart and together like some friends and family. But Marvel movies, on the whole, as they've refined the formula over and over again, are the fast food of movies; I'm never disappointed and never overly satiated; I know what to expect and there's a nice warm familiarity with that, but I'm never challenged.
I think that's ok in movie making, but you can't have takeaway every day! So I really like the marvel movies for exactly what they are, I enjoy analysing them but only to compare them to each other, not to actual movies.
So with that in mind, Captain Marvel is was good. Not better than say an Ant-Man and The Wasp, but just as good in a different way. It was a lot more chilled out. Specifically, it wasn't trying too hard, trying to make you laugh every second to avoid you thinking about how little sense it all makes. And it wasn't trying to display this global threat of annihilation in a way that we can't at all relate to, and essentially, it wasn't trying to be really tense all the time, like some blockbusters that try to twist you up tighter for 100 minutes and not let go. Captain Marvel marched to the beat of its own drum, which actually, tied nicely into the plot. It was solid and fun and relaxed. Which is a change of pace.
Like Brie Larson's Carol Dan(Vers), there's a pervading chill to this flick, a simplicity, and not a hyperactivity. That doesn't mean there isn't a nice smattering of action, even if the third act is all CGI grimaces and smashy DC nonsense. The plot is not at all surprising but it's not cloying and it's unafraid of slowing down here and there.
I know I said it wasn't trying to be funny, but that doesn't mean that it isn't. Yes there's clear and unforced chemistry between Jackson and Larson and there's a cool 90's Lethal Weapon/X-Files/Superman vibe to the film (and the music). But the standout was Ben Mendelsohn who is usually criminally underutilised or edited down, but here he shines.
Mendelsohn's Talos wasn't the only thing that had a welcome lost 90's flavour of Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Angel; I couldn't help but think that I would gladly take a Netflix mini series reboot of Buffy with Boden/Fleck and Brie Larson on the team.
So there's a lovely Deus Ex cat, a cameo that is maybe the greatest conceived cameo of all time, an opening logo crawl that almost brought tears to my eyes, a subtle but solid throwback soundtrack and an end fight scene that felt like a joyous celebration of a woman's strength, with a light touch, an important message and an energy and exuberance that felt right.
Captain Marvel is not overbearing and it's not rubbish. Yeah, it'll be good after a hard days work. And after all, that's what these movies are for. And I liked it more than Black Panther. There, I said it.