Interesting New Hero in a Solid MCU Origin Story

Rating: 8/10 (9 March 2019)

I'm not familiar with the character of Captain Marvel from the comics so coming in as a fresh face, I think they did a good job of developing her from start to finish. They even utilize a couple of story devices that I'm getting sick of like the protagonist suffering from amnesia. I feel like the Bourne movies made that a popular story element and its been repeated again and again. But in Captain Marvel, it allows us to learn about Ms. Danvers without her losing her resolve or requiring a huge exposition dump near the start of the movie. They integrate her flashbacks well and in an artistic manner to make them more palatable. I was interested in where Danvers had come from and while her overall arc may not break the mould, they gradually feed you little bits of her personality. This helps keep your interest up and helps the movie get through some of the slower scenes.
I also like how the movie plays with the idea that changing perspectives on a situation can shine a light on what's really going on. There's a curveball thrown in with the Skrulls that was inspired for a comic book movie and I liked how Carol had the wherewithal to figure out what was going on and adjust. Her motivation was pure but there was room for interpretation because of how much she was altered by her experiences. It was a nice touch and I appreciated how the movie wasn't committed to a very straightforward and simplistic narrative.
The controversy surrounding Captain Marvel centres around it's star Brie Larson because of some comments she made. I think that its largely overblown and it shouldn't affect how you perceive the movie. I think she's great as Carol Danvers and her performance is the engine that drives Captain Marvel. She hits all the right beats and has the makings of a formidable player in future Marvel movies. She didn't blow me away but I expected good things and she met those expectations. Samuel L. Jackson is charming and charismatic in everything and he works well with Larson to form a pretty solid duo. Annette Bening got an interesting part as Dr. Wendy Lawson and the Supreme Intelligence and I think she made the most of her screen time. I initially groaned when I saw that Ben Mendelsohn was playing Talos, he's a great actor but he's been in so many villainous roles lately, he's being oversaturated. But due to the nice twist with his character, he sold it and was an effective member of this cast. Lashana Lynch was good with what she had to work with, her best scenes come in the last act and she got her chance to shine. I also thought Jude Law did well in his role as Yon-Rogg who serves as an early mentor to Vers.
As much as I want to tell you that Captain Marvel revolutionizes the genre and will be remembered as the pinnacle of Marvel's stable of movies, that's not the case here. I'm going to put it in the really good but not great category, objectively there's nothing wrong with that but Captain Marvel represents a solid execution of the Marvel playbook with only a few surprises. I did genuinely like the twist with the Skrulls but I'm not going to be walking away applauding how bold and fresh Captain Marvel is outside of that. The 2nd act has stretches that border on being too slow, they aren't without purpose but the pace does have a little slack in it. The only other real complaint I had was it would have been nice to see more action with Danvers using her entire power set. We get some good scenes at the end but as she even says that she's been fighting "with one hand tied behind my back."
I was lucky enough to see this with 2 friends and we all walked out of the movie shrugging our shoulders but largely singing Captain Marvel's praises. We all agreed that it featured good performances from the cast, that they weaved the Carol Danvers storyline into the larger MCU as well as they could have (including utilizing some well worn plot threads like the hero having amnesia or the twist reveal of the real antagonist) and that Captain Marvel amounted to artistic and fun execution of the MCU origin story. I don't think this will be remembered as one of the best MCU movies and much like recent comic book movies Wonder Woman and Black Panther, it will have a hard time living up to all the hype surrounding the production. There are some slow stretches (mostly in the middle) and while it executes the formula well, there isn't much that's going to shock or surprise if you're familiar with most of the movies in the MCU. But this is a movie that at minimum achieves what it wants to achieve and has some shining moments scattered throughout the film. As long as you haven't turned against it already, I think you'll have fun with Captain Marvel and its worth checking out in the theatre.