Lower-tiered Marvel, but still fun.

Rating: 6/10 (6 March 2019)

Set prior to where the Marvel Cinematic Universe is currently at, this instalment serves as an origin story for amnesic Kree warrior Vers, an impulsive, resilient badass intent on figuring out her muddled memories whilst bringing down the planet-destroying Skrull race. There has been a lot made out about the fact this is the first female-led Marvel movie, but unsurprisingly, they succeed (and why wouldn't they?) in delivering a central protagonist as compelling, complex and charismatic as any male lead. Oscar winner Brie Larson is a good fit for the brazen space agent, imbuing her with a resolve that only strengthens when her vulnerabilities come to the fore. She's also just straight up a cool, kickass hero. Which makes it a shame that the strangely underwhelming action places this squarely into lower-tier MCU territory. There's certainly not a lack of set pieces, but none of them are memorable. Even the climactic sky-soaring sequence showing off the enormity of our lead's powers doesn't pack the punch you would expect. This franchise loves tapping into different genres to tell their superhero stories, this one riffing on the buddy-cop formula with Larson's outer-space operstive teaming up with Samuel L Jackson's SHIELD agent to exchange barbs and build an emotional relationship. It's awkward and forced to start with, but they warm up as the film progresses. The pre-Avengers Fury is less enlightened and experienced than as we've come to know him, but, with that trademark Jackson swagger, he's no less confident of himself. De-aging technology continues to evolve at an impressive rate too, a mid-90s Jackson extremely convincing, Elsewhere there's an amusing turn by Ben Mendelsohn as Skrull soldier Talos, a relatively one-note performance by Jude Law as Kree officer Yon-Rogg, and some class brought by Hollywood royalty Annette Bening as the Supreme Intelligence. This series sets a high bar in the blockbuster arena and Captain Marvel can't quite clear it, but comparisons aside this is still a fun adventure with a riveting hero at the centre of it all.