The Captain I've Been Waiting For

Rating: 8/10 (9 March 2019)

It's been almost three years since it was announced that Brie Larson was announced at Comic-Con to be playing the role of Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel. I had been waiting for the announcement for a while. I'm pretty close to being a die hard fanboy for Captain Marvel. When I became more of an adult and really got into comics, I don't know what it was but she appealed to me. Her character was the headstrong, powerful, smart military type that always kept things grounded emotionally. She is kind of like the equivalent of Superman for the Marvel Universe. But human and also even if she didn't have powers she would be a badass pilot. When the film and the date were released I was counting down the days. I couldn't wait to see this character I enjoyed so much on the page on the big screen.
Here's the thing, I wasn't a fan of Brie Larson as a choice. I was hoping for Yvonne Strahovski (Chuck, 24) or Natalie Dormer (Game of Thrones). I was a bit confused with the choice of Brie Larson. Outside of the coming off her Academy Award win, I'm not sure what they thought. But that was just my opinion. Time went by and I don't know if I just forgot being upset about the casting or what, but when I saw those first leaked set photos I was very happy. Then I saw all the research and work she was putting into being Captain Marvel and it started putting me at ease. The first trailer was a bit hit or miss for me. With each trailer, my excitement for this film grew to a fever pitch. This film had become one of my most anticipated films of 2019 (top five at least). I am happy to report this is exactly the Captain Marvel film I wanted and have been waiting for.
The quick rundown of the plot of the film is Vers (Larson) is a warrior with the Kree. The Kree who feature Yon-Rogg (Jude Law) and Korath (Djimon Hounsou) have enemies with the Skrulls, shape-shifting alien species whose small faction in the film is lead by Talos (Ben Mendelsohn). When on an exaction mission Vers is caught by Skrulls and probed for information. This leads to memories that she can't put together. She escapes captivity and is hurled to Earth. Teaming up with a young Agent Nicolas J Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and young Agent Phil Coulson, Vers must figure out what all these memories mean and stop the on-coming Skrull/Kree war that is coming to earth.
Brie Larson embodies Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel. She's so cocky, funny, headstrong at times, but selfless and full of heart. I honestly couldn't have picked a better actress to play her. I don't know how Marvel does it but they really do get the best actors and actress to portray their characters. Samuel L. Jackson seems to be having the most fun playing Fury in any of the MCU films he's been in. This is young Fury, who isn't the hardcore spy with mountains of secrets and a grizzled closed-off demeanor. This happens to be his first encounter with alien beings and he plays with it so well. Also, who knew Fury was a cat person. (More on that amazing cat later) Jude Law is a good leader/foil for Danvers. He's pushing her to be the best she can be but in a poke/prod the bear way. He has things he's hiding from her and when he needs to ruthless he pulls it off very well.
Ben Mendelsohn is probably the human that steals the most scenes. He knows he's in a superhero Marvel movie and proceeds to play the film just right. I'm very happy we get a multilayered villain that could be around for the future. Even the FX and makeup, he's excellent in his character. Lashana Lynch's Maria Rambeau might be the heart of the film. Her chemistry with Larson is so on point, one could think they've been friends for years off-screen. Rambeau keeps Danvers grounded. The love they have for each other is something that never goes away. She is family for Danvers and that pops off the screen. But the one scene stealer of them all is Goose the Cat. (Chewie in the comics, why they changed I'll never understand) Anytime Goose is on screen he commands attention. He has pretty decent chemistry with Fury and a few surprises to boot.
Casting wise, the whole film is full of good performances. I was happy to see Annette Bening in the role(s) she was cast. They are important to the film and history of Captain Marvel. The film is so very sci-fi and I really enjoyed that. I know that Guardians Of The Galaxy is like a character-driven space opera but this film elements of Star Wars and Superman. It's very cool to see the MCU diving into their comic book roots and go all out sci-fi with their last few films. There's a lot of tech talk, aliens, superpowers and cool space travel. The action is good. The train fight/chase being the standout but I did enjoy the end space battle showing off how powerful Captain Marvel really is.
Directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck get the small character moments so perfect. Not that I have any issues with the action but I think with a second feature they will get their sea legs and give us something truly eye-popping on the scale that Captain Marvel deserves. That would be my only issues is that there is a really standout action set piece that screams "wow did you see that?!" Everything for me worked so well. And they connect this film to the bigger MCU picture like a piece in a big puzzle. There are more questions that are raised that aren't answered yet. Hopefully in a sequel and Avengers: Endgame we will get some of those answers.
Captain Marvel was a total blast for me. The film does start off a bit slow but once Carol gets to Earth the film takes off in all the best ways. It's much like the opposite of the original Thor. Everything on Asgard was great but him on Earth was a bit underwhelming. All the performances were excellent and it seemed the entire cast was having so much fun playing their roles and being in this film. The story is basically Marvel's Superman story. I also see this as a film that demands multiple viewings. I can't wait to see the film again and see how Captain Marvel fits into Endgame and beyond. For the viewers that don't know there are two after credit scenes that people following this film series need to stay for.