Captain Marvel (2019)

Rating: 5/10 (14 September 2019)

Directed by Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck. Starring Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Jude Law, Ben Mendelsohn, Lashana Lynch, Annette Bening, Clark Gregg, Lee Pace, Djimon Hounsou, Gemma Chan, Akira Akbar. (PG-13)
Air Force pilot and amnesiac member (Larson) of an intergalactic fighting force lands on Earth and uncovers the truth of her past while allying herself with Nick Fury (Jackson), agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Set in the 1990s (with nods to Blockbuster Video and a soundtrack full of alt-rock tunes from the era to constantly remind the audience, since nothing else does), but the film opens in outer space on a planet called Hala, plunging the audience directly into a conflict with an alien race while citing names and mythology that the uninitiated will struggle to understand (or care about). Gets better once it settles down, but like most films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, lacks a compelling or exciting villain and leads to a frenetic but wearisome climax with lots of light and noise but little dramatic interest. Larson is fine as the underdeveloped hero (her superpowers are sketchily-explained at best), Jackson gets more to do than usual, and there are hints of a commendable but weakly-integrated "girl power" theme, but it's not one of the better comic book origin stories out there. There's a cute kitty cat in the mix, at least.
46/100