FEMALE EMPOWERMENT

Rating: 8/10 (25 June 2019)

With the release of CAPTAIN MARVEL the Marvel Universe has introduced its most powerful hero to date and it's not a man. That speaks volumes to how times have changed. Not only that it's a good thing as well. Marvel has been one of the most inclusive arenas when it comes to people of the world and that also says something. Even more so because they don't pat themselves on the back or make it so noticeable at the same time.
CAPTAIN MARVEL features Brie Larson in the lead role Carol Danvers/Vers/Captain Marvel. When the film opens we're far off in outer space in 1995 where young Vers is being trained by her mentor Yon-Rogg (Jude Law) to be one of the elite warriors of the Kree Empire. Sent on a mission against the Skrulls, the sworn enemies of the Kree, a battle leaves Vers wounded and captured. Using a special machine the Skrulls get information from Vers mind, showing images of her past taking place on Earth. Escaping her captors and damaging their spaceship they both find themselves landing on Earth.
At first the story takes a fish out of water approach with Vers acting as if everyone should know who the Kree or Skrulls are. She comes into contact with a street level agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. named Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) who thinks she is crazy until they are attacked by a Skrull. In hot pursuit Vers battles a Skrull on a train with Fury in following in his car until he discovers his fellow agent is a Skrull as well. Both survive their encounters and then discuss what is going on.
Using some of the memories that she recalls not only from her own dreams but those extracted by the Skrulls, Vers realizes all of this has something to do with a secret program called Project Pegasus. With Fury's help they head that way and discover that her real name isn't Vers at all but Carol Danvers and she was presumed dead in a crash back in 1989. Fury's boss Keller shows up only for Fury and Danvers to realize he's Talos, the leader of the Skrulls. Fury helps her escape and the pair head to Louisiana where Danvers best friend Maria Rameau (Lashana Lynch) lives with her daughter.
Adding pieces to her mixed up memories Danvers realizes that the woman she's been seeing in her dreams, Dr. Wendy Lawson (Annette Benning) holds all the answers to her questions and may have ties to the Kree. She alters her uniform becoming Captain Marvel and sets out to find out how her past ties her to what is taking place as well as just who is behind it all. She will also learn that she has more to offer than she thought.
As with all of the Marvel films released to date this one has more story content to it than most would assume since it's based on a comic book. But with the history of comics taking in some cases over 30-50 years to build their characters that shouldn't be a surprise. Even in the movies that establish the character the story surrounds there is a rich foundation from which to draw from. In the case of Captain Marvel there is more than one to draw from and the film division of Marvel made the correct choice to choose this direction.
In a genre filled with muscle bound or enhanced male superheroes Marvel has done a great job of filling the roster with many female characters. The same is true for heroes of color. Black Widow, Wasp, Scarlet Witch along with the Falcon and Black Panther stand side by side with Captain America and Iron Man. If you're looking for diversity there is no greater group than that found in Marvel films.
Perhaps the biggest surprise is that Captain Marvel ends up being the strongest of all superheroes in the Marvel Film Universe. That's a major responsibility in a world that contains a Norse God on the roster. It's also a huge step forward when it comes to female roles in a male dominated genre.
As for the movie itself on my first viewing I found it to be one of the weaker Marvel outings. On second viewing I think it's better than I felt the first time. The pacing is a bit slow but then this is an origin story and IRON MAN had the same problem when looking back. The movie does offer solid entertainment and storytelling and is a must see if you intend to move on to the next interlocked Marvel film. And even if you don't intend to, this is one that you can enjoy all on its own. But why would you want to? The Marvel films have done something extraordinary, combining 22 movies to tell a single running story but still enjoyable as individual films. That's an amazing achievement and one to enjoy over and over again.