It's Fine. But that's about as good as it gets

Rating: 4/10 (21 March 2019)

My goal was to go in with an open mind and try to ignore any drama surrounding the movie. Is this a good superhero film with interesting characters and a story to tell? That's the real question that matters me.
In terms of characters, Captain Marvel doesn't really experience much growth. She's more or less the same person at the beginning of the film as she is at the end. Obviously at the end she has her powers fully realized and is on the "right side" now, but her as a character... basically the same. Any interesting character development or depth is giving to a few side characters, which helps but that's no where near enough to be engaging.
The story. The story can be broken up into two broad parts: her origin and "the war", which we learn is less of a war and more of a cleansing. The struggle between Kree and Skrulls has some solid twists and turns. I genuinely enjoyed it. Having said that, they are based on twists, which typically does not age well. Once you know what the twist is those diminishing returns kick in fast. The other part, her origin, is extremely bland. The circumstances around it with Dr. Lawson are interesting but the way she actually obtains her powers are incredibly boring. She gets hit with a blast. Now she has powers. That's literally it. Additionally when she fully realizes her strength and breaks out of her mind prison, she just sort of does it and there's no real explanation as to how. It felt like the movie wanted me to just go "oh it's cuz she's strong. Will power!" What does she overcome to make that happen exactly? I honestly struggle to come up with anything that doesn't get political.
Is it a good superhero movie? I mean it checks the basic boxes but it adds nothing innovative or interesting to a VERY crowded field of well established MCU IP's. The bar has been set very high and I'm surprised they didn't try to take a bigger swing. All and all it's an experience you don't really NEED to have. If you want to be fully caught up for End Game like I do, then go see it.