An enjoyable, but flawed film that introduces a new character to the MCU

Rating: 7/10 (24 September 2019)

One major thing that people have said is that this film is great for "Phase One" of the MCU and that is absolutely true. The more recent films in this universe either raises the stakes for these heroes, adds more depth to them or does something unique to make it very worth watching. Although, I did enjoy it and want to see more of this character, this film didn't do anything to actually WOW me in any sort of way.
There weren't any cool shots or standout scenes, even though I did enjoy all of the superhero stuff. The moment Captain Marvel uses her powers and starts using her abilities, we understand that she is a big deal and can be a huge asset for the heroes of Earth. Sadly, the characters didn't have enough personality for them to be memorable. For the most part, the plot is interesting by handling Carol Denvers adventure in rediscovering who she is and finding her place in this world, but I thought the execution could have been handled more carefully as the film did have some potential to go deeper with the characters. There was never that spark or flare that I've loved to see in an origin film and felt a little bit bland compared to the others. The characters that we have seen before, such as Nick Fury, is always nice to see as he and Denvers had good chemistry and provided a lot of the humor together. Excluding a few of the new characters, the rest were uninteresting and kind of had nothing to do.
People do complain about Brie Larson and I thought she did fine here. She was able to bring a sense of personality to the character and although she isn't as interesting as the other characters in the MCU, Larson did the best with what she was given. Samuel L. Jackson is always great as Nick Fury and I'm glad we've got more screen time with him as this film provides as a prequel and we get to know who he is as a character. He brings in the humor and liked every single moment with him. One major plus is the special effects team by making him look so much younger, there was never a time where I noticed that it was fake. Ben Mendelsohn is actually pretty good here and I liked all they did with his character. One actor I'm actually disappointed in and not because of he was bad, but because he had nothing to do was Jude Law. I wanted to see more Jude Law here and if they film was able to put him more to build a bond and relationship between his character and Larson's, then it would have made his character even more interesting.
The stuff that happens on Earth is easily the best part of the film as it was able to bring the comedy and entertainment. However, I wished that the film focuses more on the Star Force team which would have helped add more tension and conflict throughout the film. Some of them do appear in other films and it had potential for us to get to know them. Instead, we only get a glimpse of these soldiers and do not have any sort of understanding of who they are and not being able to connect with them. After the first act, they disappear and appear again for the climax in which wasn't executed well as I don't remember their names or their abilities.
One thing that I did like was that the movie had a few twists that surprised me. I expected things to happen a certain way based on discussions I had about the characters and based on the trailer only to have the film to do something unexpectedly. The pacing and the overall story is still fun to watch, but because of the caliber of the previous films, it just feels weaker than usual. Also, one final remark, all of this talk and "controversy" I never had a single moment of Marvel bringing in politics to cinema. I have talked to some people who did not like parts of the film due to the fact that they believed the agenda that Marvel was trying to push. You see what you want to see and I saw a decent, but flawed superhero flick that is enjoyable to watch.