Not so Marvellous

Rating: 6/10 (8 March 2019)

On the surface, "Captain Marvel" is a surprisingly comedic action movie which has a quick pace to make every minute of its short run time enjoyable. However, when looking beyond the generic Marvel action set pieces and uneven humour, audiences uncover a plot which lacks depth and complexity, leaving many audiences uninvested in an important character within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A positive for many, though, might be the humorous approach taken by the film, not indicated by most of the marketing, with most of the humour landing, especially sequences with Goose the cat. However, unlike "Thor: Ragnarok", the film does not commit to its comedic tone to its fullest, and instead acts as a distraction to the generic and basic plot unfolding on screen. Also, the action scenes, similar to the humour, are very common throughout the movie. keeping audiences entertained, but once again take up screen time crucial to develop investment in Carol Danvers story. As for the narrative, it is so basic, always failing to add depth. For example, the motivations of all the characters, especially the main antagonists, is absent, with the film attempting but failing to explore potential storylines, such as the moral ambiguity of war, or explore the Kree and Skrull civilisations to their fullest. Instead the story opts to focus on 90s nostalgia and a "buddy cop" duo which is barely developed, while providing subversions failing to add depth, but instead brings the motivations of the characters into question even more. Overall, "Captain Marvel" will likely entertain a large number of movie goers with its generic action set pieces and uneven humour, but when sizing the film up with past Marvel entries, it lacks depth and creativity in its execution.