Don't fall for the agenda.

Rating: 8/10 (10 March 2019)

It's the first time I've written a review on here, and the reason I felt I had to do it is the insane amount of negativity this movie has gotten, based on the back of an agenda. Not the agenda of the movie, which is in no way in your face, as many claim, but those that - because they are personally offended by the existence of a character - feel the need to trash a movie based on nothing but ego. Black Panther last year suffered from the same, but despite its flaws was a highly enjoyable movie. This is more of the same, and while it didn't connect with me in quite the same way that Panther did (I'm not overly familiar with Danvers as a character), it's still a really enjoyable, well-made move that leaves the comic-book child in me desperate for more.
I went in with some trepidation, as did my wife - a HUGE fan of the books - due to all the negative press this movie was getting. The first thing I should point out is the touching tribute to Stan which opened up the movie itself. It's perfect, and honestly had me choked up. The movie itself begins slowly, much more than previous Marvel films IMO, and despite including several action sequences, left me feeling a little uneasy with where this thing was headed - perhaps the bad reviews I'd seen were correct, after all. However, this all changed when the storyline reached Earth, and things kicked off in earnest. The interplay between the main protagonist and Samuel Jackson's Fury was really the highlight of the movie, and, despite the pure '90's-ness of it all (never my favourite decade for fashion and music), it moved along at a cracking pace, and by the end, I felt that if anything the movie was too short. The acting is great (once again, those criticising Larson seem to be doing so more on the person herself than her abilities), the story has a genuine twist half-way through, which was a pleasant surprise, rather than what seemed like a cheat (as in Iron Man 3), and it was fun, which is essentially the reason I go see these movies.
The best way I can describe it in non-spoiler terms is to take it as a story from the era in which it was set - think of Carpenter's 'Starman' crossed with the exuberance of 'Explorers' or 'Back to the Future'. Is it perfect? No. It's not 'Winter Soldier', but then again it's nowhere near as disappointing as 'Iron Man 3'. As for those that claim they had never heard of the character before this... so? Who had heard of the Guardians before their movie, either? The only ones going into this with preconceived notions are those that have already made their mind up to hate it, love it, or are familiar with the character. I was none of those things, and I came out of the theatre entertained & satisfied. I should add that my wife - again, a huge fan - was in tears of joy in the latter half of the movie, seeing the character she loves so much in action on the big screen. In her opinion, it was perfect, and Larson captured Danvers perfectly.
My final words on this are as follows: don't listen to the nonsense spewed by those determined to make this instalment crash & burn. It's well worth it, and an excellent addition to the MCU.