The Worst MCU Movie Yet...and NOT Because of the Snowflake MRA Reasons

Rating: 4/10 (16 March 2019)

With Captain Marvel, Marvel Studios has (finally!) placed their first female-fronted outing in the hands of one of their oldest and most enduring characters, and one that is every bit as bold and fun as she ever was. Unfortunately, the movie never lives up to the character's name. Many of the tried-and-true Marvel ingredients are here (hero's journey, irreverent humor, bright colors, Nick Fury), but with a general lack of purpose beyond bluntly declaring the empowerment of women (perhaps a few years too late?) and whetting our appetite until Endgame.
When an alien soldier named Vers crash lands in 1990s America, she is accompanied by Nick Fury and SHIELD in order to stop an intergalactic disaster. Other than the 1990s part, this should feel like extremely familiar territory. This movie reeks of Thor and Guardians of the Galaxy influences, only without the brazen originality or import. Even where other lesser Marvel films get by on the charm and intrigue of their hero, Larson falters. Not that it's really the Oscar-winning actress's fault. The movie is constantly telling us how "funny", "brash", and "emotional" she is, but never convincingly shows us.
A common critique of these MCU films is that they are less movies and more episodes of an expensive TV series, one that has throwaway episodes that only serve as minor bridges between the "important" entries. Maybe I was just too blinded by fan-boy-dom before now, but this was the first time I truly felt that. In that sense, you'll probably wanna see this movie to stay up on what's to come with this franchise. But purely as an enjoyable movie-going experience itself, Captain Marvel is disposable.