I'm Conflicted

Rating: 6/10 (9 March 2019)

Firstly, let me apologize up front for my vague review, but I'm not exactly sure how I ultimately feel about this movie. It LOOKS great. And it SOUNDS great, and yet it somehow still ultimately fell flat for me.
The first 3/4 of the movie is a bit on the dull side. Generally, I can forgive this because it's essentially universe building for an entirely new franchise, but I kept checking my watch to see how much time had gone by. It felt more like i was waiting for the end of a school day than watching a movie. It picks up considerably in the final act, and there's even some great bad-assery mixed in with a bit of cheesy humor, but it's not quite enough to justify the filler that came before it. I will say that I was surprised by how much humor was in the movie. The trailers made it out to be overly serious, and there are stretches where the film is quite lighthearted. Still, "Just A Girl" playing over a fight scene was just beyond ridiculous, and I don't understand how this made it into the final cut.
And then there's Brie Larson. We all have heard the controversy swirling around her statements, so I'll avoid that and just say that she wasn't the best choice for this. Unless they were looking for the best deadpan camera stare. She's like the color beige. There was so much going on around her, and yet she barely registered. When a pixelated cat is more interesting than you are in your own movie, you've got issues. Outside of her, the casting was perfect, with a scene stealing turn from Ben Mendehlson. It's really too bad because Carol Danvers deserves a more interesting portrayal
PROS: Cinematography, sound, special effects, cast
CONS: Often slow, sometimes muddled story, a bit TOO cheesy in places, CM is too powerful. She's never really in any danger.