An interesting take on a superhero origin story with mixed results

Rating: 8/10 (10 March 2019)

Going into Captain Marvel I was a bit nervous that this would feel like a forced prequel to the MCU especially how uninteresting the advertisement made it to be. After watching the whole thing I found this entry in the MCU to be somewhat compelling and interesting with some puzzling choices on how it to ties to the larger cinematic universe.
Rather then begin the story with the hero's humble beginnings and going through a redemption arc by gaining powers and taking responsibility, Captian Marvel uses a sort of Memento-inspired style of story-telling to introduce her Carol Danvers as the alien Kree's version of a super-soldier on the planet Hala engaged in a war with the shape-shifting Skrulls and then following her to rediscover her past on earth. It is a very unconventional way, in terms of Marvel, of telling the hero's origin that can the be both the story's strength and weakness.
When the directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck are allowed to focus on the more quiet character moments I can feel being engaged in the social-political messaging about individuality, identity, authority and toxic masculinity even if it is not as subtle or as heavy compared to Black Panther or Wonder Woman. The way story uses the Kree and Skrulls as a metaphor for issues happening today elevated Captain Marvel above just another solo adventure but is undermined at times when certain twists do not pay off based on how its focused.
Performance-wise I thought most of the cast and characters were pretty solid. Samuel L. Jackson gets to channel more of his comedic side as a young two-eyed Nick Fury. Lashana Lynch as Danver's best friend's Maria Rambeau gives an emotional breakout performance that was needed. But the MVP surprisingly is Ben Mendelsohn as the Skrull general Talos. Unlike his previous one-note villain in Ready Player One, Mendelsohn brings a lot more depth and humor then what you expect his character to be as the obvious villain of the story. Every time Mendelsohn popped up in a scene I could feel the movie actually getting a lot better and more fascinating when it focused on his character. Where I can see the divided line on a lot of critics is how the story uses Brie Larson as Carol Danvers.
I like Brie Larson's performance and charisma particularly when the movie allows her to have some fun but for the story relying on flashbacks to tell her backstory I felt denied clear character growth like previous mcu characters. Larson has good comedic timing with Jackson when the film shows Danvers and Fury teaming up as a buddy-cop duo but it never feels like Larson is able let out her more dramatic side because of what the story tells her to hold back emotionally.
Major problems I did find were the 90's element and the MCU tie-ins. The 90's references become a little more jarring then nostalgic at times. And other then the fact of introducing a less-experienced Nick Fury and setting up certain plot devices to lead into Endgame, the 90's era didn't feel felt like it offered that much to the story. When the film goes into prequel mode, particularly near the end, I could feeling its choices being less of a game-changer like Winter Soldier, Ragnarok or Infinity War and more like an unnecessary joke or answer to something I didn't care to be revealed.
Another thing that I felt was underwhelming was the action and visuals. Because Marvel usually hires unknown directors that have a lack of experience on working in big-action set pieces, the fight sequences felt very cheap with too many quick cuts and the cgi became more and more like playstation cut-scenes as it got closer to the third-act battle. I do have to credit though how seamless the de-aging process on Samual L. Jackson to the point I completely forgot that Jackson turned 70 last year. However, Clark Gregg's Coulson could of used more work though since there times he looked like a living Ken doll.
Similar to Last Jedi, Captain Marvel I can see being divisive based on how it fits into the MCU but for me I chose judge the movie itself on its own term. Not my favourite MCU installment but still enjoyed it more then most.