Captain Marvel – Film Review (Spoiler Free)

First of all, let’s talk about how this movie premiered on International Women’s Day (March 8). We see you, Marvel, and we applaud you.

Second of all, be prepared for the opening thirty seconds to bring tears to the most stoic comic book fan’s eyes. Excelsior.

As the last movie released before Avengers: Endgame and Marvel’s first female led superhero film, it’s safe to say expectations for Captain Marvel were justifiably high. I was nervous about this one, especially with it being released within two years of DC’s Wonder Woman — the film that proved female superhero films DO have a place in the genre (and the potential to be highly successful at that).

The trailers did nothing to ease my anxiety. Blame it on poor editing or bad delivery of the particular lines they chose to include, but the whole vibe was just kind of… hokey. (Of course, the inclusion of Blockbuster at the end of the first trailer immediately won all us 90’s kids over.) Still, I went into the theater feeling like a kid on Halloween walking up to the house that usually hands out apples.

Thankfully, I left that house with a bag full of chocolate and only one one or two raisins thrown into the mix.

The Raisins
Captain Marvel was reminiscent of Captain America: The First Avenger and even 1978’s Superman in that their title characters feel like the embodiment of good in the good vs. evil trope. All three have experienced trauma that should have scarred them, but without fail their inner moral compass wins out every time they’re faced with a difficult decision. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but I find characters to be more believable when they experience internal conflict that translates to questionable external actions.

Brie Larson is a fantastic actress. She wowed the world as Ma in Room by giving a raw, heartbreaking performance as someone who has been through unimaginable trauma. Maybe my memory of this performance is why I was disappointed with the characterization of Carol Danvers. There was some inner turmoil, but overall her character felt almost too good to be true. Not everyone can have the emotional complexity of Tony Stark, but I would have liked to see a little more darkness and grit from the woman who may be the face of the next generation of Marvel heroes.

The Chocolate
On a positive note, Captain Marvel does an excellent job of portraying its heroine’s identity crisis. The audience follows along on her journey of self-discovery, catching glimpses of memories and stray bits of information here and there until the bigger picture is finally unveiled. There’s a very cool sequence early on in which Carol’s memories are being fiddled with by aliens in a way that leaves us reeling and trying to piece together the puzzle of her past along with them.

While Carol Danvers herself was lacking in depth, the chemistry between Carol and Nick Fury gives us some much needed insight into the ever mysterious leading agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (As does the chemistry between Fury and a cat named Goose, which may have been my favorite part of the movie.) Before seeing the movie I watched an interview in which Brie Larson affectionately refers to Samuel L. Jackson as “Sam,” so it seems their on-screen friendship was reflective of their real life one. In two hours we witness Carol and Fury’s progression from strangers to cautious partners to pseudo-siblings, and in those two hours I dare to say we see more personality from Fury’s character than we have in the totality of his previous screen time.

On a technical note, the cinematography in Captain Marvel is pure 90’s nostalgia and I loved every second of it. The faded colors in the “present day” earth scenes take us right back to the decade in which the film is set. Some of the extraterrestrial creatures had a costume-like appearance that was reminiscent of the original Star Wars trilogy. Whether that was intentional or just poor CGI, it worked for a movie set pre-2000’s. With the amount of references to things like AOL and dial-up internet, I’m convinced there was a team of nineties kids conspiring behind the scenes to turn this movie into the ultimate throwback fest.

Higher, Further, Faster
While Captain Marvel is not without its flaws, it still makes an enjoyable addition to Marvel’s origin story films. We are introduced to her character, watch her come to terms with her supernatural abilities (albeit in a reversal process, since she already has these powers when we first meet her), enjoy some girl power moments mixed with alien fight scenes, and — as we’ve come to expect from the beloved studio — get a post-credit taste of what’s to come that leaves our mouths watering for more.

I have to admit, at no point in the movie was I overly concerned for Carol’s welfare. With the fate of the half the universe’s population currently resting in Thanos’ giant, purple palm, I’d say that’s not a bad thing.

We’re ready for you, Endgame!

Kati Davis works in Circulation/Youth Services at a public library, where she gets paid to read children’s books in funny voices. Her dorky passion is animated movies, especially ones from Studio Ghibli and lesser loved Disney movies from the 90’s/early 00’s. She is convinced that one day Atlantis: The Lost Empire will get the live action remake it deserves!
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