Don’t underestimate the cat. Full of shape shifters, plot twists, and a house pet deemed more dangerous than a man—Captain Marvel will keep you on your toes.
Captain Marvel did a perfect job not taking itself too seriously. Any good action movie knows it’s unrealistic. Taking a Guardians of the Galaxy approach, the screenplay filled with classic jokes and unexpected humor. Much of this playfulness came from the prodigy herself.
Brie Larson plays a fierce, witty, stubborn, and down to earth (at times literally) hero. We first meet Vers in the stereotypical set up for an action movie. She’s training with a mentor, unsure of herself, her past, and her powers.
The first half of the film moves slow, weighed down with the burden of creating an entire history and commonsensical plot. Vers embarks on her first mission with fellow Kree, but as expected, something goes wrong. Vers finds herself on Planet C53, otherwise known as earth, and thus begins her journey to find herself. She soon discovers this is Carol Danvers.
Although the film’s sentimental scenes felt as forced as they ere, especially between Carol and her best friend, there are many precious moments. Most of these happen between Carol and her new human friend, Agent Fury. If you’ve kept up with the Avengers movies, this friendship is even more endearing.
Carol/Captain Marvel comes across altogether normal. She does, however, fight the many stereotypes of a girl: a damsel in distress, a woman overpowered by her love for one man, and an overly sexualized superwoman. The screenplay even mocks these old-fashioned labels, for example, when men tell her to control her emotions. Overall, the prolonged buildup to Captain Marvel’s reveal felt like a letdown. Carol is cool and relatable and all, but her backstory was unfortunately less than epic.
The human side of her character becomes the most essential part of our new hero. The screen flashes with images of Carol’s memories as she reminds herself that being human means to get back up after you fall.
Captain Marvel goes through many costume changes, as she literally takes on new forms and identities. In the end, she leaves as a weapon—a weapon to end all wars.
But, wait! Don’t leave yet. If you left the theater when the credits started to roll, you’ve clearly never been to a Marvel movie before. This is the best part. A rising excitement should be creeping up your stomach, because we’re about to get a glimpse into the future Avengers film. Just as the ending of Avengers: Infinity Warleft lingering dots to be connected in Captain Marvel, this post-credits scene leaves behind dots leading into Avengers: Endgame.
Captain Marvelperfectly pieced together missing plots and holes from past Avengers movies, making the second half of the film more worthwhile. But if you’ve never seen an Avengers movie or paid much attention to the conspiring timelines and character developments, this movie won’t be any different. To that extent, if you arean Avengers fan, Captain Marvelis awesome!