Captain Marvel Poster
Brie Larson stars in Marvel Studios' "Captain Marvel"

Captain Marvel is the twenty-first installment of the ongoing Marvel Cinematic Universe, the first film from Marvel Studios centered on a female superhero, and the first MCU film made with a female director, Anna Boden alongside her co-director Ryan Fleck (Half-Nelson). Brie Larson makes her Marvel debut as the eponymous captain Carol Danvers, a soldier in the elite warrior team Starforce which is engulfed in the intergalactic Kree-Skrull War. Jude Law plays her mentor, the Kree commander Yon-Rogg and Djimon Hounsou reprises his Guardians of the Galaxy role as Korath.

Left to right: Yon-Rogg (Jude Law), Ronan (Lee Pace), Korath (Djimon Hounsou), Att-Lass (Algenis Perez Soto), Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), Bron-Char (Rune Temte) and Minn-Erva (Gemma Chan) – Photo: Chuck Zlotnick – ©Marvel Studios 2019

Lost in battle, Captain Marvel finds herself on Earth in the year 1995, followed closely by Shield agents Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson in his ninth Marvel appearance) and Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg returning to the MCU). Also in tow are the Skrull soldiers, shape-shifting infiltrators that have been decades-long villains in the pages of Marvel Comics finally making their screen debut. Ben Mendelsohn (Rogue One) plays their leader, Talos. The film also stars Annette Bening as the Kree A.I. known as the Supreme Intelligence, Gemma Chan as Kree sniper Minn-Erva, and Lashana Lynch as Carol’s oldest friend Maria “Photon” Rambeau.

Brie Larson as Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel – Photo: Chuck Zlotnick – ©Marvel Studios 2019

Captain Marvel continues the streak of self-assured adventurous comic adaptations that have made Marvel Studios the envy of production companies all over the world. The key to Marvel Studios’ success has always been their dedication to characterization, and Captain Marvel is no different. Directors Boden and Fleck hone in on Danvers’ resiliency, her wit and her determination, as brought to life by Oscar-winner Brie Larson. The film pieces together her memory of herself as she ends up retracing her previous life on Earth, presumably perishing in an airplane crash. Touching on themes of discrimination and sexism early on as memories, the film uses those flashbacks as an emotional backdrop for what Danvers has already overcome, focusing majorly on the battle at hand.

Left to right: Director Anna Boden, Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, and Director Ryan Fleck – Photo: Chuck Zlotnick – ©Marvel Studios 2019

It helps immensely that a good portion of Captain Marvel is a two-hander between Larson and Samuel L. Jackson (with an assist from Goose the Cat, of course). I could seriously watch a movie of just those two hanging out. Their third film together (after 2017’s Kong: Skull Island and the upcoming Unicorn Store directed by Larson), the chemistry between the two actors is breezy and playful, just like the best buddy cop movies from the 80s and 90s which befits the time period. Speaking of which, there is an abundance of 90s nostalgia including old defunct brands like Blockbuster Video and a soundtrack jam-packed with songs of the era (and if I’m being honest, the film regrettably over-relies upon it; see Guardians of the Galaxy for a better usage of song score).

Samuel L. Jackson as Agent Nick Fury – Photo: Chuck Zlotnick – ©Marvel Studios 2019

Jackson’s performance is augmented with digital de-aging, the most extensive in a screen performance thus far. It is an impressive visual feat by Lola VFX that works for the most part (Gregg’s de-aging fares less well and is more plasticky). Previous Marvel films like 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand or even Disney’s Tron: Legacy tried to de-age actors with effects that have not, pardon the pun, aged well. Jackson’s appearance as 1995 Nick Fury is an achievement, but one aided by a preponderance of dimly lit interior scenes from cinematographer Ben Davis (a Marvel Studios vet with Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Age of Ultron and Doctor Strange under his belt). This approach may have been an attempt to help the digital fountain of youth for Mr. Jackson, but it unfortunately results in a murky, dark visual palette broken up by the occasional chase scene in the daylight. Then again, it might have been the 3D glasses I was wearing.

Brie Larson as Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel – Photo: Chuck Zlotnick – ©Marvel Studios 2019

Like DC’s Wonder Woman before it, Captain Marvel gives us a compelling heroine to watch on the big screen. Here, we have the added bonus of an ending that doesn’t entirely undo the goodwill it engenders (and as another bonus, goes full-on anime). Indeed, Wonder Woman is an iconic character and her solo film used that iconography to thrilling effect. As a character, Captain Marvel isn’t in the public consciousness to that extent, known at the moment only to die-hard Marvel readers, but this film truly gets what makes her inspirational. It shows us how determined she is, dissatisfied with being told who or what she is. Carol Danvers has gone through several monikers and identities in the comics (Ms. Marvel, Warbird) before landing on Captain Marvel, but her spirit and tenacity remained the same, and it’s refreshing to finally see her in theaters.

Photo: Chuck Zlotnick – ©Marvel Studios 2019

Marvel Studios is the team that brought us a thawed-out super-soldier, an electric space Viking, a talking raccoon and the kingdom of Wakanda. So, it says a lot that it took over ten years to finally bring us a female-led superhero movie. That being said, Captain Marvel arrives at just the right time, not just for the Avengers that will need an assist in the upcoming Endgame, but also for young girls in the audience looking for inspiration.

Rating: 4/5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐

ABOUT MARVEL STUDIOS’ CAPTAIN MARVEL

Set in the 1990s, Marvel Studios’ “Captain Marvel” is an all-new adventure from a previously unseen period in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe that follows the journey of Carol Danvers as she becomes one of the universe’s most powerful heroes. While a galactic war between two alien races reaches Earth, Danvers finds herself and a small cadre of allies at the center of the maelstrom.

Captain Marvel opens in U.S. theaters on March 8, 2019, in 3D, 2D, Dolby Cinema and IMAX, with a run-time of 124 minutes and is rated PG-13.

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