Review - Captain Marvel

Captain Marvel is the newest Marvel film which means you've probably already seen it and therefore this review feels a smidge redundant but ho hey, I gotta make content and clearly, you still clicked on this. We're stuck in this together. Anyway, it's the 21st Marvel Cinematic Universe film but instead of being set anywhere near either Infinity War or Endgame, it's set in the nineties. Our hero is Vers, a Kree warrior who is sent to Earth in search of Skrulls. All that sounds like utter nonsense so I'll simplify it; Brie Larson is a warrior from some alien planet who comes to Earth looking for a different alien race that can shape shift, although she may have some connection to here. Even that is too complicated though, as it's basically a story about her finding out who she is while also having buddy cop adventures with Nick Fury and generally punching stuff. It's a simple plot and even the twists feel pretty obvious by and large, although I'll give credit to the film that it doesn't feel like those reveals are meant to be earth shattering, everyone just kinda taking it in their stride. The most important thing that I think should be mentioned about the plot is that it doesn't tie into Endgame a huge amount. Captain Marvel is absolutely going to be in that film and the mid-credits scene seems to be a scene taking directly from Endgame but Captain Marvel the film stands largely alone from most other Marvel films.

Acting here is... pretty not bad. Brie Larson has had a soft spot in my heart for a little while due to supporting roles in Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World and Community so I was more than ready for her to shoulder a franchise. She seems charismatic enough but there's a couple of clunky lines and she doesn't seem to be comfortable enough yet in the character to pull them off. I felt the same thing about Chris Evans in The First Avenger though and now he's deservedly the heart of the franchise so she has time to grow. As it stands now though, solid enough. Jude Law is also in this film and while I'm not his biggest fan, he isn't bad, plus one of my housemates said his butt was cute if you're into that. Samuel L Jackson reprises his role as Nick Fury, although this time the catch is that he's digitally de-aged. The de-ageing works really well, being pretty unnoticeable throughout and Jackson is almost always a charismatic performer so no surprises in a good way. Also kind of reprising a role is Ben Mendelsohn, playing another shouty villain character. In his defence, that's just what the advertising suggests but he's given a lot more depth than I'd expected and became one of the highlights of the film for me. Finally, there is a cat called Goose. Goose is a very good boy. I want to give him a cuddle. I have nothing particularly intellectual to say here, I just love cats, haven't seen my cat in a while and am always glad to see onscreen representation of floofy bois.

What drags Captain Marvel down more than anything I think is the weight of expectation. This is maybe going to sound unfair but just bear with me. As I was watching the film, I was reminded a lot (for a host of reasons I can't comprehend) of Tron: Legacy. I'm a big fan of that film and even though it's tied to the original one from the eighties, there wasn't such a close connection that I was worried about any tarnishing of the brand. In both films, the action is pretty fun, the characters are quippy but a little vacant but you walk out feeling pretty satisfied regardless. With Legacy, that works fine because it feels very silly and throwaway. With Captain Marvel, not only does it have the responsibility of being the 21st MCU film and the one before Avengers: Endgame (the film that will end the MCU as we know it) but it has the self imposed expectation of being some grand feminist call to arms. The film succeeds at this in that it has a woman who is hugely super powered for young girls to look up to and that it seems to have a gaslighting motif in there but otherwise, it's just a generic superhero movie that is decent and nothing more. To prove this point, I was thinking back on the film the day after I saw it and couldn't remember a huge amount. At first, I chalked it up to following it up with a night of drinking but I didn't drink anything until quite a while after the film, proving that the thing it may be best at is leaving peoples minds without a trace..

While watching Captain Marvel, I had a pretty good time, but as I said earlier, it left me quickly and without difficulty. This isn't a bad thing per say, not with a big blockbuster film, but I think Captain Marvel (the film) wants to be a little bit more and it fails at that. If you aren't interested in seeing this film, you'll be proved right. If you're committed to seeing every Marvel film, you won't be too bored. There's some cool, forgettable joy to be had with this film and that's why I'm giving it a