'Captain Marvel' Film Review

I need a hero... This review contains mild spoilers

Captain Marvel has a lot of pressure on its shoulders. For one, the movie has to lead into Avengers: Endgame, the second-half of the Infinity War saga which began last year. The film also has to introduce audiences the character of Captain Marvel; they must make her likeable enough for movie-goers to happily accept her as a replacement for Iron Man, Thor or Captain America as the Avengers franchise continues. As if this wasn't burden enough, Captain Marvel has the added pressure of being Marvel's first female led superhero film since the studio formed 10 years ago.

It's immediately clear, then, that this film won't be judged on its own merits. This is obviously a shame because if Captain Marvel had no ties to any existing franchise then it would work very, very well. It almost does so; the film’s setting within the 1990’s isolates it from the current Marvel narrative and gives our new hero the space to learn and grow. A lot of this film’s problems, though, occur when you contextualise both it and its hero within the extended ‘Marvel Cinematic Universe’. 

Let’s use the character of Nick Fury as an example, who is here once again played by Samuel L. Jackson. Fury, who first appeared in 2008’s Iron Man, is a legend within the established Marvel canon and the reveal of his damaged eye in Captain America: The Winter Soldier was one of his most iconic moments. The mystery surrounding how his eye was injured added a level of authority and mystique to his character, and when audiences learnt he would be appearing in Captain Marvel with both eyes intact many wondered if we would finally see what happened.

Imagine how ridiculous it seems, then, when audiences learn that Fury didn’t damage his eye in a deadly battle or a spy shoot-out, but that he lost his vision because of a cat scratch. Within the narrative of Captain Marvel it makes perfect sense that Fury's playful relationship with Goose, a deadly alien cat, would result in injury; their playful relationship within the film offers one of Captain Marvel’s highlights. Contextualising this scenario within the wider Marvel landscape is frustrating, though, and reducing Nick Fury’s mystique to a cat scratch now directly impacts repeat viewings of past Marvel films. 

A similar issue arises from the established extent of Danvers' powers. Within the context of this single film it truly doesn't matter how powerful Carol Danvers is, but when you eventually position this character (who can destroy a fleet of aircraft with a single punch) alongside the likes of Black Widow, Hawkeye and Falcon we seem to have a problem. I’m excited to see Danvers join the Avengers in Endgame, but her immense powers not only reduce the stakes of any scene she’s in but render her teammates useless by comparison.

As this film reaches its third act and Danvers realises how to fully utilize the extent of her powers the stakes are similarly lowered. Superman, as my friend reminded me while leaving the cinema, has his Kryptonite, and while Kryptonite is a dumb weakness it’s a blessing that the character has one – he’d simply be unstoppable otherwise. Danvers, though, doesn’t have a Kryptonite. The character actually has no weaknesses at all, thus destroying any hint of dramatic tension left within the film. Sure, there’s something pretty punk about making your first female lead so overpowered – especially in the time of Trump’s America – but it’s having to fit this character within the wider Marvel world which once again causes concern. Beginning to sense a theme here?

Brie Larson makes the most of the bare-bone script and shines as Carol Danvers, proving once more that her Oscar was well deserved. The character is spunky, energetic and nuanced in a way I didn't expect her to be - only Chris Evans' Captain America has quite come close to the gravitas Larson brings to the table. I'm excited to see how her character develops through the multiple films in which she'll undoubtedly star.

It took the characters of Steve Rogers and Thor multiple films for the writers to fully understand their characters, but they now stand as some of the most charismatic heroes that Marvel has to offer. Danvers' exciting appearance in the Captain Marvel end-credits scene (which itself is a scene from the upcoming Avengers: Endgame) suggests we will get to see a more confident, assured and fleshed out version of the character next year, so it’s likely this character will follow a similar trajectory.

Annette Benning was admittedly underused despite playing two different roles. It seems possible she’ll make a comeback down the line, however – playing the interface of a Kree supercomputer surely opens the door for a possible return. Considering Captain Marvel 2 will likely follow the Kree-Skrull war, I’m sure we haven't seen the last of Benning.

Jude Law did the best with the script he was given but his role as Carol's mentor ultimately fell flat. It was clear that he, along with Lashana Lynch’s Maria Rambeau, was meant to offer an emotional anchor to Danvers’ split identity – Lynch symbolising Carols past on Earth and Law symbolising her life off of it. The script, however, didn’t put in any work to make us actually care for their relationship, ultimately rendering Law’s character underwhelming and irrelevant. We never gain the sense that Carol is truly pained at having to let go of her Kree past.

Lynch, though, shines in her role as Maria and I wish more screen time had been devoted to the flashbacks in which she and Carol were close friends. I’m also excited to see which route Captain Marvel’s sequels will take – Maria’s daughter Monica (here played by Akira Akbar) eventually grows up to become the superhero Photon in the comics, and it’s exciting to see Marvel introduce another black female superhero.

This film leads right into Avengers: Endgame, you're going to see it regardless of reviews, but Captain Marvel is exceedingly pleasant and offers just what you'd want from a middle-of-the-road Marvel movie. It's even, at times, quite special. While some of the song choices felt forced and distracting (No Doubt's 'Just a Girl' was particularly on the nose), Marvel is clearly heading in the right direction with this new franchise and Larson makes the most of an average script gaining tonnes of fans in the process. 

★★★✩✩  

Written by James Green