Marvel's Cinematic Universe has been very slow to broaden their character diversity. While Black Panther showed great steps taken in putting focus on black superheroes, it's taken decidedly longer for a woman to take center stage. That's a bit dubious when your roster has Black Widow, who's been attached to the universe almost since the start, and yet is still awaiting her own solo entry. It's made more pronounced since we live in a post-Wonder Woman world, where the comparatively flimsy DCEU did justice to such an iconic character, succeeding in their fourth film what's taken Marvel over a decade to act on.
But 21 movies in, that realization is finally upon us. The name Captain Marvel has been the calling sign of a number of gifted individuals, but perhaps the most fondly remembered is Carol Danvers, the subject of Marvel's latest blockbuster event, and a last warm-up before Avengers: Endgame. And much like the history of Danvers, it's a very rocky road in order to bring such an icon justice, but eventually it succeeds. As much as I enjoyed this movie, it doesn't quite live up to the power of its lead character.
In the 1990's, amnesiac Kree soldier Vers (Brie Larson) aids her fellow Starforce fighters, led by commander Yon-Rogg (Jude Law), in the ongoing war against the Skrulls, alien creatures that can take the shape of any living individual. After being subdued and captured by Skrull leader Talos (Ben Mendelsohn), she soon escapes to planet C-53, or as we know it Earth, all while the Skrulls pursue her. With the aid of SHIELD agent Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), Vers embarks on a mission to piece together her blurry history, uncover the secrets of the war between the Kree and Skrull, and master her superhuman abilities to become Captain Marvel.
No better place to start than with Ms. Marvel herself, and Brie Larson's performance. For all the issues I have with this movie, not only is Larson terrific in it, she's able to single-handedly mitigate some of those more nagging elements. That's certainly not easy with what leads us into our first meeting with her; her memories of her past life have all been erased, and she's essentially been rendered a blank slate. Effectively, what this allows is for us to naturally share in her personal growth as a character, piecing together the puzzle right alongside her, which is a detail that lends to a surprising level of intimacy.
Not only her memories, but that journey also lets us share in a quest of self-control, given the inconsistency in her powers, which her teacher Yon-Rogg stresses makes it important to balance her emotions. And Larson plays that vulnerability well, but rather than make her weak, she takes tremendous strength from it. There's no denying it when you're watching her; she IS a superhero. She's effortless in carrying herself with this incredible power, nobility, bravery, and irrepressible charisma. Even among the shakier moments of the film, she lends this movie a desperately needed stability, giving us a terrific figure and role model worthy of aspiring to.
Taking place in the 90's, the film's distinct setting and iconography take us through a whirling time capsule, and in doing so, also allow us to meet a familiar face in his early years, Sam Jackson's Nick Fury. Jackson is really enjoying himself in this movie, playing a younger version of Fury before the Avengers initiative, and before the sight of a raging Hulk was just another Tuesday. We see a lot of shades and intriguing insight into the man Fury would become in the future, alongside an oft humorous naivete, serving as Vers' closest guide to Earth. He and Larson share in an infectious chemistry, lending the film some of its most wholesome sections and laughs, and effortlessly bouncing back and forth between the other. I also have to give major kudos to the effects team de-aging Jackson to his younger 90's appearance, which is so seamless, I honestly took a double take because I thought I was crazy. The same is also done for Clark Gregg, returning as an up and coming agent Coulson, but in comparison to Jackson's amazing transformation, his is noticeably less impressive.
Like the title hero, the film itself echoes her progression from blank slate to a more defined heroism, but unlike its title hero, the film never finds it own unique identity, or if it does, it takes WAY too long to get there. The first half of Captain Marvel is rough, particularly the opening thirty minutes. We're introduced to Vers on the Kree world of Hala, and dumped in the midst of the war between the Kree, and the shapeshifting Skrull race. This is all established very hastily, dropping a ton of exposition to get us up to speed, to the point that almost all of Jude Law's dialogue is just explaining things to Vers that she should already know, and the only reason he says it is for the audience's benefit. The dialogue in that section of the film stands out as obviously unnatural, and threatens to sink even Larson beneath it.
Not only that, but technically speaking, the film takes a long time to polish itself out. The film is directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, the duo of Half Nelson and Mississippi Grind, and their lack of experience with action really shows, because unfortunately, the stamp of studio mandate takes over from them. The early action scenes are kind of difficult to watch, undone by an unfortunate use of shaky cam and quick cuts, not aided by the uncharacteristically dark lighting that makes it tough to follow what's happening. There's a sequence where the Kree are caught in an intense gunfight with the Skrulls, and I struggled to keep up with it, because all the figures are shot in silhouettes, so I couldn't always tell who was fighting who. Even during Vers' escape from the Skrull ship, which should have been a great showcase of Larson's physicality, is undercut by the amount of cuts and shaking it has to contend with. That is a huge mistake. We want to see Larson fighting her enemies in full view of the camera, we don't want that obscured.
Things do make a slight improvement when we get to Earth, but it's only once we enter the second half, where Vers pieces together the mystery of her past, that the film picks up significantly. The film deliberately keeps us in the dark not merely out of mirroring Vers' journey of rediscovery, but to facilitate major twists later on in the movie. I have no problem with that intention on paper, but by the time it does finally roll around to them, it feels like we're too late in the game to let it have its full effect. Up until that point, the film hasn't really given us anything to cling to, even its title heroine, who doesn't really hit her stride until late in the movie. Because of that murkiness, there's also no build to those heftier moments, and instead it simply feels like we've suddenly stumbled into them. I could easily see all of this paying off for what could be a great follow-up, but even retroactively, that still doesn't excuse this movie for being so focused on what it can do in the future, that it doesn't think about what it can do now.
There's a reason I keep focusing on Larson and Jackson as well, not only because of how great they are, but because there's not much to talk about in the supporting cast. After them, I'd say Ben Mendelsohn - as Skrull leader Talos - gives the next best performance, but again, it's a tough (but effective) road to get there. From our initial meeting, he just feels like a standard stock villain, even clad in heavy makeup effects out of J.J. Abrams Star Trek, and from first impressions, you think he's going to be suffocated by this role. But once entering the second half, he shows great returning rewards as he branches into unexpected new layers, managing to show off surprising depth and emotion behind his prosthetics, elevating it from the simplistic foil it easily could have fallen in. Elsewhere, we also have Lashana Lynch doing fine work as a friendly figure on Earth, leading to some of the sweetest bonding moments.
But beyond him, there's not much to recommend. Jude Law is a terrific actor, but there's only so much he can do with this stock mentor character, pushing Vers to be the best version of herself, but nothing he actually does makes him stand out in any way. He's an incredibly generic character with no distinct qualities of his own, only existing to aid in Vers' journey. Elsewhere, we have Gemma Chan as Starforce soldier Minn-Erva, a Kree with a very antagonistic relationship to Vers, but that's about all there is to her. Even Annete Bening underwhelms in a crucial supporting role, not because she's awful at what she does, but because her role requires her to play her scenes out as mechanical and monotone, undermining her talents. The film even goes out of its way to bring back characters from previous MCU films, including Djimon Hounsou's Korath and Lee Pace's Ronan from Guardians of the Galaxy, but they just feel like they've been bolted on at the last minute, and somehow feel less engaging than they did in that film. It really says something about how weak a supporting cast is, when the standout is a literal animal, a cat named Goose that Vers and Fury encounter during their adventure, who easily gets some of the biggest laughs in the film.
Even the climax, for all its scale and explosions, and even some genuine emotional pull, feels meager when all is said and done. On the one hand, I give major credit to the film for opting for a more peaceful and intimate resolution, instead of just another beat-em-up against anonymous drones. I have no issue with that. But on the other hand, I feel the film could have done a better job guiding us to this showdown, because while I was engaged with what was happening, my heart wasn't nearly in it as much as it should have been. This then leads into an ending sowing seeds for the future, both in sequels and the larger MCU, ending on a mild note of satisfaction. Nothing more, nothing less.
And I've refrained from (unfairly) comparing it to Wonder Woman, but I feel like that went above and beyond its confines in ways that this didn't, or maybe didn't want to. By the end, this movie feels like it was content in simply passing the test, rather than try to become best in class. But this late in the MCU's lifespan, especially with this character, that just isn't good enough anymore.
At the very least, with Larson and Captain Marvel soon joining the ranks of the Avengers, the power and heart she's shown should make her a more than worthy guiding light to the team. I'm really excited to see her story continue in Endgame, but her first solo outing should have been A-tier stuff. At best, it's settling in C-tier.
*** / *****
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