Well, it’s almost been five years since Captain Marvel hit theaters, and since then, she has made some appearances, most notably Avengers: Endgame. The first film made over 1 billion dollars at the global box office, yet after the current trend of people not feeling the current phases of the MCU, people feel very down on the new film The Marvels. I wasn’t that positive on the first film, but I didn’t hate it – that being said, I’m not the biggest MCU person, as you can tell from reading my other reviews. This film brings all three of the Captain Marvel characters together – Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel, Monica Rambeau, and Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel to have an adventure together trying to save the Universe from an aggrieved Kree warrior Dar-Benn who has a pretty out there plan and an issue with Captain Marvel. Brie Larson returns as Carol, with Teyonah Parris also back as Monica Rambeau. For me, the star of the film is Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan, who brings all the same amazing heart, warmth, and pure fun to the screen as she did in her Disney+ show. Honestly, this movie just made me want more Ms. Marvel episodes as the dynamic of that character and her world perfectly translated from the character’s comic to the screen. The actors from her show that play her family are just as great in this as they were there. Completely comfortable with these characters and feel consistent with the show just as much as Vellani. I wish I could say the same for the other characters.
See, Monica Rambeau, throughout the character’s history, hasn’t ever really gotten her due or been treated fairly. From her origin in a Spider-Man annual through her joining and then leading the Avengers, she always got sidelined in that team. As she was the second Captain Marvel in canon after Mar-vell, her time leading the Avengers might’ve been the first time just seeing her not taken seriously (I’m looking at you, Dr. Druid). That continued as they constantly changed her codename as they felt other characters should have that name instead of her. With her most famous name just her real name, we’ve seen the character as an adult just supporting whatever white female lead MCU character she’s a part of. Much like the first movie, this Black woman, like her mother, is there to support and assist Carol as she’s still trying to figure out her past and deal with her issues as she doesn’t communicate well with those who care for her. Yet Parris, who’s perfect in the role, does well with what she has to do and what we see in the film. She feels well-rounded, even though I don’t feel the story gives her that.
Now Carol – woo wee – Carol Danvers. I can’t say I’m the biggest fan of the MCU version of the character. She feels like she’s super duper-powerful just because and it doesn’t fit the same ordinary into the extraordinary trope that Marvel is built upon. Not much feet of clay for her. We see that she does things and is THE hero even though it’s like how, and I don’t mean that in a way that as a problem or that I don’t like all versions of Carol; it just feels like along with a lot of phase 4 through now. For me, the arc of Carol in the comics of becoming Ms. Marvel and being Mar-Vell’s heroing partner to her losing her powers to Rogue, then overcoming that and gaining new powers and eventually getting to the point of being CAPTAIN MARVEL is what works best in long-form storytelling. And while usually, films aren’t long-form in that nature, the MCU is, and I do wish there was more of that than the little they constantly give Larson to do.
I wish I had more to say about the antagonist in this story Dar-Benn, but there isn’t enough there. It’s the weakest part of the movie. It’s not Zawe Ashton’s fault to me that either there wasn’t really enough written for her performance, or they edited it all away in post-production. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
While you shouldn’t come into a movie thinking about press about the studio with rumors and reporting about what they aren’t doing right and how it’s being aimless but, I can’t lie. While watching this, I can’t help but say those things didn’t pop into my head. With the film being around an hour and forty-five minutes, it feels like this movie was changed and realigned through some poor editing choices and reshoots where you can tell they’re reshoots. There are scenes where you can feel you’re missing stuff from it, and it goes from one thing to the next like you’re watching a TV movie in the 90s edited for time. I have to say some of the action scenes, particularly the characters fighting folks, have some interesting moments visually. With some good camera movement and easy-to-see figures in the frame, the effects don’t look horrible there. The end scenes that MCU fans are waiting for will be the things talked about most for this movie in the coming weeks. At the same time, the film isn’t terrible; it’s just far from amazing or a natural draw to the theater to me. It’s better than some other recent MCU entries of late. I still wanted a bit more execution-wise. The Marvels might be fun for some and a good family movie, but it’s far from the draw and experience people want from the MCU to return to former heights.
Score: C
RIOTUS 