After months of eager anticipation, Captain Marvel is finally upon us.
And so far, both critics and fans think it's pretty darn okay.
But that doesn't mean it's all perfect.
Here's a look at the four best and four worst things about Captain Marvel.
The film is called Captain Marvel, which obviously means there was very little chance of it working
without the right talent in the title role.
Brie Larson had to not only be the first woman to be the sole lead in a Marvel Studios film,
but she also had to play a character who's so beloved by comics fans that the collective
fandom has their own name : the Carol Corps.
And she had to do it all without the benefit of having been introduced as a supporting
character first.
Even with all that on her shoulders, Larson knocked it out of the park.
Her Carol Danvers is capable, hilarious, empathetic, strong, vulnerable, and intimidating all at
once, an acting challenge made all the more difficult by the script's demand that she
not even truly know who she is for most of the film.
Larson was already an Oscar-winning star when she was cast in this role, but now she's headed
for superstardom because she nailed this part.
The films of Marvel Studios have taken plenty of flack in the past for the way they look
and feel, as fans and critics have noticed a similar generic style that seems to cross
between films regardless of who is directing it.
Sure, there are some outliers like Guardians of the Galaxy and Thor: Ragnarok, but many
Marvel movies share a certain murky, dull cinematography, as well as some standard fight
choreography and unfortunately, Captain Marvel is no exception.
This is especially evident during the early fight scene on Torfa, where the Kree StarForce
is ambushed by Skrulls.
Even action sequences like the train chase on Earth feel paint-by-numbers.
It's just too formulaic to be interesting anymore.
On the other hand, Captain Marvel definitely shone when it broke out of the standard Marvel
box.
Case in point: the memory probe sequence, which features alien Skrulls flipping back
and forth through Carol's memories like DJs scratching a record, all while providing snarky
commentary.
It was so odd and entertaining that you barely noticed the fact it also was serving up massive
amounts of key exposition about both Carol Danvers and the film's plot.
Now that's how it's done!
With so much information flying at viewers, though, it can be easy to get confused.
So it doesn't help when the film is genuinely confusing, like when it has a hard time explaining
its own timeline.
The film starts with an amnesiac Carol living on the Kree homeworld of Hala, trying to land
her first mission with the elite StarForce commando squad.
Later on, though, we discover it's actually been six years since she was taken from Earth.
Since she seems a bit like a rookie, it's jarring, as it forces you to ask: just what
has she been doing for the last six years?
Why hasn't she searched for clues to her past before?
It's a minor detail, but it pulls you out of the movie right when you need to be pulled
in.
As great as Brie Larson is in the title role of the film, Samuel L. Jackson has been stealing
scenes for decades, and Captain Marvel is no exception.
Jackson seems to be having a blast as a much younger, more carefree Nick Fury than we're
used to seeing.
Less jaded and more open, this Fury trades one-liners as easily as he bonds with the
film's other scene-stealer, Goose the cat.
This is a Fury we'd love to see more of.
"Aren’t you cute, what’s your name?”
“Fury!"
Throughout the film, Danvers is constantly picked on by her commanding officer, Jude
Law's Yon-Rogg.
He and the other Kree repeat over and over again that she needs to control and suppress
her true self in order to become what they want her to become.
"Control it!"
It's a big metaphor for how society forces people to conform to other people's ideals.
But while the payoff is ultimately satisfying, the setup doesn't feel organic; Law often
feels like he's simply reading the movie's mission statement rather than saying things
a person would actually say.
"it's causing you doubt, and doubt makes you vulnerable."
Perhaps it's asking too much of a superhero movie to be subtle, but a little bit of nuance
would have gone a long way.
"You've come a long way, but you're not as a strong as you think!"
On the other hand, like we said: the payoff is great once we get there.
In the film's climax, Danvers faces the Kree leader known as the Supreme Intelligence,
who reveals that the Kree have been suppressing her powers in an attempt to control her.
All their talk of self-control was essentially the Kree trying to gaslight her into believing
she wasn't as strong as she really is.
Instead, though, Danvers breaks free from their inhibitors and embraces her full humanity,
unlocking her true power.
Instead of being controlled, prim and proper, she summons all the self-confidence, anger,
and righteousness that have been bottled up..
"I'm kinda done with you telling me what I can't do."
It's the culmination of everything the film wants to say about Carol Danvers and suppressed
people in general.
It's cheer-worthy, and it may even bring a tear to your eye.
There is one minor, sour note in the otherwise triumphant ending, though.
When Danvers faces off against her former StarForce teammates, it should be powerful.
But it's not, because the stakes are unclear.
Had she been training with these people for six years, or was she just added to the team
for that one mission?
Are they friends?
Both side have reason to feel betrayed, yet other than a couple of throwaway lines, we
never really see any emotion from this faceoff.
And we also have no idea how powerful any of them are.
They don't really put a dent in Danvers, but they also manage to survive her attacks, which
is more than the other Kree soldiers can say.
Without knowing how powerful her enemies are, it's impossible to feel like Danvers is ever
in any real danger, meaning that the physical stakes are as low as the emotional ones.
As a result, the final showdown doesn't land with the emotional impact a film like this
deserves.
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