This
movie was a long time coming for me, and it did not disappoint. Watching it, so many moments positively
filled my heart, and I left the theater pumped.
Besides that, it’s just a great, entertaining movie, with cool action,
strong character interactions, and classic Marvel humor (premise spoilers.)
A member
of the Kree Empire’s Starforce, a woman called Vers uses her unique abilities
(namely, photon blasts shot from her hands) to do her part in the Kree’s war
against the shapeshifting Skrulls.
Vers’s own past is a mystery to herself, but when a clash with some
Skrulls takes her to the backwards planet C-53 (a.k.a. Earth), she starts to
find evidence of the life she can’t remember all around her.
Although
she’s made some appearances in Ms. Marvel,
I went into the movie knowing very little about Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers
(I’m not gonna spend this whole review saying “Vers”!) However, earlier Marvel properties gave me a
primer on the Kree – in fact, I was watching the first Guardians again just last week, so it was fun to see Horvath and
Ronan pop up here – and, like many MCU origin stories I’ve seen without a lot
of background, I was quickly just immersed in the ride the story was taking me
on.
At the
center of it all, of course, is Carol herself.
I love her so much. She can be a
playful smartass, she can be stubbornly impulsive, she can be laser-focused and
cool-headed in a high-stakes situation, she’s self-assured, she’s perceptive,
and she’s just so cool. I especially love the swagger and genuine
relish she displays when she’s using her powers. She knows that most of the situations she’s
in are kill-or-be-killed, and she doesn’t take that lightly, but it’s also
clear that her abilities bring her a lot of joy. For a woman who very literally doesn’t know
who she is, having no concrete memories prior to the last six years, she still feels who she is and what she can do,
and that calm confidence and easy humor is infectious.
The
film’s ‘90s setting offers quite a bit of fun, from the references
(Blockbuster! No Doubt!) to the chance
to see characters like Fury and Coulson when they were younger and not quite as
cynical – the de-aging CGI on Fury is pulled off really well, a little less so
with Coulson. There’s also great banter
between Carol and Fury, an adorable feline named Goose who steals every scene
he’s in, and a really engaging antagonist in Talos, a Skrull commander.
Killer
cast all the way through. Brie Larson as
Carol makes for a fantastic lead – powerful, funny, and heartfelt. Samuel L. Jackson does a nice job showing the
differences in the younger Fury and plays wonderfully off of Larson, and I
really like the interesting vibe Ben Mendohlson brings to Talos. The film also features Jude Law as Carol’s
Kree mentor, Annette Bening as Carol’s personification of the Supreme
Intelligence that rules the Kree, and Gemma Chan (Astrid from Crazy Rich Asians) as a steely member of
Carol’s team. I’m not familiar with
Lashana Lynch, who plays Carol’s old friend Maria, but she’s terrific, and
Carol’s scenes with her (and Maria’s daughter Monica) add a lot of heart to the
film.
Oh, and I
was not emotionally prepared for the
Stan Lee tribute. :sob: Lovely.
Warnings
Comic
book violence, language, and thematic elements.
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