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Feature: Marvel’s Marvelous New Hero
A promotional poster for Captain Marvel (2019). Photo Credit: Entertainment Weekly
Marvel’s Captain Marvel premiered in early March, introducing to the world the latest superhero to enter the cinematic universe. This is the first female lead movie in Marvel after 11 years of production, and so far the most successful in history. The film just grossed over one billion dollars worldwide and is the highest grossing film in 2019 as of April, though it is suspected that Avengers Endgame will take that place in its premiere on April 27.
Here is a semi-spoiler free review of the film. Nothing in this article will be revealed that was not already shown in trailers and teasers released by Marvel Studios.
The film shows the origin story of Captain Marvel, played by Oscar winner Brie Larson. Carol Danvers, referred to as “Vers”, is a member of Starforce, a group of Kree soldiers fighting a war with the Skrull, who are alien shapeshifters that can turn into any form down to the DNA. She trains with Starforce Commander Yon-Rogg, played by Jude Law, to control her abilities of control and manipulation of the energy of a “white hole”, the reverse of a black hole.
A screen capture of Captain Marvel. Photo Credit: GeeklyTyrant
A conflict with the Skrull puts her in mid-1990s Earth, in which she is originally from but has no memory of her life. Her crash landing into a 90s Blockbuster attracts the attention of S.H.I.E.L.D., where we meet Nick Fury, played by Samuel L. Jackson, before he became the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and before he lost his eye.
While trying to find what the Skrull are looking for in Earth, she makes discoveries of her old life as a U.S. Air Force pilot with her friend Maria Rambeau, played by Lashana Lynch, and her daughter Monica, played by Akira Akbar.
A screen capture of Captain Marvel in Binary Mode. Photo Credit: Screen Rant
With Agent Fury by her side, she learns how she gained her powers, how she got into Starforce, and the truth about the war between the Kree and the Skrulls. In this movie, we learn a lot about the extent of Captain Marvel’s powers. She is referred to as the most powerful Avenger yet, and the proof is in her solo movie. She can battle multiple foes at a time with her hands subdued, can survive and travel in space keeping in speed with full powered spaceships, and can shoot blasts of radiant energy from her fingertips that can take down full space air fleets.
A screen capture of Nicky Fury and Carol Danvers in Captain Marvel. Photo Credit: Motion Picture Association of America
Captain Marvel did a lot of things right. The fight scenes were well-choreographed, the writing made Carol Danvers show emotion and humanity, and the visuals and CGI were spectacular. The anti-aging technology used on Samuel L. Jackson to make him look years younger was uncannily realistic, as if we were all back in his Pulp Fiction days.
The buddy-cop dynamic between Fury and Danvers was a highlight of the film. Both of them quipping comedic lines left and right. The comedy in the movie overall nailed it, giving balance to the story. This balance is reminiscent to other hero origin stories like Iron Man and Thor.
A screen capture of Carol Danvers during her duty in the Air Force. Photo Credit: Nerdist
The movie was met with a bit controversy. While promoting the movie, lead Brie Larson called for more diversity in superhero movies and declared Captain Marvel as an act of activism with its message of female empowerment. This was somehow misconstrued as an attack on men, and some groups criticized Larson for politicizing the movie and, as an attempt to damage the sales of the movie, they called for a boycott of the premiere. This was proven to be unsuccessful, as the film grossed $600 million in the opening week.
To add, a solo origin movie in the midst of the events of Infinity War and before Endgame was first met with confusion of a sudden new character and worry of a break in momentum of the Avengers movies. However, one could argue that this hypes up the upcoming Avengers movie more, as we are shown more of a seemingly big player that is coming to aid the rest of the Avengers in defeating the biggest antagonist of the cinematic universe so far, Thanos.
A screen capture of Captain Marvel in the Avengers Endgame trailer. Photo Credit: Entertainment Tonight
Many fans went into the film expecting answers from billions of questions that rose after the end of Infinity War. However, as the movie stayed a true origin story, it did not answer the important ones in everyone’s minds. Instead, the disappearance of Captain Marvel in previous events of the MCU, the added factor of Skrulls in the Avengers, and many other unanswered questions arose from the film. One can only hope that these will finally be answered in the next Marvel movie.
The movie, Captain Marvel, overall is well put-together and highly entertaining. It is highly suggested that you watch this before you see Avengers Endgame, as it reveals a lot about the seemingly new face of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, it needs to be taken as an origin story. It joins the ranks of Marvel Studios’ other introduction movies, such as Black Panther and Iron Man. Carol Danvers is a character worth knowing, and this is only the beginning to her story in the MCU. //by Kiara Gabriel
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