Captain Marvel Soars in Another Successful MCU Entry
Written By: Zane Brumley
Directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck successfully integrate popular Marvel hero Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) into the ever-growing Marvel Cinematic Universe. I highly recommend this film to anyone in need for a good popcorn flick. The film features the exposition that normally accompanies a superhero’s origin story, though it continues to entertain viewers. This pseudo-buddy comedy between Carol Danvers and a young Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) is sure to be noted as another win for MCU and the Avengers later in April.
RED ALERT! SPOILERS AHEAD!
One of the greatest attributes of this film is that fact that it is a perfect feminist piece. Not once in the film is Danvers’ ability questioned for being a woman (beyond the historical context of female air force pilots being barred from combat missions), but seen as capable as the others. What really makes the film special is that it is an encouraging piece for everyone to always get back up when they are knocked down.
The film’s 90s setting made for some fun by poking at certain elements of life that are no longer around, such as Blockbuster and payphones. This also allowed for certain characters seen in previous MCU films to make small cameos such as (my personal favorite) Agent Phil Coulson, Ronan the Accuser, and that one dude who yells, “Who!?” at Star-Lord in the opening of Guardians of the Galaxy.
Marvel has really outdone themselves with the special effects of Captain Marvel. For a few films now, Marvel has made use of CGI to digitally de-age their actors for flashback, but this film really takes the cake. It was great to see young Nick Fury and Phil Coulson on their first rodeo. I can only imagine where this technology will take us in future films.
Something I found interesting about the film which, to some, may feel like a letdown, is that the final act does not feature much of a showdown between Captain Marvel and her villain. There are two main villains and a red herring in the movie. The villains are the Intelligence and Yon-Rogg. Those two are originally seen as the good guys, though anyone who has seen Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD lately should know that Kree are rarely the good guys. The red herrings are the Skrulls, the shapeshifting aliens that often fulfill the villain role in the comics.
Captain Marvel is another hit for Marvel Studios and the impact of the film will most definitely be felt come April 26 when Avengers Endgame unfolds. No doubt, Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel will helm more films which will see the heroine battle against all sorts of villainy. I look forward to seeing more from this enterprising superhero, and I can’t wait to see how she fits into things once she combines with the Avengers to defeat Thanos once and for all.
