Captain Marvel
Saw Captain Marvel on Saturday and it was.... mmmm... pretty alright. I certainly enjoyed the movie. I liked her character. But was certainly left feeling like I wanted more from both the story and Captain Marvel. It has two major things working against it.
Like Antman and the Wasp, the story is being dwarfed by the shadow of Avengers: Endgame. Infinity War was monumental. It blew people away. It certainly knocked my socks all the way off. Antman and the Wasp wound up being a bit of a welcomed, much lighter movie with smaller stakes and a more jovial tone. Captain Marvel falls almost a month before Endgame is to be released and I think hardcore fans, like myself, are ready for Endgame... foaming at the mouth ready. Captain Marvel was teased at the end of Infinity War. We know she is going to be in Endgame. The two movies are connected and it was a bit difficult to separate the two. My energy was being pulled elsewhere, awaiting resolution of this other, grander story.
The second major uphill battle was that the main character has amnesia. How am I supposed to connect to this character, come to know her, understand her, care about her, when she doesn't even know who she is? That being said, I feel like her amnesia was handled...okay? It felt more of a plot device as opposed to a plot point. This left the first third or even half of the movie feeling quite slow. There are points in the movie where she is having flashbacks that are muddled and confusing. You feel that confusion for Captain Marvel, unfortunately you do not have much else to hold on to as you have never met this character before. This makes the experience slightly disjointed.
Still, the movie works. It isn't trying to force anything down your throat. Its simply telling you a story. We slowly get to know Veers/Carol Danvers, as she also gets to know herself. She has a plucky attitude and in a Captain America fashion, keeps getting back up after getting knocked down. Her character is fun. There is a sense of duty as a soldier/hero balanced with wit and a jovial attitude. The movie mirrors this. It certainly has a serious side talking about war, the bombing of refugees, refusal to let certain people's resettle. And still, it churns either a joke or a fun moment pretty consistently. By the time you hit the second half of the movie, you have a better understanding of Captain Marvel. You have a better sense of the setting you are in and who is bad and who is not. The fight scenes get markedly better. You are rolling by that point.
It is very much in the theme of the first Captain America or Thor, an introduction to a new hero we will be seeing more of and getting a sense of what she's about. We came to know more about our other heroes over several movies and I expect we will come to love Brie Larson's Captain Marvel more and more over the next couple years.
It did miss the mark in two places in particular for me, with the exploration of its theme and the origin of her powers. The theme is not PRETTY LIGHTS SHOOT OUT OF HANDS. It is? I'm not terribly sure. There is a good deal about relationships, following what you believe is right, dealing with emotions, understanding one's power. But these themes are played with, but never fully fleshed out. The journey Captain Marvel goes on is one of discovery, but just that, literal discovery, not necessarily of growth. This could have easily been remedied by a couple of lines during her last showdown.
She gains her powers because she blew up an energy source and absorbed all of the energy. But How did that work? How did it not kill her? We haven't seen that happen with this particular energy source in the past. Will this energy she absorbed run out at some point? It seemed a bit convenient. I would have preferred a better exploration of her powers.
Fun movie. 6.8/10 for me. I'm excited to see more of Captain Marvel.
Brief notes: Overshadowed by Endgame. A solid intro to a new character. STOP WITH SHAKY CAM FIGHT SCENES.
Like Antman and the Wasp, the story is being dwarfed by the shadow of Avengers: Endgame. Infinity War was monumental. It blew people away. It certainly knocked my socks all the way off. Antman and the Wasp wound up being a bit of a welcomed, much lighter movie with smaller stakes and a more jovial tone. Captain Marvel falls almost a month before Endgame is to be released and I think hardcore fans, like myself, are ready for Endgame... foaming at the mouth ready. Captain Marvel was teased at the end of Infinity War. We know she is going to be in Endgame. The two movies are connected and it was a bit difficult to separate the two. My energy was being pulled elsewhere, awaiting resolution of this other, grander story.
The second major uphill battle was that the main character has amnesia. How am I supposed to connect to this character, come to know her, understand her, care about her, when she doesn't even know who she is? That being said, I feel like her amnesia was handled...okay? It felt more of a plot device as opposed to a plot point. This left the first third or even half of the movie feeling quite slow. There are points in the movie where she is having flashbacks that are muddled and confusing. You feel that confusion for Captain Marvel, unfortunately you do not have much else to hold on to as you have never met this character before. This makes the experience slightly disjointed.
Still, the movie works. It isn't trying to force anything down your throat. Its simply telling you a story. We slowly get to know Veers/Carol Danvers, as she also gets to know herself. She has a plucky attitude and in a Captain America fashion, keeps getting back up after getting knocked down. Her character is fun. There is a sense of duty as a soldier/hero balanced with wit and a jovial attitude. The movie mirrors this. It certainly has a serious side talking about war, the bombing of refugees, refusal to let certain people's resettle. And still, it churns either a joke or a fun moment pretty consistently. By the time you hit the second half of the movie, you have a better understanding of Captain Marvel. You have a better sense of the setting you are in and who is bad and who is not. The fight scenes get markedly better. You are rolling by that point.
It is very much in the theme of the first Captain America or Thor, an introduction to a new hero we will be seeing more of and getting a sense of what she's about. We came to know more about our other heroes over several movies and I expect we will come to love Brie Larson's Captain Marvel more and more over the next couple years.
It did miss the mark in two places in particular for me, with the exploration of its theme and the origin of her powers. The theme is not PRETTY LIGHTS SHOOT OUT OF HANDS. It is? I'm not terribly sure. There is a good deal about relationships, following what you believe is right, dealing with emotions, understanding one's power. But these themes are played with, but never fully fleshed out. The journey Captain Marvel goes on is one of discovery, but just that, literal discovery, not necessarily of growth. This could have easily been remedied by a couple of lines during her last showdown.
She gains her powers because she blew up an energy source and absorbed all of the energy. But How did that work? How did it not kill her? We haven't seen that happen with this particular energy source in the past. Will this energy she absorbed run out at some point? It seemed a bit convenient. I would have preferred a better exploration of her powers.
Fun movie. 6.8/10 for me. I'm excited to see more of Captain Marvel.
Brief notes: Overshadowed by Endgame. A solid intro to a new character. STOP WITH SHAKY CAM FIGHT SCENES.
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