Captain Marvel Review

Welcome back, my fellow moviegoers! Captain Marvel made an impressive debut this weekend and I'm sure a lot of people want to hear about it. As usual, I'll explain the film's strongest and weakest qualities. Did Captain Marvel live up to the hype? I'll tell you all about it.

Let's begin with a short plot synopsis. The movie opens on a planet called Hala, capital of the Kree who are a race of great warriors. Captain Marvel is a member of the Kree who can't remember her past. Her team has a violent encounter with Skrulls, a rival alien species. The battle ultimately results with Captain Marvel's capture and escape. She crash lands on earth and winds up in an unlikely partnership with a government agent named Nick Fury. Captain Marvel becomes torn between fulfilling the mission and recovering her memories. Perhaps, she'll accomplish both tasks and save the world at the same time.  

Firstly, this movie has really strong sci-fi elements. I'm talking about sci-fi adventures, space operas, superheroes, and practically anything from the broad genre. It contains exciting chase scenes in flight, superhero battle sequences, a variety of aliens, and many strange occurrences that you won't normally find outside of science fiction. This film serves the inner geek in everyone. 

I enjoyed quite a few of the characters. Brie Larson is a suitable casting choice for the titular Captain Marvel. She's very different than the other female superheroes who are on the big screen. Captain Marvel is sassy, tough, cocky, compassionate, noble, and boldly adventurous. Don't call her a Mary Sue either. She has several flaws that are relatable to regular people. I'm also thrilled to see Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury. Despite being a sidekick, he's charming, humorous, and his background in Shield will be interesting to fans of the MCU. Ben Mendelsohn plays Talos, leader of the Skrulls. He's quirky and oddly humorous with really good character development. Lashana Lynch plays an old friend from Captain Marvel's past named Maria Rambeau. They served in the Air Force while Captain Marvel was still on Earth. Rambeau is a strong female character who tries to be a positive influence on her young daughter. She also has an affectionate, sisterly quality that works well along side of Captain Marvel. Even Goose the cat deserves some attention. He's a surprisingly fun supporting character and downright adorable. Yes, the cat is actually an important character for the story. 

​This movie also has great nostalgic elements from the nineteen-nineties. It has amusing throwbacks to Blockbuster, Radio Shack, pay phones, Internet cafes, and more. I recognized several popular songs from the nineties as well. Basically, if you remember a lot of details from the nineties, this film will be quite funny. In fact, this movie's general style feels a lot like a nineties sci-fi flick. 

Unfortunately, I have to point out some flaws. Captain Marvel has some noticeable pacing issues. It's not a boring film, but certain scenes drag along and make the experience feel long. This movie covers a lot of backstory and doesn't feature a lot of action scenes. Actually, this is a recurring issue in the opening film for most Marvel superheroes. I thought the first movies for Captain America, Thor, and Doctor Strange had serious pacing issues as well. 

The overall plot isn't unique at all. I've seen very similar storylines in other sci-fi movies. An intergalactic voyager crash lands on Earth amidst an alien invasion. Our space hero needs to figure out her identity and the save world. It's been done before several times. This level of familiarity also contributes to some of the pacing issues. 

I wasn't particularly thrilled with the VFX either. However, I want to give some praise to the de-aging effects for Nick Fury. He's looks great! But everything else looks like a video game. Luckily, middle of the road visual effects don't usually spoil a blockbuster for me. 

This film will definitely rub some people the wrong way. It has very strong messages about feminism and certain political topics. These choices didn't bother me, but it's super obvious and preachy. We live in a tumultuous political and social environment, so filmmakers should be somewhat careful about their messages. Wonder Woman walks the line beautifully, but this one can be on the nose sometimes.  

Overall, this is a solid entry in the MCU. It has some issues and I definitely liked other superhero films better during the past couple years. Don't listen to the trolls online. There's a ridiculous number of people who want this movie to fail. Captain Marvel is an entertaining sci-fi adventure with many positive elements for young fans of the superhero genre. Cinema definitely needs more positive role models for children and this is a good place to start. Even adults need role models. I definitely recommend seeing Captain Marvel in theaters, especially if you're a fan of the sci-fi genre and the MCU. You probably don't need to spend the extra money on IMAX. 

Did you have a chance to see Captain Marvel yet? Leave a comment about your experience. Thanks a lot for checking out my review and I promise to keep writing fun content. Be safe and enjoy your night at the movies. Bye!