Captain Marvel: A Film Review

Captain Marvel is the latest superhero epic from the Marvel comic universe. It is a fast-paced, rollicking roller coaster of a ride with lots of CGI action special effects. Besides introducing a new superhero it is also a prequel showing Nick Fury (Samuel Jackson) as an agent of S.H.E.I.L.D. before he became the head of the Avengers and also explains how he got his famous eye patch.

It was also nice to see a little homage to the late Stan Lee, creator of Marvel Comics in the opening credits. Also, look for a sneak cameo appearance by Lee in here like he always did in all his Marvel pictures like Alfred Hitchcock used to do.

The story follows Carol Danvers as she becomes one of the universe’s most powerful heroes when Earth is caught in the middle of a galactic war between two alien races. Near death, Carol Danvers was transformed into a powerful warrior for the Kree. Now, returning to Earth years later, she must remember her past in order to prevent a full invasion by shape-shifting aliens, the Skrulls.

Danvers (Brie Larson), begins with her as a human far from Earth trying to figure out just who (and what) she is. She’s been living among the alien Kree for years and has earned herself a position on an elite commando unit under the leadership of Yon-Rogg (Jude Law) – but she has no memory of her life before. In public, Carol is a take-no-prisoners soldier wanting to prove herself worthy to her comrades-in-arms – but in private, she’s not so certain

Carol’s struggle against forces that want to delegitimize her becomes the recurring theme of Captain Marvel. Everywhere she turns, she’s facing down someone who doesn’t think she’s worthy of the power she has or doesn’t think she belongs in the position she’s in – and yet, again and again, Carol finds a way to prove them wrong and keep fighting regardless. Unsurprisingly, the mysteries begin to unravel as Carol starts to question her past more and more, which sends her following a trail of breadcrumbs that lead her back to Earth, circa 1995

Annette Bening plays the original Captain Marvel, the Kree agent known as Mar-Vell, Walter Lawson was a human scientist who died when double-crossing Kree commander Yon-Rogg (played in the film by Jude Law) betrayed and tried to kill Mar-Vell, shooting down Lawson’s plane in the process. Mar-Vell then assumed Lawson’s identity to investigate and uncover what Yon-Rogg was plotting for Earth.

In the Captain Marvel film, Dr. Wendy Lawson is a pseudonym assumed by Bening’s Mar-Vell so that she can experiment on the Tesseract (which is in SHIELD custody) in order to create a device capable of hyperspace capability. Lawson/Mar-Vell became sympathetic to the Skrulls and wanted her scientific creation to help end the long war between their two civilizations

The truth is that this film is reams of fun and, significantly, no different in quality from past solo superhero flicks produced by Marvel. Brie Larson’s stellar performance gives Carol Danvers a vibrant, joyful life that will fit right into the future of the Marvel Comic Universe. I thought her performance was very good and didn’t think she was wooden or bland at all like many critics have said. She reminded me of a young Cybil Shepherd.

My only complaint is that I thought the film is loaded with so many characters, sub plots and flashbacks and other dimensions not to mention the shapeshifters that I found it hard to concentrate on who was who and to follow. Be sure to check out the little trailer at the end that leads into the next Marvel Avengers film where she joins them.