Captain Marvel features Vers (Brie Larson), a young Kree warrior-hero who, along with her mentor and team leader Yon-Rogg (Jude Law), is in the midst of a years-long intergalactic war between the Kree and the Skrulls. Vers suffers from amnesia, with flashes of a former life surfacing at random times. After escaping an attempt by the Skrulls to scan her memory for information regarding the location of a superweapon, Vers finds herself on Earth in 1995, attempting to block the Skrulls from finding said weapon. With help from Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), Vers embarks on stopping her enemies while she slowly uncovers the secrets of her past and a mysterious connection with U.S. Air Force pilot Carol Danvers.
Captain Marvel is an exploration of the role that identity plays in our feelings of self-worth and a rallying cry for strong women across the world. Despite the inclusion of these themes, the execution of their display fails to make an impact and in the case of the film’s take on feminist ideals, the film continues the frustrating tendency of Marvel Studios films displaying a lack of respect for the sensibilities of its audience. Vers/Carol’s struggle to recall her past in intended to serve as Captain Marvel’s emotional core, but the film doesn’t succeed in establishing a deep connection with the character that allows for investment in her journey. The film plods along with her story and the slow unveiling of her past, but offers no gripping conflict during her path to self-discovery that makes her finally solving the mystery emotionally satisfying. Larson’s performance is marked by feats of strength accompanied by biting, snarky dialogues but little vulnerability or internal struggle to make the character feel sympathetic or relatable. By contrast, the twist in the film involving the Kree and Skrulls’ place in Carol’s past is a well executed surprise that lands firmly. But a pay-off requires investment and Captain Marvel contributes little to make its star’s story feel satisfying.
Which brings us to Captain Marvel’s treatment of feminist ideals and displays of strong womanhood. The topic is presented in ways that are far from subtle. Its displays of empowerment come across as base pandering from a corporate entity with the feel of a Nike commercial, consisting of an “You’re only human” montage featuring young Carol falling down and failing over the years only to get back up following her being taunted by a powerful being who downplays her abilities using the quoted phrase and, most galling of all, the third act battle scene featuring a soundtrack of I’m Just a Girl by No Doubt to accompany her display of combat skills. Yes, this in-your-face obviousness actually happened. This sort of heavy-handed portrayal of a strong female character treats the audience with so little regard for its intelligence to the point of being insulting. The history of cinema is rife with strong female protagonists whose strength in the face of adversity and shattering of sexist myths and stereotypes were presented through their actions within the story and plot, instead of focus grouped montages intended to beat you over the head. Imagine Sarah Connor or Ripley tearing through cyborgs or aliens while I’m Every Woman or She Works Hard for the Money blares through the speakers; the lack of subtlety would have been regarded as reductive, if not slightly offensive. This kind of regarding of its audience childish simpletons has been an ongoing problem with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, although one we received a bit of a respite from last year with Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War. Captain Marvel does a good job of avoiding Marvel’s huge problem with bathos for most of the film, but spits in our faces again with a final one-on-one confrontation between Carol and the film’s big bad that at first appears to be bringing the beginning of the film’s story and Carol’s character arc full circle, but is instead played for laughs similar to how Guardians of the Galaxy ended. Marvel’s refusal to let any moment of levity or drama linger and sit with viewers, instead immediately cutting for a laugh break so you don’t have to consider or deal with any seriousness or stakes is grating for the seemingly dwindling adult moviegoers left who have sensibilities that graduated middle school. At some point, Marvel needs to trust that its audience doesn’t always need to be saved from itself and that it can handle mature film-making without the hand-holding and being led in certain directions rather than finding the spots on their own. Carol possesses enough firepower, strength, and determination for her existence as a highly capable woman to shine through the material and be made clear without needing musical cues or mid-scene empowerment commercials to underscore the point.
Where Captain Marvel does succeed is in the chemistry that exists between its lead Brie Larson and her supporting characters. When we first begin the film in outer space Larson is stunted in terms of her onscreen charisma, struggling to create any connection and making the film feel and move more slowly. It is when Samuel L. Jackson appears that their instant chemistry lifts not only Larson’s appeal, but the entertainment value and pacing of the film. They play off of each other extremely well, displaying complimentary comedic styles and abilities in their working together to uncover the threat from the Skrulls. Similarly, Larson and Lashana Lynch’s friendship as Carol and Maria Rambeau form the only emotional component that works. It is in their reunion that you are able to finally feel the struggle in Carol’s amnesia and inability to connect to who she is. Their connection feels genuine and the pain expressed between the two about their lost time together comes across as the real thing.
Captain Marvel is a movie that focuses too much on ensure that you GET IT in regards to character’s status as a powerful female hero in a 90s setting by shoving reminders of both things in your face, but forgetting to make a compelling story for the first half of the story. It is boring and forgettable for much of the beginning with Oscar winner Brie Larson struggle to work with weak material until she meets Samuel L. Jackson’s character and their great chemistry begin to add interest and entertainment value. Captain Marvel manages to build on this with the introduction of Lashana Lynch’s best friend character that finally pulls some sort of compelling emotional conflict from Carol. The best part of the story involves the backstory of the war between the Kree and the Skrulls with a well executed twist that provides some much needed emotional investment in the movie’s characters. This plot thread also provides some thematic depth and substance in its story about war and the tyranny of powerful regime against those that lack the power to fight back but, as is a constant issue with Marvel Studios movies, this theme isn’t delved into deeply through the main characters that we spend time with in terms of their reactions to the issue and how it affects them and their worldview. Still, because of the strength of the chemistry between Larson, Jackson, and Lynch and the story of the Kree and the Skrulls, Captain Marvel manages to be moderately entertaining despite its issues and surprisingly weak action set pieces. The film though is a step back into familiar mediocrity for the franchise following a strong year. As it continues its box office domination and dictation of the tone of American cinema, we’re left wondering if Marvel Studios will ever evolve past fast food entertainment, or if their audience even wants it to.
Image: Marvel Studios
