Movie Review: Captain Marvel (2019)

Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) is a terrific origin story. It introduces viewers to Carol Danvers, a superheroine who's confident, implacable, and full of quips. The editing is especially excellent, helping to briskly tell a story spanning light years and different alien civilizations. Overall, the movie is an excellent addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) roster, and admirably fulfills its secondary task of getting us excited for Avengers: Endgame.

The trailers reveal the basic premise of the plot: Captain Marvel starts out as an amnesiac operative for the powerful Kree empire, and a crash landing (into a Blockbuster!) on Earth begins her hero's journey to recover her memories and find her true self. Along the way, she must face off against the Kree's sworn enemies, the shapeshifting Skrulls, and dogged pursuit by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.

[SPOILERS AHEAD]

Captain Marvel takes place in the nineties, and visual gags from that time period abound. The funniest ones involve computers and dial-up, and Fragrant Husband and I were unabashedly bellowing with laughter at the nostalgia. Similarly, the soundtrack pays homage to the popular bands of my childhood/tween years: Garbage, Nirvana, No Doubt, etc. The songs make their respective scenes much more fun, though as a whole, the soundtrack is not as strong as the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 OST.

The film also does a great job depicting space locations such as Hala, the Kree capital, with its enormous, super-advanced structures and stark training facilities. There's the border planet, appropriately desolate and forbidding, where the Kree team gets ambushed. And then there's Planet C53, "a real shithole," as Minn-Erva (Gemma Chan) reminisces. (The side characters get all the best lines in Captain Marvel.)

By far the most important element in the film are the character relationships. Carol has an easy camaraderie with her Kree mentor (Jude Law) as well as with Fury. Her easy exchanges with them highlight appealing aspects of her personality: her confidence and positive outlook. But it's her relationships with her best friend, Maria Rambeau (Lashana Lynch), and with the Skrull leader Talos, that showcase her powerful humanity, and it's her admiration for the Air Force's secretive scientist, Dr. Lawson (Annette Bening) that reveals her heroic core.

And what a hero she is! Even before she goes Super Saiyajin, Carol is a force to be reckoned with, especially when it comes to free-for-all brawling. In one scene, she utterly destroys all her foes with her arms encased so she can't fire her photon beams. In another scene, she obliterates Kree soldiers while protecting a precious, precious lunchbox. Then, after her final Limit Break, she's a one-woman planetary defense force. Thanos better watch out!

As great as the bipeds are, Goose is the indisputable star of Captain Marvel. Just look at that widdle face! Goose is a true hero, one who is clutch in a crisis and brings joy and goodness and light wherever she goes. I would watch a standalone Goose movie, and you would too, don't even lie. She's irresistible, and her actions in Captain Marvel cement her iconic status in the MCU. I would give this...cat...all the Infinity Stones in a heartbeat.

Speaking of, the Ultimate Power Thingie of Power in Captain Marvel will be familiar to fans of the Marvel films, but the mystery of how Mar-Vell got it remains. Hint: chronologically speaking, we last saw it after WWII. It may or may not be addressed in a future movie, but in the meantime, Marvel will hopefully allow viewers a glimpse of a grown up Monica Rambeau (Akira Akbar), whose sweet smile and calculated words inspire (unwilling) heroic deeds.

In conclusion, BLACK WIDOW MOVIE BLACK WIDOW MOVIE BLACK WIDOW MOVIE

TL;DR: Cats are heroes, too! Truly the most empowering Marvel film.

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