Captain Marvel Review!

Captain Marvel is interesting since the beginning is confusing, but stick with it, because it gets good! The film is directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. They are the directors of the independent film, Half Nelson (2006), and It's Kind of a Funny Story (2010). The screenplay is by the directing duo and Geneva Robertson-Dworet. There is a team of writers that wrote the story including Nicole Perlman and Meg LeFauve and the screenwriters. The character has a long and complicated history in comic books. Carol Danvers first appeared in Marvel Super-Heroes #13 (1968). She became a superhero in Ms. Marvel #1 (1977). Danvers took the name Captain Marvel with Captain Marvel #1 (2012) written by Kelly Sue DeConnick who is given a consultant role and thanks in the film.  

It opens with a dream-like memory, Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), in her green Kree suit, sees Annette Benning’s character who is wounded by the alien Talos (Ben Mendelsohn).  Larson was also in Kong: Skull Island (2017). Larson is great at fights, brings a strong female figure (not a coincidence that the film was released on #InternationalWomensDay), but tries to throw wise cracks that fall flat. There really isn’t anything in the character’s story that make her into a Spider-Man joker.  It is impressive that the MCU has featured an Academy Award winning actor for its lead.  Mendelsohn, who was in Ready Player One (2018), plays an interesting character.  

He is part of the Skrull race of shape-shifters, and actually shape shifts into someone who looks like Ben Mendelsohn! She wakens from the vision and then brings her Kree mentor, Yon-Rogg (Jude Law) for fight training. Law was previously Albus Dumbledore in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018). Yon-Rogg calls her “Vers.” He finds that she can’t focus and win the fight because of her emotions. She has a form of amnesia and can only remember being on the Kree homeworld of Hala. The Kree are the alien race with blue or pink skin that were featured in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014). This film really builds on Guardians, not only in its characters, but also the intergalactic setting.  

Yon-Rogg speaks to her about the Supreme Intelligence, the ruler of the Kree Empire, and mentions that the artificial intelligence takes on different forms for different people.  He won’t reveal what he sees, I suspect it is like the comic version, and this is also a test to know personal information to fool their rivals, the Skrulls.  The Skrulls were experimented on that resulted in The Eternals, a race that is featured in an upcoming MCU film.  Both alien races were introduced in the Fantastic Four comic book and created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.  The war between them was an epic storyline, the Kree-Skrull War, that was in Avengers #89-97 (1971-1972).  The war is a backdrop in this movie.    

Vers is taken to the Supreme Intelligence, glowing vein-like tentacles attach to her like the Tree of Souls in Avatar (2009).  This gives a vision of the Supreme Intelligence in the form of Annette Benning who informs Vers that her powers, her photon blasts is her only power, can be taken away.  Benning has not been in many genre films, she was in Mars Attacks! (1996).  Yon-Rogg gives his team, Star Force, their new mission.  Star Force consists of Korath, who also was in Guardians of the Galaxy played by Djimon Hounsou, he uses two energy swords, the deadly Minn-Erva, Gemma Chan portrays her, there is also the tall Att-Lass (Algenis Perez Soto), and Bron-Char (Rune Temte).  Chan is fresh off of Crazy Rich Asians and was known as Mia in the Humans sci fi show.  Soto was in the drama, Samba (2017), and Temte was in the historical drama series, The Last Kingdom.  

The Starforce mission is to rescue a Kree spy on a border world, Torfa, before his intelligence is turned over to the Skrulls.  Vers in space has a blue field that helps her to breathe and her hair looks like a tomahawk in the suit.  Yon-Rogg reminds his team not to interfere with the native aliens.  This of course brings them into conflict with the Skrulls who show their shape-shifting powers.  Spoiler warning here!  Vers is captured and her memories and shifted through including her time as a fighter jet pilot.  It shows her as young girl (I recognized Mckenna Grace) crashing in a go cart and then as a recruit falling from the obstacle course ropes. 

We also see her fellow pilot and closest friend, Maria “Photon” Rambeau, played by Lashana Lynch.  I should have recognized her from the Still Star-Crossed (2017) series and she is also Arjana Pike in the police show, Bulletproof.  Photon is one of the identities of Monica Rambeau, a superhero and Avenger, Maria’s daughter is eleven year old Monica (Akira Akbar).  I like Maria, but I think Monica is more interesting.  There is a short scene with Carol and Monica singing karaoke.  Brie Larson is a recording artist and singer.  In fact, she was the lead singer of Clash at Demon’s Head in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010).  The 90's songs are littered throughout the soundtrack, some are good, but a few are intrusive.  

The Skrulls have finally found the proper memory with a focus on Annette Benning’s scientist.   Vers struggles and is able to free herself though her powers are restrained.  The Skrull leader is Talos.  Vers tries to escape, fights a number of Skrulls, and then goes into an escape pod.  She is able to crash land, what we saw in the trailer, at Blockbuster Video!  The stores are closing in Alaska, so the sole Blockbuster Video is in Bend, Oregon!  Vers regards it as a strange, alien planet (probably, since it is trapped in 1995).  She contacts Yon-Rogg who needs to travel to the planet.  He has to work on holding back Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace) who was also in the Guardians of the Galaxy film.  

Then, she meets S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), he has both eyes, who is also there with Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg).  This film rests on the relationship between Fury and Carol Danvers.  We have the de-aging of Jackson, I didn’t notice it, and also Gregg.  This is the S.H.I.E.L.D. before Iron Man (2008).  Talos has brought several Skulls to Earth and Fury discovers their existence.  Along the way, Fury takes to a cat named Goose which may not be a cat.  We are going into slight spoiler territory here.  One of the problems with the character is her immense power, if she uses her powers to fire blasts, how does she recharge the power?  It is not a perpetual energy source, it would need to be sustained through drawing from another source like a sun.  

If she is so powerful, how does she control the energy so others are not burned or radiated by the energy?  There is also a valid comparison with Wonder Woman (2017) which of course came out before this film.  Both characters are innocents in a dangerous world, they realize their full powers when they understand their true identities.  It does not hit you over the head with the empowerment message, but points out the inequalities of female fighter pilots at the time.  There is a strong theme here, that it is important to see both sides in a war clearly, not as good guy and bad guy, but the reasons behind their actions.  We also get a theme of refugees which seems to be topical in the current political environment so kinda bold for Marvel to venture that territory.  There is strong ties with this film and Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.  Captain Marvel has moments with some good action!  

Three Flerkens out of Five!   

#CaptainMarvel, #AnnaBode, #RyanFleck, #BrieLarson.