Captain Marvel movie review rating: Three stars out of five
In 1995, Vers (Brie Larson) has recurring dreams featuring an older woman, even as she trains under Yon-Rogg (Jude Law) as the Kree Empire’s Starforce member at Hala. Vers ends up on planet C-53 (Earth) after a Kree spy rescue mission against the shapeshifting Skrulls goes wrong.
Following an encounter with S.H.I.E.L.D agent Nick Fury (Samuel Jackson, aided by “make-me-younger” CGI), Vers steadily discovers the answers to her nightmares and mysteries of her forgotten life.
Captain Marvel starts on an expected note and remains bearable until the Jackson-Larson chemistry offers some good laughs. The first half is a breeze, the clever screenplay ensures that the revelation occurs in layers.
Invincibility is boring!Â
For the clean buildup, the second half is a tad low, making Vers an invincible heroine, with contrived heroic moments aided by a familiar rousing background score. The fun quotient goes down, when your superhero cuts through every obstacle, oh so easily, an almost “yawn” moment. Again, it is the Vers-Nick Fury parts and bits about a cat named goose that make it entertaining.
Consistent, not-as-exciting entertainment
Captain Marvel like all successful Marvel movies of the decade, builds on the comic flavour for delivering light, consistent entertainment but never freaks out to be a true-blue early summer blockbuster it could have been.
There is the Stan Lee tribute, the “Avengers” name origin story, how “Fury hurt his eye” section, but this is all no more than chuckle-inducing trivia. Chronologies, timelines, recurring characters from other Marvel movie threads (that all Marvel movies stick to) doesn’t add up to a compelling comic book action drama here.
By the end credits, Captain Marvel ends up as a bridge to Avengers: Endgame, with the post-credits scene confirming Captain Marvel’s presence in the eagerly awaited finale.
Character development, anybody?Â
None of the characters have any arcs, Captain Marvel just just one ‘falling to rise again’ montage, otherwise everyone else is as they are. The supporting cast could almost be lifeless props just moving around Brie Larson in circles, that is how non-happening the writing is.
There is no ‘down to dust’ to ‘rise to hero’ turn. The movie does touch upon what it could have been. Be it the initial fight training sequence between Jude Law and Larson – But that doesn’t get anywhere, so no chemistry or bonding is established. The colleague in the air force had lots of potential to be a ‘girls hanging out’ vibe, but the writers don’t even attempt to go there. At times, more often than not, Captain Marvel feels like a filler to the subsequent release – Avengers: Endgame.
So in jumping from point A to point B to Point C to Point D, there is no journey, there is no takeaway, and there is no reward. It is up to the VFX people to keep us engaged then. It’s a missed opportunity and a shame, because Brie Larson clearly gits the character like a glove.
No vulnerability, no connectionÂ
Captain Marvel has superb production quality, looks snappy in 3D, but never soars on its woman power theme. For a few seconds, the movie moves alive in a cut edit sequence of the same girl/woman rising to face life again after having fallen. The follow-up falls flat in contrast to Captain Marvel’s super perfect, “no one can beat me” act. No vulnerability, no hard-to-defeat villans, no challenge, no danger, therefore hardly any delirious popcorn-chomping excitement.
Worth a watch for Marvel film franchise fans, Captain Marvel is only half fun. We thus wait and expect Avengers: Endgame to zoom through gigantic summer blockbuster expectations next month.
