Captain Marvel is a 2019 superhero film about Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel stuck in a galactic war between the Kree and the Skrulls.
2019 is undeniably going to be a big year for Marvel Studios. After the triumphant release of Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War in 2018, we are definitely looking forward to more installments set in this huge universe filled with inspiring comic book characters! Before we get Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: Far From Home in theatres, we now have the highly anticipated film titled Captain Marvel! As Marvel Studios’ first female-led superhero movie, Brie Larson has been cast as the powerful and heroic Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel, and this is an origin story expanding on her powers and backstory.
Being the 21st installment set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), Captain Marvel takes place in the 1990s, and it follows the story of Carol Danvers crash-landing on Earth and discovering more about her true identity. She has lost all her memories, and she is trying to figure out how she has gotten her amazing powers. Stuck in a galactic war between the Kree and the Skrulls, Danvers is going to do everything she can to save the world and regain her lost identity.
Larson does a marvelous job as the titular character, and you can genuinely feel her passion of wanting to play this hero. She adds a lot of depth to her portrayal, which successfully gives her a lot of humanity as well. Seeing her evolve as the movie goes on is definitely one of the film’s biggest strengths. The rest of the cast is also great with actors such as Samuel L. Jackson, Jude Law, Lashana Lynch and Ben Mendelsohn bringing some really good performances. However, some of the supporting actors like Djimon Hounsou, Lee Pace and Gemma Chan are quite bland and forgettable. It’s also worth mentioning the fact that it’s impressive to see younger versions of Nick Fury and Phil Coulson during the 90s, and you have to praise the visual effects team for their outstanding de-aging process.
It starts off a little slow with its introduction of Captain Marvel, but then it gradually becomes a better movie near the finale. This is one of those films that asks the audience to pay attention from start to finish as it’s trying to provide a lot of important details regarding her backstory. The flashback sequences add a lot of development to the main character, but it’s an aspect that viewers will either find interesting or jarring. This is probably the most predictable installment from Marvel Studios, and unfortunately it takes away some of the suspense during the first and second act. Even if the action scenes are a lot of fun to watch, it’s Danvers’ evolution as a strong character that is the highlight of the entire film. It’s an intriguing character-driven premise about someone wanting to know more about herself, and that’s what makes Captain Marvel shine as a unique origin story set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
While it’s not one of the best MCU flicks, Captain Marvel is still a solid installment from Marvel Studios that makes you look forward to seeing more of this fascinating superhero. Even if it has a slow start setting up the character in a formulaic way, this is a terrific comic book origin story with a great lead performance by Brie Larson and its entertaining action sequences. Marvel Studios is on a roll!