This is a spoiler-free review. As press, we were invited to an advanced screening of this movie. We were also asked to limit the information we provide so we don’t give away any of the surprises in the movie and allow you to enjoy the full film experience.
CAPTAIN MARVEL will take you back in time; back to the 1990’s to be exact. In many ways, “Captain Marvel” is an origin story that will explain some of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s (MCU) characters and events we’ve encountered over the years. “Iron Man” was released in 2008, and when you consider this is the first of the MCU’s films that launched the franchise, then we’ve had ten years of Marvel movies!
The nostalgia in this latest Marvel installment is set right from the opening credits. A collective sigh could be heard in the dark theater as a photo tribute to Marvel creator, Stan Lee, flashed by. Lee passed away in 2018 leaving a rich comic book legacy that’s likely to germinate movies for years to come. Once the warm feeling of Lee’s tribute evaporates, the opening scenes unfold.
“Captain Marvel” takes us to the modern and technologically advanced world of Kreen, where we meet our fierce heroine, Vers (pronounced Veers), played by Brie Larson. The Starforce member later learns her real name is Carol Danvers.
As the trailer shows us, Vers crash lands from Kreen on C-53 (Earth) into a Blockbuster Video store in Los Angeles. This is where she first meets Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. They buddy up to fight against the Skrull, alien shapeshifters who’ve come to earth after her, and whom the Kreen have waged war against for many years.
Movie Synopsis
The story follows Carol Danvers as she becomes one of the universe’s most powerful heroes when Earth is caught in the middle of a galactic war between two alien races. Set in the 1990s, Captain Marvel is an all-new adventure from a previously unseen period in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe
“Captain Marvel” is the twenty-first movie in the MCU, and takes its time showing us who the principle characters really are. It’s a journey of self discovery for Carol Danvers who starts to understand she had a prior life before she had her galactic powers. This process reveals she also had a BFF, Maria Rambeau (Lachana Lynch), and that she was a badass pilot, too.
Through the art of makeup, we see that Fury (and don’t call him anything else!), had two good eyes, a full head of hair, and has been using a pager for a while –and he likes cats, too. Goose, an orange tabby that has history with Vers and later befriends Fury, almost steals the show. Another thing that gets corrected in the movie is that we have been mispronouncing Marvel, its Mar-VELL like a woman’s name.
Speaking of women, Annette Bening is in this movie and plays an almost god-like entity, the Supreme Intelligence. She’s also Vren’s mentor and commander and warns our feisty female heroine to control her abilities and keep her emotions in check. The Supreme Intelligence is an organic artificial intelligence who acts as the ruler of the Kreen.
*Writing in deliberately vague terms here is hard. But I am very limited about what I can say about the movie. So this will have to do!
Though the film is set in a futuristic world, it’s earthly components like the cars, the computers with dial-up internet, the clothes, and the hair look as authentic as the soundtrack from TLC, Salt and Peppa, and Nirvana that accompanies many of the scenes in this female-centric film. It is worth mentioning that this is Marvel’s first female led movie.
“Captain Marvel” moves at a less frenetic pace than other Marvel films–which is a welcomed change from the relentless shoot-em-up-while-watching-the-inhalation-of-the-planet type format we’ve been led to like. There’s something to be said about this slightly slower-moving film. I walked out of the theater feeling less agitated and exhausted from trying to keep up with the plot twists amid the gun blasts and round house kicks — though Larson does kick a good set more than a few times.
After the movie was over, I wondered if the upcoming follow-up, “Avengers: Endgame,” for which we see a short tease at the end of the film, will be just as deliberate with its delivery. We’ll have to wait until April 26 to find out.
“Captain Marvel” is a thoroughly entertaining film full of Easter Eggs right down to the traditional post-credits scene. So, make sure you sit tight until the very last credit rolls off the screen. It’s worth the wait.
Captain Marvel
Release Date March 8, 2019
Rated PG-13
Run Time 2 hours and 5 minutes
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