Directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck
Starring Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Djimon Hounsou, Lee Pace, Lashana Lynch, Gemma Chan, Annette Bening, Clark Gregg, and Jude Law
Backstory
This is another film that it feels like I’ve been reading about online for years. Reading up on it, Brie Larson officially signed on three years ago! And here we finally are, as Captain Marvel, easily the most prominent female hero in Marvel Comics these days, gets her own movie. And, with Captain Marvel due to be a major player in Avengers: Endgame, it’s best that we, the audience, get to know her. So how’s Captain Marvel’s big coming-out party?
Plot
On the distant planet Hala, home of the Kree Empire, a Kree warrior named Vers is troubled. She’s still learning to harness her massive power under the tutelage of Yon-Rogg. Their squad of Kree commandos are sent to take down a cel of evil shapeshifting aliens known as Skrulls, but Vers is capture. She eventually escapes, and winds up on the planet designated C-35 by the Kree, but the natives call it Earth. Something about Earth begins triggering memories in Vers, and she begins to learn that she was once a woman named Carol Danvers. But, Skrulls led by Talos have made it to Earth as well. With her new partner, SHIELD agent Nick Fury, can Carol Danvers uncover the secrets of her past and save Earth from a Skrull invasion?
What I Liked
Brie Larson is great as Carol Danvers. She gets to show a lot more humour than we’ve been seeing in the trailers, and that was a great surprise. Samuel L. Jackson is also great as Nick Fury. This Fury is a bit of a rookie, and not yet the embittered badass who brought the Avengers together. There’s some great changes to the Captain Marvel mythology that were really cool. And the film, set in 1995, indulges in nostalgia without getting overbearing. Except for….
What I Didn’t Like
The soundtrack is full of mid-90s grunge classics that do get distracting at times. There’s one particular song choice in one particular scene that just made me roll my eyes. And maybe I’ve seen too many of these superhero films, but one of the big plot twists I saw coming from miles away.
Final Verdict
Captain Marvel is another very satisfying entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and a great appetizer for Avengers: Endgame. Thoroughly enjoyed it.