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AT THE MOVIESby Isy Jordan
AT THE MOVIES
Captain Marvel Director: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck Starring: Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Jude Law, Ben Mendelsohn, Annette Bening and more... Carol Danvers becomes one of the universe's most powerful heroes when Earth is caught in the middle of a galactic war between two alien races. For die-hard movie fans, the best way I can explain this one is super hero movie meets Memento. The heroine of Captain Marvel like the hero in Memento, is trying piece together a past she can't remember while struggling to deal with the challenges of the present. They don't seem like real challenges. Former Air Force pilot Carol Danvers has incredible, Thor-like, other-worldly powers and is part of the Kree force on the planet Hala. She has very few memories of her past and with her Kree comrades, she fights against an enemy race of aliens known as the Skrulls. Her responsibilities were to fight the shape-shifting Skrulls and in escaping from them, she finds herself on Earth and encounters a two-eyed Nick Fury. While there, she decides to try and research her past. While this is going on, the Skrulls and Talos, their leader, arrive looking for Carol. Are the Skrulls the actual villains? Or are the Kree? I really wanted to like this film despite a rather obnoxious ad campaign and the fact that the heroine's facial expression never seem to change. She just looks perpetually pissed off. I thought I'd see something different at the theatre but, it was more of the same. The lead actress, Brie Larson, is someone I normally admire very much. I'm not sure if she just felt she didn't have much to work with or her interpretation of the character was just a stone-faced superhero with no weaknesses. Regardless, it made for a long movie experience and one that wasn't totally pleasant. Samuel L. Jackson as a younger Nick Fury was great and so were most of the supporting cast. I love Phil Coulson no matter what and it was fun to see his rookie days as an agent for SHIELD. The story moved slowly, particularly where Carol's mystery past was concerned. The dialogue in the MCU is often corny at times but it was particularly bad in this film and that's a shame. I was hoping for something more along the lines of the dialogue used in Black Panther. The special effects -- and the cat -- both stole the movie from a meandering storyline and characters who seemed at a loss as to how to deal with it. If you're a die-hard MCU fan, you'll likely see this film anyway. If you enjoy an MCU film now and again, wait for this to come to Netflix. Those afraid of not going to see this because you might miss a clue for the upcoming Avengers: End Game. Don't even worry about it. There's a mid-credit scene that's a nod to Avengers 4 but it doesn't offer any new information at all and we know Carol Danvers will make an appearance in the next Avengers film. Still it makes me sad that she will. Here you have a character with no apparent weaknesses and no emotions. There's nothing, for the viewer, to fret and worry over. In bringing her into the mess and void Thanos created in Avengers: Infinity War, are we saying our remaining characters can't resolve it themselves and need this indestructable woman to do it for them? To me, that defeats the purpose of an MCU movie with a strong female lead I've been waiting for. I'll wait for the Black Widow movie. But thanks. At 124 minutes, the movie was long and it's rated PG-13 for violent images and fight scenes. Go see at your own risk. Isy |
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