FYI, if you haven't seen Avengers: Infinity War yet, this post will ruin it for you. Spoilers-A-Plenty.
Still here? Good. The last we left Nick Fury, he was using an old-school pager to call for some sort of help as he was flaking away into a Thanos-induced nothingness. We didn't know who or what he was calling... until now. The who in this particular scenario is Carol Danvers (aka Captain Marvel), an energy infused woman of mysterious origins. Captain Marvel opens on the alien planet of HALA where the inhabitants are in the midst of an alien war. Danvers' character is part of a group of warriors tasked with capturing and/or killing the Skrulls, a shape shifting alien race. Eventually, her path leads her to earth in the 1990s, when she crash lands into a Blockbuster Video store (RIP). Earth is where the majority of this film takes place. She eventually crosses paths with a young Nick Fury (an enjoyable Samuel L. Jackson) and joins him for a mysterious source of energy that will win the alien war.
For better or worse, Captain Marvel follows the successful Marvel formula. It introduces new characters while tying it into the already established Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). However, that formula started to get a little stale. Recently, films like , Guardians Of The Galaxy, Black Panther, Thor: Ragnarok and Ant-Man began to push new boundaries. Each film and character had their own distinct personalities to them. It looked like Marvel was loosening the reins on its directors, allowing them to create unique visions and experiences. However, it looks like Marvel was a little timid giving Captain Marvel free rein in terms of tone and direction. It takes place in the 90s, and yet it doesn't feel quirky enough. It tries humor, but doesn't go far enough. It has a strong female lead without giving her too much power or personality.
Brie Larson does a good job portraying Captain Marvel and Annette Bening collects a paycheck as her mentor. However, both are pretty bland characters that don't get to push the boundaries that their Oscar-worthy talents would allow them to do. Sadly, this film feels like more of a Nick Fury origin story featuring Captain Marvel rather than a stand alone Captain Marvel film. Don't get me wrong, Samuel L. Jackson is great in this movie (his interactions with a cat are a highlight of the MCU), but he's had ample films to flesh out his character, and it's not his film.
I wasn't all together disappointed by this film. There were still great action pieces and sequences to keep me entertained. I just wished Marvel allowed these filmmakers to push the boundaries more, rather than giving us a bland, safe origin story for the studio's first female-led movie. It's also unfortunate that so much negativity has surrounded this film from the onslaught of negative reviews that online trolls have tried to heap upon this film. I wish it was a stronger middle-finger to those snowflakes.
Captain Marvel is a good, but not great entry to the MCU. There's a couple post-credit scenes to stick around for. I hope this character is given more room to shine in Avengers: End Game. 2 out of 4 stars.
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