*Originally written March 13th, 2019*
So... this is the sort of film you virgin incels try to boycott? Not films starring or directed by rapists, racists or homophobes? But a film starring a woman who made a joke about a terrible film at the Oscars and suggested media journalism needed more diversity than mostly just white males? You chronic wanking hentai watchers will take any excuse to hate women because they won't fuck you in your mums basement after you tip your fedora to them and hold a door open for them, won't you? Time to shave the neckbeard and focus on real problems, losers.
Anyway, Captain Marvel is another very solid entry in the ever-growing MCU. I had my reservations with this due to the very underwhelming trailers that made it seem like any other Marvel affair for the most part, but aside from the odd shot of formulaic familiarity, I ended up having a really good time with this. Might have been low expectations, but I believe this is definitely one of the best of the origin stories for this series.
I'll admit it gets off to a rough start with a pretty incoherent first act and I really had very little idea what was happening. It throws you right into the middle of things and bombards you with exposition, making it very easy to get lost and confused as to what these characters and their motivations are. Thankfully, once it hits Earth, things are a lot more fun and engaging.
Brie Larson shines in the titular role, playing it with a strong amount of confidence, charm and just the right amount of snark. I got a little worried early on that she'd just be sarcastic and annoying most of the film, but that quickly went away as she won me over. There's even a surprisingly compelling arc she goes through as she slowly discovers her true origins and her previous life on Earth. It all works very well.
Larson shines most when she's paired with Nick Fury (Who has an insanely convincing de-aging job that makes Samuel L Jackson look like he walked straight off the set of Pulp Fiction). The two have great chemistry together, making all their scenes a joy to watch. Plus it was great to see a younger, more inexperienced Fury, who had yet to discover the existence of super-humans/aliens. I'd love to see a series based around Fury's adventures in the '90s on Disney's upcoming streaming service.
One of my worries was the appearance of Ben Mendelsohn, an actor I love, but I was afraid he would be wasted as yet another forgettable and bland MCU villain. But again, my expectations were subverted and he gave a far more interesting performance with a nice twist that turned things on its head towards the end. It was nice to see him not be yet another forced bad guy he's sadly been typecast in these past few years in films like Robin Hood and Rogue One. Check out The Place Beyond the Pines to see what Mendelsohn is really capable of.
One of my biggest question marks surrounding this was the appearance of Jude Law and he's merely fine. It was pretty quick and easy to see what was going to happen with his character based on just how obvious it was towards the beginning and the trailers. I just wish they'd done something far more interesting with his character than what we ended up getting.
Being a hugely budgeted blockbuster, everything is gorgeous CGI wise, from the space stuff at the beginning, alien designs and explosive third act. It makes me wonder what went wrong with the CGI in Black Panther that was similarly budgeted. How on Earth can the same company release a film with effects as good as the stuff here, then release a film with those awful CGI rhinos and PS2 cutscene final battle?
As fun as the action is at times, there really lacks a sense of directorial style. There was just no signature here, leading me to believe it was competently made, but lacked any sort of personality or visual flair, which is a great shame, as the MCU was really growing in starting to let directors do their own thing, but it seems to be gone here. At the very least this actually looks like a proper, cinematic film and not the televisual ugliness of say Avengers: Age of Ultron. I was also pretty disappointed with the score, which started off pretty well with some great synthy stuff, but quickly devolved into me forgetting the film even had a score at points.
I have to get it off my chest that the fact the MCU has only just released a female starring film after 11 years and over 20 films while DC managed to do it in less than half the time and films. I don't know what went wrong there, but it's a severe and backwards decision from Disney that should have been amended years ago. It's a shame that they waited this long, because it clearly works (Like it obviously would) and I really hope they finally ramp up with the Black Widow film after the success of this.
Captain Marvel is another great entry in the forever growing MCU. It starts out rough, but quickly became some of the most fun I've had with this franchise in a while and Brie Larson is an excellent addition to the series and I cannot wait to see more of her and how she factors into Avengers: Endgame. My superhero film fatigue might have just got a new boost of life.
8/10 Dans
Captain Marvel is out now in cinemas in the UK
Watch the trailer below:
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