Captain Marvel

Captain Marvel

This was half of a good movie, and I really wish that the whole thing was as awesome as the parts that I loved.  

I’m still not sure where I stand on Brie Larson’s performance.  There are moments where I absolutely love her as Carol Danvers - She’s strong, sarcastic, human, a warrior, friend, aunt, and fucking badass.  But at the end of it all, I somehow still don’t have a strong sense of her character. Halfway through every other MCU movie that introduced a hero, I had a good idea of how they would behave in this universe.  Their personalities were set, I knew who they were. Captain Marvel is an enigma to me even after 2+ hours, and I don’t think it’s intentional.

This is also exacerbated by the fact that I could never entirely get rid of the voice in my head that kept saying, “This is Brie Larson acting.”  I get the same sensation with Natalie Portman a lot.  Her Carol Danvers felt like a performance, not a real person I was watching on screen.  Which is a shame, because the moments where she clicks really shine. I love her moments with Maria Rambeau and Monica (who I really hope returns as Photon/Captain Marvel in the future).  I would have liked to see more scenes of the two fighter pilots in action together. The costume update scene was inspiring, showing the power of providing a strong role model for the younger generation.  

This is the rare Marvel movie where the third act was the strongest.  Usually, the gratuitous CG battle at the end is the weakest, but here I just wanted to see more and more - The lame amnesia plot point was resolved, the Skrulls were revealed to be the good guys (which I liked, but I kept expecting (and hoping for) a situation where both the Kree and Skrulls turned out to have ambitions of conquest - the world isn’t so simple as Good and Evil), and Carol really got to let loose with her powers.  She’s so obscenely powerful, yet I didn’t mind for a second. If she’s going to be leading the MCU post-Endgame, I’m all for it. (Ignoring the potential problems of having such an uber-strong player on the Avengers.)

What don’t I like?  The Kree are generic Marvel villains.  Except for Gemma Chan as Minerva, because snipers rule.  The movie doesn't really kick in until Carol finds Maria. I didn’t need the 90s setting rubbed in my face the entire time.  Whee, there’s a Smashing Pumpkins poster. There’s a Nine Inch Nails t-shirt.  Yet another song from that era! Just a Girl for the big fight scene?  Really? The movie tried way to hard on that front.  (Though I totally bought the de-aged Nick Fury. No uncanny valley for me.)

Goose wasn’t the scene stealer that he was made out to be.  And I wasn’t blown away by the reveal since I’d already seen it before in another Marvel movie:

I liked that Brie Larson’s hair got wild and tangled over the course of battle, but how did it always manage to fall back into perfect curls in subsequent scenes?  Talk about OP.

So where does Captain Marvel fall in my rankings?  

1. Captain America 3
2. Avengers 1
3. Captain America 2
4. Ant Man/Wasp
5. Spider-Man
6. Black Panther
7. Avengers 3
8. Captain America 1
9. Thor 3
10. Avengers 2
11. Captain Marvel
12. Ant-Man
13. Iron Man 1
14. Iron Man 3
15. Iron Man 2
16. Guardians 1
17. Doctor Strange
18. Guardians 2
19. Thor
20. Hulk
21. Thor 2

Huh, smack in the middle.  Feels about right. I’ve also bumped Ant-Man up a position.  I’d rather watch it than Iron Man.  

Regret watching: No

Would buy on DVD: No (barely)

Would watch again: Yet

Rating: Nice