In the coming days and weeks, I’m sure there will be plenty of articles addressing the impact of “Captain Marvel,” from the movie’s massive $150 million opening weekend, to the implications this character will have on the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe (if anyone has a shot at taking out Thanos, it’s definitely Carol Danvers).
However, to me the most important impact this film is making, is on a much smaller, more personal scale: all the photos and stories I’ve been seeing on social media highlighting what this character means to young girls.
After 10 years and 20 movies, “Captain Marvel” is the MCU’s first female-led superhero film. It’s an exciting milestone, hopefully paving the way for more female Marvel superheroes to get stories of their own.
Before she fully becomes Captain Marvel, Carol Danvers is a Kree warrior with no memory of her past. She helps keep the peace across the galaxy as part of a special ops team, fighting against the shape-shifting Skrulls. That’s until one mission unexpectedly goes awry, and Carol finds herself stranded on planet Earth…a place with some rather important ties to her past. As Carol begins to question who (and what) she is, she learns how to fully embrace her powers and become who she was meant to be.
“Captain Marvel” will probably end up landing somewhere in the middle of my MCU ranking (probably upper middle, though I’ll need to see the movie again to say for sure). It actually feels rather like a phase 1 MCU film, and it would have felt at home next to the first Iron Man and Thor movies. In fact, watching “Captain Marvel” made me sad that we didn’t get to see Carol in the Avengers line-up as part of the first Avengers team-up movie in 2012, but at least she will be part of the team for “Endgame.”
“Captain Marvel” is a fairly standard origin story, though there are a couple unexpected twists. A superhero origin story fails or succeeds based on the performance of the lead actor, and I loved seeing Brie Larson join the MCU as Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel. I didn’t know a lot about the character or her personality ahead of time, and I wanted to purposely keep it that way so I could walk into the film and be surprised.
I loved the character’s brash recklessness and sense of humor (I’m imagining a fun fanfic involving Carol Danvers, Han Solo, and Captain Kirk going on an intergalactic adventure together). She brings a unique flavor to the MCU, and it will be fun to see her with more established characters like Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor. I do wish the script had dived just a *little* deeper into the character’s feelings regarding the revelation of her true backstory, and the film could have done more to explore her past relationships with some of her fellow Kree warriors. But maybe we’ll get more of that material in the sequel.
Another highlight of the film was seeing Samuel L. Jackson return as Nick Fury. His appearance is far more than a cameo this time, and it was so fun to see the dynamic between him and Carol. Parts of the film almost have a “buddy cop movie” vibe. I was initially a little worried about the de-aging technology (the movie takes place in the ’90s) and feared the character would cross over into uncanny valley. However, the CGI looked incredibly realistic to me and never distracted from the story.
There are some other fun side characters to round out the cast. It’s always good to see Clark Gregg as Agent Phil Coulson, and I loved that Carol’s best friend from Earth, Maria Rambeau (Lashana Lynch), got to play a role in the film. We don’t get to see enough female friendships in action/genre films, and this was a welcome addition to the film. Also, Goose the Cat totally steals the show. I cannot say more, but just…don’t underestimate the cat.
Some things I would have changed about the film: I really enjoyed the beginning and ending of the film, but there are parts of the middle that dragged a little, at least for me. Maybe my opinion on that will change on second viewing, now that I know where the story was going. Also, this is probably another personal thing, but I wished more of the movie had taken place in space. I’m really hoping to see more of the cosmic side of the MCU as the franchise moves forward, and I would love if the Captain Marvel sequel primarily took place in space.
I also felt Jude Law’s character was a little underused, and I think more depth for this character (and screen time) would have boosted the film’s lagging middle section.
However, all that aside, there’s a lot to enjoy about this film, and it’s wonderful to see a female superhero starring in her own Marvel movie. I don’t think Captain Marvel and Wonder Woman will have to stand on their own for long.
