"Captain Marvel" arrived to theaters smelling of controversy. Apparently we're not allowed to have a female-led genre film without the internet combusting into some kind of psychotic gang war. A few weeks before it came out, the film was hit with an unusually low "Audience Anticipation" score on Rotten Tomatoes. While we can only speculate, this was more than likely in response to some utterly stupid comments from star Brie Larson. The negative hype for the film was blamed on "trolls" and the "Audience Anticipation" feature was removed from the site entirely. Now it just shows you how many people are looking forward to a film. The culture war continued as Rotten Tomatoes then removed thousands of user reviews after the film came out. As much as it would please me to shame every single person involved in this moronic event, I'm the farthest thing from an insult comic. I'm a film critic, which means I review the film on its own merits. So, what have Kevin Feige and Disney dropped in front of us like a cat bringing a rat to its master?
Verse (Larson), a soldier of the Kree Empire, is trapped on Earth during the 1990s after a mission with her squad goes wrong. She discovers that the Skrulls (mortal enemies of the Kree) have also landed on earth, searching for a hyperdrive engine that would allow them to presumably conquer the universe. Teaming up with Agent Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), Verse must find the hyperdrive before the Skrulls do while uncovering the secrets behind strange visions she's been having.
What's surprising about "Captain Marvel" compared to the other Marvel films is that it deigns to give the lead something resembling a character arc. At the beginning, Verse is a hothead, ready to throw herself into the action and take dangerous risks. That sounds like a good set up for an arc about Verse maybe become more mature or learning that always going with your gut instinct isn't the best way to do things. However, the film's message is the exact opposite of that. The message seems to be "Emotions are good and you should go with your gut instinct because that's usually always right." At least, I think that's what it's supposed to be. It's incredibly undefined and I'm pretty sure whatever arc there was supposed to be doesn't even have a conclusion.
The fundamental problem with the arc seems to stem from how the writers have handled Verse as a character. She has real potential to be likable; she's playful, funny and has a lot of energy. Even her start as an underdog hothead is endearing; you want to see her learn and succeed so she can become the hero we know she'll eventually be. It's kind of like Luke Skywalker in "Star Wars"; sure, you're inexperienced and kind of annoying, but you have dreams and a good spirt so we're rooting for you anyway. The problem is that the writers seem afraid to give her any weaknesses. Thus, the arc is ultimately changed from a story about overcoming weakness to a story about recognizing what you thought was a weakness wasn't a weakness at all. That might've been fine if Verse wasn't permanently stuck in "strong female protagonist" mode so that any personality has to fight to shine through.
Larson's performance doesn't do the character any favors either. Don't get me wrong, Larson is a good actress and has been really good in other movies, but this is definitely not her best work. It's not the worst performance ever and she has some legitimate chemistry with Jackson, but there are several points where her delivery is really wooden. I'm not sure if the issue is with directorial choices or if the character herself doesn't allow for much range. Either way, it's not doing Larson any favors.
The main complaint I have with the film is that pretty much anybody could've made it. There's nothing unique about "Captain Marvel" that separates it from any other movie in the MCU. All the visuals look the same, the script is pretty standard, the CGI is on the same level and the story doesn't do anything daring or different. Admittedly, that's the case with almost every Marvel movie, but what makes it such an annoyance here is the talent on the writing/directing team. Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck have been making critically acclaimed films in the Indie scene as a writing/directing duo for almost a decade. To take a team with such potential and set them to work making such a generic film feels completely unnecessary.
And if you are going to bring in somebody from the indie scene, why have them do a movie that is completely out of their comfort zone? Taking a team that specializes in drama and telling them to make an action movie is like taking Marilyn Manson and having him preach a sermon. The fight scenes, one of the few things you can count on to be excellent in a Marvel movie, are pretty disappointing. The choreography doesn't do anything creative with Verse's powers, which are pretty much limited to a way for Verse to punch somebody across the room. They don't even do anything special when she faces other people with superpowers; they don't react off of each other in interesting ways or counter out each other creatively. It's just standard.
To admit that I moderately enjoyed "Captain Marvel" really says something. I'm not a fan of this franchise, so when one of these movies goes from "Meh" to "Meh, it has potential" that should tell you something about the quality. If you're already a fan of the Marvel films, you've probably already seen this. If you haven't seen it and weren't planning to, it's not going to kill you if you do.
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