There is an undeniable fun chemistry amongst the three leads of this movie. If you hate strong female leads, you better go elsewhere. The lynch pin is definitely Iman Vellani's Kamala Khan. She was so damn likeable in the Ms. Marvel TV show and she's equally, if not MORE likeable here. Instead of being a useless third wheel, she holds her own in all the action scenes. Her family also makes the transition to the big screen and they bring some lightheartedness and grounding to the movie.
Brie Larson actually gets to show a personality in this movie, something that had been missing in all her appearances as Captain Marvel to date, which is refreshing because she has it in her and Marvel was not bottling that correctly. Finally, Teyonah Parris rounding out as Monica Rambeau adds an additional dynamic that also helps to ground Carol Danvers more. Everyone gets something to do here. Like 75% of these Marvel movies, this movie suffers from a one-dimensional villain, but I forgive that because these ladies just needed someone to punch anyway. It's about the friendship between these the trio and how they play off each other.
The most enjoyable part for me, is that there was a lot of creative and careful thought put into the fight choreography that plays on the central conceit of the movie. The three characters switch places whenever they use their powers at the same time, something that is explained in a hand-wavy way that you shouldn't think about too much. It makes for a lot of fun moments throughout the film.
The jokes hit the right notes and I was not groaning or wanting things to move on like I did in Guardians of the Galaxy or Ant-Man earlier this year. Yeah, both those movies came out this year. I forgot too. This movie was also a short 105 minutes, a luxury we do not usually get with Marvel movies. Things didn't keep escalating to like five different endings, so that was also surprisingly refreshing. Side note, if you liked Goose in Captain Marvel, you will get more of them here too. Cats!
The special effects, beside the one-dimensional villain, were the only weak spots in this movie and I can forgive those, because everything else is so much fun.
The only things you need to watch to prep for this movie are: Captain Marvel, Wandavision and Ms. Marvel. Each one gives you insight into the trio of ladies in the film. This movie basically picks up where the Ms. Marvel series ended.
So with all that being said, there is a much larger problem here. This is the part of my review where I will pivot away from this film and talk about what really pisses me off with Marvel's direction with this phase of movies/shows. Sorry everyone, Secret Invasion is about to catch some strays.
So WHEN exactly in Marvel's now convoluted timeline does this movie take place? All we know is that it is after Endgame, because Monica talks about things that occurred to her after the blip and after Ms. Marvel's show. We just had Secret Invasion a few months ago that dealt with Skrulls and Nick Fury. This movie ALSO deals with Skrulls and have Nick Fury. Both things seem to be independent of each other. Did Secret Invasion come before this movie? Afterwards? We see happy Nick Fury in this movie in his space station, giving the kind of energy we usually expect from Sam Jackson. He clearly had more fun making this than the other show and it is evident.
What happened to the Skrulls in this movie and in Secret Invasion are big deals, but they both just kind of happen in their own bubbles. They wasted Telos in that show instead of having him appear in this movie, so now our most recognizable Skrull is just gone and there is zero mention of him. This movie and that show felt like they were in two different universes, they were so different. Maybe Marvel can explain it away with all this multi-verse nonsense they've been going on about lately.
Marvel clearly has been making shit up as they go after Endgame and it couldn't be more evident. Everything they got right with this movie, they got wrong with everything else this year. It was concise. It was fun. It let it's stars bounce off each other. It didn't bathe in it's own sadness. I hate that this movie comes at the end of the year, when super hero fatigue has set in. There are a few things at the end of the Marvels that makes us feel that good stuff is on the way. A thing the other movies this year didn't do either. There was little connective tissue to tie stuff together.
Finally, I feel the need to get on my soap box. The movie hasn't done great at the box office and some have celebrated that. This movie suffered from not being marketed well. Like, at all. Who knew it was even happening? The strike meant that the actors could not talk about it, but that shouldn't have stopped Marvel from doing a full court press with their marketing.
I guess a female driven movie by a black director is not worth the extra press it could have used. I'm sure the straight, white male, comic nerd contingent is happy about the news that this movie had the lowest opening for a Marvel movie. This film was left out to die on the vine and it deserved better than that. I hate that we're seeing all these lazy think pieces about why this movie has bombed and whether or not we are suffering from hero fatigue. We've been in that for years prior to this movie. Let's not get it twisted.
So I say go see this movie. It is is an accomplishment and something to be praised. It is the most fun you will have with a Marvel property this year. For you true nerds, there's a mid credits scene that is there to make people like me salivate.
