***This review will contain minor spoilers for the movie***
The limited run Marvel comic, Captain Marvel: Higher, Further, Faster, More is one of my favorite Marvel comics because the plot was simple yet compelling. It told me everything I needed to know about Capt. Marvel, her friends, who she was trying to save and why she was trying to save them. It also told the story of a hero who overcame the odds stacked against her as she saved a race of people on the brink of extinction. It is such a fun story with world ending stakes yet is a story that we can all learn lessons from. The 2019 movie, Captain Marvel, is no different. It is an inspiring, powerful movie about a woman who struggles to find her identity, and ultimately figure out her place in the universe. It succeeds at story telling on multiple levels and has great action along with Easter eggs and references to the Avengers that all kinds of Marvel fans will appreciate. While the structure of the movie is cluttered and rushed in many places, Captain Marvel serves as a great origin story about an important character in the MCU before the release of Avengers: Endgame a month from now.
The movie takes place in the 1990s and begins with Carol Danvers (known at the beginning as Vers), a warrior for the Kree race who find themselves in a war with the Skrulls. While this is the backdrop for the film, the movie is actually about Carol rediscovering her past on Earth and discovering her identity. The movie ultimately ends with her becoming Captain Marvel and we learn how she comes to be the hero she is today. The movie stars Brie Larson as Captain Marvel, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Ben Mendelsohn as Talos, and Jude Law as Carol's mentor Yon-Rogg.
Like I mentioned above, the plot moves very quickly and felt like it had many parts that were either rushed or missing. While there was character development for Carol Danvers throughout the movie, it felt like they were telling us that she was a strong warrior, a great pilot, and a great friend. They did not really show us that she was those things very often and I wish we had more of that. The movie is mostly centered around flashbacks as Carol attempts to put together pieces of her old life as she slowly figures out how she got to where she is today which is both good and bad. It is good because we are constantly asking what is next and we are curious to learn more about her past. The bad part is that the movie is discombobulated in some areas as a result. While there is a solid through line, the flashbacks often interrupt important moments and sometimes even feel out of place.
The movie has a difficult balance to walk which is why some of the issues can be forgiven. For example, the writers had to figure out how to make the audience care about Carol Danvers because she is far and away the most powerful character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. They had to figure out ways to limit her powers and slowly give her more and more strength as the movie went along. It was structured kind of like a video game: you start out weak and anything can kill you but as you upgrade and learn more you slowly become the most powerful creature to walk the Earth. Captain Marvel is structured this way too. As Carol learns more about her herself she becomes more powerful.
While I have criticisms with the plot itself, this does not mean that I did not enjoy the movie as a whole! This movie did a lot of other things very well. First, the supporting cast was great in the roles they played. Samuel L. Jackson, who was completely CGI'd to look younger, served as an awesome co-star along-side Capt. Marvel.
We learned about his past as well which made this movie almost as much of an origin story for Nick Fury as it was for Carol Danvers. Along with Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn was in his best role I have seen him in since Rogue One. His role as Talos was basically played like a Star Trek alien in the MCU. He was funny, smart, and multi-layered as a villain. The only casting choice I didn't love was Jude Law as Yon-Rogg, Law was okay overall in the role, I just didn't seem like he and Brie Larson had great on-screen chemistry which led me to dislike some of their scenes together. The rest of the cast is great though too and Stan Lee has a top-3 cameo in this movie.
Larson herself was a little awkward in the role of Carol Danvers. Many of her lines seemed a little off and even cheesy at times. On the surface this seems like a major problem, but if you see how the story unfolds as a whole it makes sense. Carol Danvers is a human who has no memory of being one and was essentially raised by aliens for six years. She is a fish out of water both in space and on Earth. A lot of what she says as a result stems from that. She delivers quick and smart dialogue in fight scenes like Spider-Man does, but because he doesn't know how to be one yet most of it falls flat. It makes sense that she is very quirky and cheesy because she does not even know who she truly is until the conclusion of the movie.
One of the major conflicts in this movie, besides interpersonal one, is the battle Danvers has with herself. Throughout the movie she is told by antagonists and peers to not use her overwhelming powers because they are a weakness. She is told they are a weakness because they come from her emotions. She is told repeatedly: Do not use them because they are a weakness, do not do fly plans because you are a woman. Obviously the link the movie is trying to make is that women's emotions are often associated with weakness. This is where the movie finds its ultimate success and is why I enjoyed it so much. What the movie ultimately teaches Carol, and every member of the audience, is that emotions (especially for young women) are not a weakness. They are what make you strong, they are what make you human! The reason she becomes so strong in the end is because she is not afraid to channel her emotions and unleash them in order to save all of Earth. This movie truly succeeds when it focuses on being a movie about using emotions and passion as a power in order to help others. This is why I liked this movie so much. It had a recurring lesson that not many of the other Marvel movies have had in the past. I think this movie is important to see for any moviegoer. Not just because of its connection to the Avengers but because of the lessons it teaches us all.
Finally, yes, this movie is very connected to Avengers: Endgame. So if you wanted to just get hyped for that movie, then Captain Marvel will also serve that purpose.
Overall this movie was one of my favorite MCU origin movies because of the cast, the message, and the ties it has into the MCU. There are also some great twists and action sequences along the way to keep you entertained. The movie felt like it flew by and was enjoyable throughout!
+ Great Cast
+ Lessons for all movie goers
+ Inspiring
- A little cluttered and poor editing in places
Overall score: 84/100
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