Originally published on bigbaddie.com on March 7, 2019.
Marvel Studios’ Captain Marvel, the first ever solo female-led MCU movie, has finally arrived. It’s not the smoothest landing, but it’s not the SJW plane crash that sad pop culture gatekeepers were insisting it would be. Suck it, toxic geeks!
Thank you, Stan.
Whenever I remember that Stan Lee is no longer with us, I still get a little choked up. Whenever someone pays tribute to him, the level of choked up-ness increases. There’s a nice little tribute to The Man here plus a cameo that was handled in a very classy way, so I choked up big time — like there was a Galactus stuck in my throat.
We miss you, Stan.
Princess Sparklefists
Brie Larson as Captain Marvel may not be the most obvious casting choice — it’s definitely a very unpopular decision in some toxic circles — but she grows on you. Her muted performance early in the movie is eventually taken over by her charm and bad-ass intensity as the movie progresses.
Her chemistry with Samuel L. Muddafuckin’ Jackon’s Nicholas Joseph Fury is electric. Their buddy cop thing is one of the best things about the movie.
Larson’s charm and physicality mix well with Fury, Jude Law’s Yon-Rogg and the rest of Starforce, and the more explosive and superhero-y parts of the film. She also delivers some of those Oscar-winning acting chops in scenes that require some gravitas and heart, like those with Lashana Lynch, Annette Benning, and Ben Mendelsohn.
Sorry, internet trolls, Brie as Carol Danvers is not the Worst. Thing. Ever.
Starforce
Starforce, man. Legendary Kree military strike-force? Guys? Oh, forget this.
I was hoping the group would play a bigger role here and maybe even spin off into their own 7-movie franchise, but all we get is a couple of OK action scenes and flat banter. I’m devastated.
I’m kidding. I’m just disappointed we didn’t get to see more of a blue-skinned Gemma Chan. No one looks better in blue than Gemma Chan. Not Jennifer Lawrence. Not Will Smith. Not Sonic the Hedgehog. NO ONE.
Only ’90s Kids Will Get This
That’s a lie. Everyone and their children love the ’90s, so everyone will definitely appreciate the featured radical things from 20-something years ago like dial-up internet, home video stores, and Nirvana. Not to mention the ’90s-inspired marketing. Nostalgia is great.
More Than Meets The Eye
Goose the Cat (Chewie in the comics) definitely steals the show. Whether you’re already familiar with Chewie from the comics or not, you and everyone else will love the “cat” named Goose.
Aside from Goose and the shapeshifting Skrulls , there are a few other things here that are more than meets the eye. If you think you already know where things are going based on the trailers and the comics, think again, pal.
Without spoiling anything, I’m glad we get a few nice surprises including a game-changing plot twist, a delightful character reveal, the Stan Lee tribute and cameo, and the Avengers: Endgame tie-in.
CONCLUSION!
Coming from the Indie Cinematic Universe, directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck are not at their best when delivering action, but the movie isn’t about that. It starts off low-key and a bit slow for an audience that is used to fast-paced action-packed superhero movies, but Captain Marvel isn’t about that.
There are some exposition-heavy scenes that may scare away people who aren’t really into space sci-fi mumbo jumbo. There’s still the signature MCU humor and CGI-heavy action set pieces. The good ol’ Marvel movie formula is still present in this origin movie, making it feel way too familiar especially for long-time MCU fans. But these are not the things that define Captain Marvel.
Like Captain Marvel the character, Captain Marvel the movie takes some time to find itself. It gets beaten up along the way by internet trolls, butt-hurt incels, Marvel-haters, and aggressive “movie critics” who criticize movies before it even comes out.
The movie gets told what it should or should not be. It gets told that it has a feminist agenda. It gets told that it can’t touch Wonder Woman. It gets told that it can’t be as strong as the other Marvel movies because reasons.
It gets knocked down again and again and again. It will probably get knocked down and dragged around in the months and even years to come. But like Captain Marvel the character, Captain Marvel the movie will get back up again and again and again — to punch you in the face.
Carol falls down all the time, but she always gets back up — we say that about Captain America as well, but Captain America gets back up because it’s the right thing to do. Carol gets back up because ‘Fuck you.’
Kelly Sue DeConnick
The whole point of this movie, while occasionally getting lost in ’90s nostalgia, CGI, and the usual superhero origin story pitfalls, can be witnessed in that one scene where Vers rediscovers who Carol Danvers is and what she’s made of. Once Vers finds Carol Danvers, she becomes whole. She becomes Captain Marvel.
The rise (and rise and rise and etc.) of Carol Danvers is the message and it will make little girls and boys, grown men and women, and everyone in between and beyond realize that they are stronger than they think they are and no one should ever make them feel otherwise. They can always go higher, further, faster. That’s what Captain Marvel is all about.
I give Marvel Studios’ Captain Marvel 4 out of 5 Flerken that you should definitely not put on your lap.
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