Captain Marvel Review

NO SPOILERS!!



"I keep having these memories...I see flashes. I think I have a life here. But I can't tell if it's real"



Captain Marvel was directed by directing due Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck and is the latest and 21st entry into the ever expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film stars the likes of Brie Larson, Samuel L Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Jude Law, Annette Bening, Lashana Lynch and Clark Gregg. The film follows Carol Danvers (Captain Marvel portrayed by Brie Larson) who becomes one of the universes most powerful heroes when Earth is caught in the middle of a galactic war between two alien races.

If you have been a long time follower of these reviews then you certainly know I love a good Marvel film, and this film even though it has its problems is certainly a solid entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. One of the strongest aspect of the film is certainly the films cast, Brie Larson does a solid job as Carol Danvers (aka Captain Marvel), and I personally enjoyed watching her transformation from her previous Kree life to one of a hero discovering the depths of her abilities, honestly the trailers do not give her performance in the film any justice and she often reminds you of Tony Stark (Iron Man) with her quick witted and sarcastic comments. Whilst Larson does a solid job it is her co-stars who really steal the spotlight, with Samuel L Jackson's Nick Fury (younger version) and Ben Mendelsohn's Talos who really grab all the attention and really help the film at times. A special mention of course has to be made to Goose (Carol Danvers Cat) who whilst being extremely cute has some of the standout moments during the third act of the film (you certainly won't want to miss those!). As with previous MCU films the action is of course entertaining and we get some great Ariel combat sequences which look great on the big screen allowing Captain Marvel to truly demonstrate her full power range. I also really enjoyed the time setting of the film, setting the film in the 90s allowed for some great throwback cultural references but also allowed us to explore a time in the MCU that has barely been explored and allowed us to see more from well loved characters from moments in the earlier life.

Whilst Captain Marvel is a fun and entertaining MCU film I did have a couple of issues with the film. Personally my biggest issue is that the film feels like a solid phase 1 MCU film in phase 3 of the MCU, the film itself is a solid MCU origin story, told in a way that the audience develop an understanding of Carols powers as she is discovering them, but compared to what we have seen recently in the likes of Avengers: Infinity War, and even solo films such as Black panther and Doctor Strange it certainly in some ways feels like a step down, that's not to say that Captain Marvel is a bad film, it just doesn't hit the heights set by previous films in the MCU. Another small issue with the film would be at times the film does drag, whilst with previous MCU films we have had the luxury of years with these characters so we can be thrown into a new situation but feel reassured we know these characters from previous films, but with Captain Marvel we are introduced to a lot of new characters who play an important part of Carols early origin life and with that comes the tricky business of trying balance everyone's role in the story, and this balance sometimes leads to moments when the film naturally tends to drag as they are trying to fit as much character moments in that have importance to the overall story, that sometimes for a second you are disjointed from the film wondering if this is actually important or not.

Overall Captain Marvel is a fun and entertaining entry into the MCU, with solid performances and good action sequences but often feels like a solid phase 1 film in phase 3 of the MCU. If you are a Marvel fan you are going to highly enjoy the film and learning about a character that will play a interesting role going forward in the MCUs future.


Oh and make sure you stay for those post credit scenes, the mid credit scene is truly great, bring on Avengers: Endgame.


Verdict 4 out 5 stars