Captain Marvel

The misadventure of Vers, Captain Marvel as she is first introduced, on planet C-53 (aka Earth) shows us the birth of a superhero from the tatters of an interrupted life. Brie Larson’s performance was a believable one. There was a fair amount of stunted emotions; however, given the submersion of the character in an environment requiring the stifling of her true feelings, I think it is an honest portrayal. Jude Law and Ben Mendelsohn were excellent choices for their respective e roles. And the swap of Walter Lawson for Wendy Lawson in the form of Annette Benning was lovely. Her duel performance, albeit brief, was up to her usual high standards.

Here we get a glimpse into the histories of familiar characters and institutions. Most notably, Nick Fury, thanks to “Cinemagic”. The clock hands were turned back for Mr. Jackson in this MCU installment. This didn’t always work correctly, which meant some scenes show Nick Fury with a plastic glow around him. But, overall, it did not pull me entirely out of the experience. A novice Coulson also appears on screen with the assist from the same time rolling effects. I am a fan of the TV show, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, but it was great to see Coulson back on the Varsity team even if it was for a limited time. We get to see the beginnings of this relationship thanks to the story being set in the 90s.

Yes, that’s right, we get to go back to 1995. I’ll be honest, I walked into the theater hoping to see a Peggy Carter cameo. Ant-Man did it, why not Captain Marvel? I know, I know that would be too much. Where would they have put that anyway? Everywhere would be my answer. Sign. I’ll just have to be satisfied with the tip of the hat to Blockbuster. As a former Blockbuster Girl, it brought me back in time. For anyone without the Blockbuster nostalgia, to set the tone, the soundtrack will work like a charm. The curated list was quintessential 90s.

It was refreshing to see an origin story sans a love interest. To be clear, I am not saying that because she’s a female character or because it offers a contrast to Wonder Woman. These things are both true but, for me, the lack of a love interest goes beyond that. What male-lead, superhero movie lacks a love interest?
Pausing…Pausing…Elevator music… You’re staring at the screen frowning, determined to come up with one…By now, you’ve opened another browser to hop on IMDB to refresh your memory on what you have to choose from.

This question started a two day back and forth between myself and my husband. He was determined to answer the question with anything other than there isn’t one. And, there are a few, but we had to reach deep into the comic book universe to find them. Two of those, in our consensus, were Kickass and Blade. My point is that we are so often introduced to these heroes in the context of a relationship. Captain Marvel, though, presents Carol amidst a crisis of faith and identity. It gives a different perspective on her motivation and explores the effect of different relationships on her actions. I like a good love interest subplot as much as the next gal. And yes, other superhero films go into depth on different relationship types and their impact on the heroes – Cap, Black Panther, Wonder Woman, the Wolverine storyline and the Magneto/Xavier relationship in the X-Men franchise. But, the character arc of the hero changes with the absence of the romance subplot.

As for downsides for the film, I didn’t see many. If I had to be nitpicky somewhere, it would be during the final scene of the film. I said no spoilers, and I meant it. In the vaguest terms possible, an outside force was brought in during the action climax. I didn’t think it was necessary for the film. For the franchise as a whole, I see why it is there. Personally, that could have been avoided by bringing Captain Marvel to the silver screen sooner but she’s a busy woman, and we don’t have a time machine.

‘Til next time Avengers!