Captain Marvel

I think Marvel/Disney is still on a high after the success of "Black Panther" and made a few incorrect assumptions as a result. That film was good because of the acting, story and other aspects that supported the story. I had a sense that Marvel was not trying to make any political statements with "Black Panther" but nevertheless enjoyed the success that came from the press and public turning it into a political statement. It hard for me to say that "Captain Marvel" is not part of the activist trend we see sweeping across Hollywood. Leading up to the release of this movie, I was hearing a variety of stories online. There was Brie Larson's handling of the press events for this film and there were rumors that Disney/Marvel were ready to undertake damage control because they sensed that "Captain Marvel" fell short of expectations. I also kept hearing mixed opinions about the movie itself but despite all this, I decided to go in to the movie with hope. After all, I went into "Aquaman" with low expectations and came out having enjoyed the movie a good deal. I also was able to ignore/disagree with the bad press that "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" received. I was optimistic that my worries concerning "Captain Marvel" could translate into an enjoyable experience. I am sorry to say that I came out of the IMAX Theater a little disappointed but I must be careful in my criticism. I would bet that some people have been waiting for a dud in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and now that Marvel Studios has released a moderate film, some are quick to voice their disappointment that they have been waiting to give for years. Some people love to watch something mighty fall. They wait for one mistake and then exaggerate it. Not only that but they will not let Marvel/Disney forget it. That could be a reason for why this show is getting some bad press and I don't want to join that chorus for that specific reason. In my analysis, I plan to compare "Captain Marvel" not only to its predecessors in the MCU but also to DC's "Wonder Woman". To start with, this movie had a few problems with its story and was too preachy for its own good. These flaws made it tough to enjoy what I did like about "Captain Marvel".

After seeing this film, I asked myself "Did the filmmakers work hard enough or did they think that the actress and the subject matter would do most of the work for them?" I was first was introduced to Captain Marvel, and a few other Avengers, by way of the animated TV show "The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes!" In that show, her origin was quite a bit different from what we saw in this feature film. This can be one of many mistakes that ruin a comic book live action film adaption. Most of the mistakes that unsuccessful comic book movies make were not repeated by "Captain Marvel" but three flaws that the film is guilty of or could be guilty of is generic elements that were not rendered original enough, executive interference and not honoring the source material. Upon looking into it, some changes were made to Captain Marvel's origin story for this movie but this was done to avoid any Green Lantern comparisons and to be more original. This are good reasons but if I had not learned this, I would have attributed the changes to the studio conforming to current ideological trends. The quest for originality is one that every film undertakes, even a sequel. The danger is trying to do too much to separate your film from the rest. If something is not broke, why fix it? Some originality can happen naturally because of the protagonist/setting. A female lead character in the setting of the 1990's could have been all the originality needed. Instead, the filmmakers tried to go with a different narrative structure from previous MCU films but that didn't allow us time to relate with Carol. We don't start our lives with superpowers on an alien planet. We are ordinary people who have experienced something tragic in a hospital, been injured and/or stuck in a dead-end job with no one giving us a chance. We also long for adventure and excitement. That's why we go to the movies: to see our desires play out and to escape from the world. When you start the movie in an un-relatable way and your target audience is used to becoming emotionally invested during the start of the film, its a bigger risk than is needed. "Captain Marvel" is about achieving your full potential but I think a more traditional narrative might have been the way to tell that theme. Some of the initial scripts for this movie resembled an action-comedy and I would have liked to see that. Another danger that this film faced was featuring too much nostalgia. That was the biggest flaw with "Bumblebee" from the previous year. Thankfully, there was a good balance between the story and the reminiscing in this MCU film. The best aspect of "Captain Marvel" for me was the plot twist. I should have seen it coming considering that "Guardians of the Galaxy" is one of my favourite Marvel films but then I would not have been entertained. However, I do not really care for the final scene of the movie itself and its impact on the whole franchise. The mid-credit scene is what mattered more to me.

To answer my question from earlier, I would say that the filmmakers did rely too much on the main character herself and pushing a specific message on the audience. When you have a character as powerful as Captain Marvel, you don't have to work so hard to portray her has a strong female character. At certain moments in the show, I felt like the filmmakers were giving Carol too many obstacles throughout her life to overcome. They felt forced into the movie instead of sincerely used to entertain/inspire the audience. A protagonist's successes should outweigh their setbacks and I felt there was an imbalance in "Captain Marvel". With DC's "Wonder Woman", the biggest flaw with that show was that the best scene was in the middle of the movie. The filmmakers used the period of time that their film was set in (World War I) to their advantage, letting the obstacles occur in a natural way. The audience is able to suspend their disbelief. Diana is also oblivious to her strength and powers in that she is just being herself. There was one obstacle in "Captain Marvel" left unresolved that I felt was owed to those watching the film and those familiar with the MCU. Yon-Rogg and Carol are about to have a showdown but Carol uses her powers to defeat him, saying that she has nothing to prove by fighting without her powers. I disagree. Firstly, I fully believe that Carol could have taken him on without the light show. If she could get up in every moment shown in the montage (including with the Supreme Intelligence) then what could Yon possible do to destroy her confidence. If she could get up every time in the past without powers, she would do so again even if Yon knocked her down. Secondly, this could have been the moment to prove that Captain Marvel belongs with the other Avengers. Instead, we have to wait for "Avengers: Endgame" to see if that happens. Other Marvel movies teach the message that you don't need a suit of armor, a hammer, superhuman strength or a heart-shaped herb to be special. This scene at the end of the climax of "Captain Marvel" spit all over the scene between Steve Rodgers and Dr. Erskine where the exact opposite message was preached. Other examples in the MCU where a protagonist has to prove themselves without powers, a weapon, etc. include "Spider-Man: Homecoming", and "Thor: Ragnarok". Carol did have something to prove to herself and to the fans but she failed to do so. It is not easy for the audience to suspend its disbelief while watching "Captain Marvel" as it was for "Wonder Woman" or other MCU films.

I loved Brie Larson in her Oscar-winning role in "Room". In this movie though, I felt her performance was somewhat lacking. Either this superhero story/character didn't give her the ability to fully use her talents, she isn't used to this genre or I was too excited to see her join the MCU. At least her work was good enough that I believe she can fit in with the Avengers. I did sense some sincere chemistry between Larson and Samuel L. Jackson. The two actors have worked together before so that explains things. The problem was that Carol and Fury were chummy right off the bat. I would have liked to see their relationship build over the course of the movie like on "Guardians of the Galaxy". Jackson will be appearing in a total of four superhero movies over the course of only seven months in 2019 and "Captain Marvel" is the second of those movies. The casting of Ben Mendelsohn was inspired. When you look at his films before this show, he has a lot of villain roles in a lot of well-known movies. He has also worked for the directors of "Captain Marvel" in the past. It was also nice to see a few familiar faces from the MCU: Djimon Hounsou, Lee Pace and Clark Gregg. Marvel has been de-aging actors digitally for a few years now but this is the first time they have done it for a whole movie. The results are pretty impressive. We have our traditional cameo of the late Stan lee and I loved the how the opening Marvel logo was also altered to honor his memory. I could tell that the script he was rehearsing with on the train was for an actual 90's cameo of his. That is pretty smart. There is one aspect in the production of this show that I don't agree with because it may have indirectly lowered the entertainment value. The California Film Commission awarded a large tax credit to this movie on condition that filming begin soon and mostly be filmed in California. This sped up the production timeline and I would prefer filmmakers to take their time when possible. Furthermore, when a company is not risking as much money, it doesn't work hard enough or sincere enough to make a profit. I have nothing wrong with companies seeing where they can get the best deal to film but these decisions should be mainly driven by the needs of the story.

Now that I have given my criticisms, I have to honestly ask myself whether I was influenced by negativity online that I read before seeing "Captain Marvel". Some have argued that online trolls were responsible for a lot of the bad press. I don't whom to believe so, as mentioned, I have to judge the film by comparing it to previous MCU films and I also think comparing it to "Wonder Woman" is fair. There have been remakes in the past that we can also look to and determine if "Captain Marvel" is about to suffer the same fate. When the "Ghostbusters" remake came out, there was a lot of bad press regarding the trailer. There was a little bit of criticism when the film itself came out but it was muted. Whether or not this was done to be polite or to avoid being labeled misogynistic, it is obvious that the amount of negative criticism has increased since its theatrical run. A "Ghostbusters 3" is currently being produced and I don't think that would be happening if Sony felt that that remake was a huge hit. Similar observations can be made regarding "Ocean's 8". It is too early to know if "Captain Marvel" is going to be universally looked down upon in the future but there is that possibility, especially if "Avengers: Endgame" is a bigger hit. The fact that I was entertained by "Aquaman" despite going into the film with doubts and the fact that I am still entertained by "The Last Jedi" despite overly vocal criticism from die-hard fans indicates to me that the negative press that some are giving "Captain Marvel" did not sway my thinking too much. This film is speaking to plenty of people so my opinion should be taken into consideration but only after you see the film. Also, "Captain Marvel" should not suffer the same injustices that were laid on "The Last Jedi". If "Captain Marvel" does become a blemish on the MCU record, we shouldn't despair. Even though I like "Cars 2", others have called it Pixar's first flop but the company gave us great movies after that like "Brave", "Inside Out" (co-written by Meg LeFauve who helped write the story for this show) and "Coco" among others. "Captain Marvel" will not ruin the MCU. I can skip this film in future film marathons and not miss a beat. We didn't need a "Black Panther" movie before "Civil War" for example. The final note I wish to make is that despite its story flaws and its overly strong message, "Captain Marvel" still has a purpose. I enjoyed the Thor and Ant-Man films but not as much as other MCU films. When those characters were added to the Avengers however, we got some five-star cinematic moments. I am optimistic that Carol has a role in the team that we have yet to see.

3 Stars out of 5