Captain Marvel soars as Marvel Studios twenty-first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, leading up to Avengers: Endgame.
With a Global day-and-date release, Captain Marvel boasts the 6th highest grossing global box office opening of all time, and 2nd highest Marvel opening with $456.7 million dollars; just behind Avengers: Infinity War.
“THIS ISN’T ABOUT FIGHTING WARS. IT’S ABOUT ENDING THEM.”
While Captain Marvel is Marvel Studios twenty-first entry in their Marvel Cinematic Universe, within the timeline of the MCU itself, it should be watched second, just after Captain America:The First Avenger. This is due to the fact that Captain Marvel actually takes place in 1995, before any of the events in the MCU that we know of today; besides Steve Rogers origins.
As of now, it is mostly common knowledge that Marvel is setting up for “Phase 2” of their MCU by introducing new members of the “Avengers” and perhaps (hopefully not) phasing out some of the originals. Similar to first Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor, Captain Marvel seems to follow the same Marvel origins formal as it’s predecessors. While I did very much enjoy Captain Marvel / Carol Danvers as a character, I still don’t feel as attached to her as I am with some of the other members of the Avenger . Rightfully so, considering I’ve had almost ten years and a span of multiple movies to become accustomed to the originals. However, I definitely hope Carol will soar to that level at some point, especially with Avengers: End Game on the horizon.
As I stated earlier, Captain Marvel definitely follows the Marvel origins formula to a tee; which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. As you can tell it’s been working pretty well for the studio thus far.
“ I’VE BEEN FIGHTING WITH ONE ARM BEHIND MY BACK. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I’M FINALLY SET FREE?”
Obviously what sets Captain Marvel apart from Marvel’s earlier entries is the fact that we FINALLY have our first female-lead Marvel superhero! And I have to state “Marvel” cause I can’t discredit Wonder Woman and all of her success. Academy Award winner Brie Larson steps into the role of Captain Marvel / Carol Danvers with some powerful charm. Although I definitely had some pro’s & con’s with her character, I’m still unsure if that’s more to do with her performance or the writing itself. You can tell Larson is a master at some of her more dramatic moments, but to me it was the comedic elements that fell a little flat. It almost seemed as though she was trying to pull off a sarcastic Iron Man or Peter Quill impression at times, but not quite hitting the mark as they do. Some of her more standout moments for me happened when she was partnered with either, Nick Fury played by Samuel L Jackson or Maria Rambeau played by Lashana Lynch. Of course Samuel L Jackson always throws himself 110% into anything he’s does, so you have your usual kick ass Nick Fury – with some help of time altering special effects. Every older actor in Hollywood should be excessively praising the special effects of this film, as it could definitely help them land “younger” roles in the future, if the studio’s willing to pay for it. However, it was newcomer Lashana Lynch that actually blew me away! Talk about powerful women! The moment outside of her house in Louisiana where she recalled how powerful of a women Carol was before she ever had real powers, was a breakout performance. Why was I crying during a Marvel monologue? As for Larson, it wasn’t until the third act when I think her characters really excelled. Once they reached Marvel’s office, and Carol was truly set “free,” seemed to be the point where Larson fully fell into the role.
Another standout for me was Ben Mendelsohn’s Talos / Keller, *NO SPOILERS* but what a fun character! I also applaud him for undergoing, from what I can only assume was hours upon hours of makeup and prosthetics everyday. Shoutout to my friend Cassie Russek who did some of the special effect bald caps on the Skrulls. His character might have been a bit cheesy or controversial to some, but I loved it. At this point, especially after Thor: Ragnarok, if you can’t face the fact that the MCU can be a bit silly at times, a lot has gone over your head.
Overall, I think Captain Marvel accomplished exactly what it was set out to do. Introduced us to this new character, filled in a couple old blanks to the MCU storyline, and left us wanting just a bit more. Think of Captain Marvel as the perfect appetizer to our soon to be full course of Avengers: Endgame. Thanos has no idea what’s coming for him.
