Though it carries some flaws, “Captain Marvel” is an excellent superhero movie with an outstanding performance from Brie Larson.
“Captain Marvel,” the latest installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), tells the origin story of Vers (Brie Larson), an extraterrestrial Kree warrior from the planet Hala. When a rescue mission goes wrong, Vers turns to Earth to find refuge. However, as she spends more time on Earth, she begins having visions of living a past life as a U.S. Air Force Pilot. With the help of S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), they work together to discover Vers’ true origins on Earth.
Given that “Captain Marvel” is a superhero film, the presence of a few clichés was not much of a surprise.
There were many points in the film where the plot was a bit predictable. It was not hard to determine what the outcome would be, especially during action sequences and scenes where Vers found herself in a predicament.
Another cliché that I could not overlook is the “bad guy was actually the good guy” (and vice versa) narrative arc. Though this plot twist is not inherently bad, and it can be used well with the proper attention to writing and detail. However; this is not the case in “Captain Marvel.” The “plot-twist” felt lazy and haphazard. It didn’t work in “The Incredibles 2” and certainly didn’t bring any added dramatic effect to “Captain Marvel.”
Although this film carries some flaws in the narrative, “Captain Marvel” did have an interesting origin story for Vers.
One thing I feel a lot of contemporary superhero films suffer from is their ability to deliver a backstory that both informs the audience and gives a setting that captivates them from start to finish. I feel “Captain Marvel” does exactly that.
The lore behind Vers’ origins and how the story was delivered was interesting and developed a sense of suspension and mystery that I don’t feel too often while watching Marvel and DC Comics movies.
On top of an interesting backstory, “Captain Marvel” exhibited another stellar performance from Larson.
After showing her capability to deliver an emotionally-driven, yet powerful performance in “Room”, which earned her the Academy Award for Best Leading Actress, it’s clear that if anyone can deliver a strong, empowered female lead in “Captain Marvel, it’s Larson.
Larson has proven time and time again that she has a wide range and can tackle any role that she is given and I’m glad she was chosen for “Captain Marvel.”
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Angel Ortega can be reached at [email protected] and @AngelOrtegaNews on Twitter.
