Captain Marvel

3/5

Captain Marvel is the first Marvel cinematic release since the death of Stan Lee, the legendary comic book writer who became their creative figurehead for over two decades. The title sequence begins the movie with an under-stated but touching tribute to the late author.

We are then quickly taken to outer-space and introduced to Vers: a soldier for a galactic police force (the ‘Kree’) who is battling with a serious case of identity amnesia. After a mission to salvage a hostage from the shapeshifting enemy ‘Skrulls’ goes wrong, Vers crash lands into Earth in 1995. She meets S.H.I.E.L.D agent Nick Fury (Sam L Jackson)- pre-eyepatch and made youthful by impressive CGI work- and they join on a mission together to defeat the enemy Skrulls. It’s part buddy-cop, part fish-out-of-water, part self-discovery, part intergalactic superhero.

The film delivers the usual Marvel-stamped visual thrills and occasions of good humour. The plot has enough twists and turns to keep the audience entertained and it paces well towards a solid yet unavoidably predictable ending. Both Samuel L Jackson and Ben Mendehlson put in excellent performances that deliver both the grounded and comedic parts of the script with equal quality. However, there is little beyond this that allows Captain Marvel to stand out from its peers and feel anything more than formulaic. 

The film repeatedly panders to the audience with 90s nostalgia, and this forms the main body of humour throughout. Whilst fun, the 90s setting fails to provide the film with a unique era-defined aesthetic in the same way that the 70/80s style oozed through the Guardians of the Galaxy and Thor: Ragnarok films to such great effect.

The movie also fails to get off the ground due to a stifling lack of charisma on the part of our new hero. The revelation of Vers past life is underwhelming, and Brie Larson struggled to land the comedic lines that would have added some likeability to the character. The choppy editing of the action scenes also may have done a disservice to the intensity of preparation she did for the physical nature of the role.

Overall, Captain Marvel is a fun but unremarkable watch that fails to deliver anything more memorable due to its episodic nature and safety in approach.

Written by Hugo