MOVIE OF THE WEEK (3/8/19): CAPTAIN MARVEL
 |
| "Jean who? Do I look like Famke Janssen to you? DO I?!" Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) goes into full fire mode as the titular character in Marvel Studios' latest cinematic adventure CAPTAIN MARVEL. Credit: Film Frame © 2019 Marvel Studios. |
KEY CAST MEMBERS: Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Jude Law, Lashana Lynch, Clark Gregg, Gemma Chan, Lee Pace, Annette Benning and Djimon Honsou with McKenna Grace and Akira Akbar
DIRECTOR(S): Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck
DIRECTOR(S): Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck
WEB SITE: https://www.marvel.com/captainmarvel/
THE BACK STORY: Vers (Brie Larson) is a part of an elite star force from Hala, home to the noble warriors known as the Kree. Trained by Yon-Rogg (Jude Law), Vers is locked in to a battle against the shape-shifting Skrulls, led by the seemingly ruthless Talos (Ben Mendelsohn). Under the guidance of both Yon-Rogg and the god-like artificial intelligence known as the Supreme Intelligence (Anette Benning), Vers is training to become the best warrior she can to save her people from the Skrulls intended domination.
But while she trains to become a super soldier (hmmm ... Wonder where we've heard that before?), Vers is haunted by the nightmares – or are those memories? – of a life she seems to have lived before. Who is the mysterious woman the Supreme Intelligence keeps taking the form of when it communicates with Vers? After all, the Supreme Intelligence is supposed to only take the form of the person you admire the most, right? Why does she keep having visions of airplanes and a woman (Lashana Lynch) ... And why can she not fully control the powerful photon blasts that come from her hands?
Well, once the battle between the Skrulls and Kree reaches the planet home to a young government agent named Nicholas J. Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and the newly hired Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg), Vers – as she is known among the Kree – is about to find out.
And the Marvel Universe will never be the same once she does.
But while she trains to become a super soldier (hmmm ... Wonder where we've heard that before?), Vers is haunted by the nightmares – or are those memories? – of a life she seems to have lived before. Who is the mysterious woman the Supreme Intelligence keeps taking the form of when it communicates with Vers? After all, the Supreme Intelligence is supposed to only take the form of the person you admire the most, right? Why does she keep having visions of airplanes and a woman (Lashana Lynch) ... And why can she not fully control the powerful photon blasts that come from her hands?
Well, once the battle between the Skrulls and Kree reaches the planet home to a young government agent named Nicholas J. Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and the newly hired Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg), Vers – as she is known among the Kree – is about to find out.
And the Marvel Universe will never be the same once she does.
THE REVIEW: Despite all the efforts multiple entities have made, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige and his team obviously either have not received or simply have ignored the current anti-bullying effort sweeping across America. Because every time he and his cohorts release a new superhero/comic book-based film from Marvel's expansive collection, it serves to simply remind all D.C. Comics fans that while they can continue to hold out hope, hope is all they have at this point. For if this was a fight, the referee would have called it at this point or let D.C. face an Apollo Creed-like fate at the hands of Marvel's Ivan Drago.
Captain Marvel is the latest proof that anything D.C. can do, Marvel can do and possibly always do better – and it's not even close.
Don't get me wrong: Patty Jenkins' stellar Wonder Woman is arguably the best D.C. Comics movie ever made. (Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy is its own thing; it's like comparing Michael Jordan's championships to Robert Horry's. Sorry Big Shot Rob, but it's true!) And while Captain Marvel may not be quite as good as the lady with the golden lasso, it's really good and does something far better than any D.C. release in terms of (1) introducing a character that (2) has a major significance to (3) an entire cinematic universe that (4) only keeps getting better as it expands.
Whereas Justice League was an utter atrocity compared to Wonder Woman (and well, most superhero films in general), Captain Marvel hits all the beats is needs in anticipation of next month's Avengers: Endgame and then some. Larson, an actress that one could argue wouldn't likely come to most moviegoers' minds when they think of a potential action star, gives her version of Carol Danvers a sly sense of humor and all the confidence needed to make her believable in the role. One can almost imagine Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot calling her agent and saying "You mean I could have done THAT superhero movie?!" with all the furor of the average NFL star demanding a trade from a contending team, only to end up on the NY Jets. Larson's evolution of the character works in a way an established action star's would not, all of which Carol Danvers a marvelous captain of her own ship (or as the case may be, plane).
Jackson, seen here as a younger, dual ocular version of Nick Fury, plays well as a more in experienced version of S.H.I.E.L.D. counterpart while Lynch comes off like a younger Viola Davis (and that's meant in a positive, complimentary sense). Of course, the precocious performance of Akbar will steal most adults hearts – you'll be hard-pressed to find a more wide-eyed, charming child in a superhero movie this year – Mendelsohn's turn at Talos might be the best of the entire film; without spoiling anything, it's a key performance that, like the rest of the cast, helps round out Larson's character while making sure his own is far from afterthought.
Throw in a well-written, not-so-easy to predict plot and an equally well-paced story under the eye of co-directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck and you've got enough to inspire little girls to follow their dreams while making men and women of all ages salivate in anticipation of what will happen next month. The 90s references (oh, Blockbuster Video ...) are perfectly timed pieces of humorous nostalgia, the action sequences aren't needless story filler and the film draws you in its journey across the universe in excellent fashion ... And the tribute to the late Stan Lee is just perfect as is his cameo, which hopefully won't be his last.
Now with everything queued up for the next Avengers movie, Captain Marvel will ensure Marvel continues its quest for world domination ... Or, at the very least, making sure D.C. stays in distant second place with a simple snap of their fingers.
Captain Marvel is the latest proof that anything D.C. can do, Marvel can do and possibly always do better – and it's not even close.
Don't get me wrong: Patty Jenkins' stellar Wonder Woman is arguably the best D.C. Comics movie ever made. (Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy is its own thing; it's like comparing Michael Jordan's championships to Robert Horry's. Sorry Big Shot Rob, but it's true!) And while Captain Marvel may not be quite as good as the lady with the golden lasso, it's really good and does something far better than any D.C. release in terms of (1) introducing a character that (2) has a major significance to (3) an entire cinematic universe that (4) only keeps getting better as it expands.
Whereas Justice League was an utter atrocity compared to Wonder Woman (and well, most superhero films in general), Captain Marvel hits all the beats is needs in anticipation of next month's Avengers: Endgame and then some. Larson, an actress that one could argue wouldn't likely come to most moviegoers' minds when they think of a potential action star, gives her version of Carol Danvers a sly sense of humor and all the confidence needed to make her believable in the role. One can almost imagine Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot calling her agent and saying "You mean I could have done THAT superhero movie?!" with all the furor of the average NFL star demanding a trade from a contending team, only to end up on the NY Jets. Larson's evolution of the character works in a way an established action star's would not, all of which Carol Danvers a marvelous captain of her own ship (or as the case may be, plane).
Jackson, seen here as a younger, dual ocular version of Nick Fury, plays well as a more in experienced version of S.H.I.E.L.D. counterpart while Lynch comes off like a younger Viola Davis (and that's meant in a positive, complimentary sense). Of course, the precocious performance of Akbar will steal most adults hearts – you'll be hard-pressed to find a more wide-eyed, charming child in a superhero movie this year – Mendelsohn's turn at Talos might be the best of the entire film; without spoiling anything, it's a key performance that, like the rest of the cast, helps round out Larson's character while making sure his own is far from afterthought.
Throw in a well-written, not-so-easy to predict plot and an equally well-paced story under the eye of co-directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck and you've got enough to inspire little girls to follow their dreams while making men and women of all ages salivate in anticipation of what will happen next month. The 90s references (oh, Blockbuster Video ...) are perfectly timed pieces of humorous nostalgia, the action sequences aren't needless story filler and the film draws you in its journey across the universe in excellent fashion ... And the tribute to the late Stan Lee is just perfect as is his cameo, which hopefully won't be his last.
Now with everything queued up for the next Avengers movie, Captain Marvel will ensure Marvel continues its quest for world domination ... Or, at the very least, making sure D.C. stays in distant second place with a simple snap of their fingers.
OVERALL RATING (OUT OF FOUR POSSIBLE BUCKETS OF POPCORN):
Guess I have to go see this.
ReplyDelete