Captain Marvel Is Not Shazam!

Captain Marvel (2019)

Captain Marvel was a fun new addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It served its purpose by introducing fans to Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel. It has a solid plot that borrows from several different styles. This both helped and hurt the movie. Because it was an amalgamation of buddy cop, fish out of water, basic origin, and space opera, it felt fresh for much of it, but it also struggled with some transitions in tone. While the pacing and tone left me wanting at points, the core of the movie was the growth of the characters. Some character arcs were obvious to any fan of the MCU, but others took great turns that carried the movie. Sam Jackson, Brie Larson, and Ben Mendelsohn were all great as Nick Fury, Carol Danvers, and Talos, the Skrull general, respectively. Jackson’s role as unwitting but capable sidekick was similar to his turn in Die Hard with a Vengeance, even with similar humor. His interactions with Goose the cat (easily the best character) were consistently funny and borderline adorable. Mendelsohn plays menacingly intelligent very better than anyone, even though every character gets outsmarted. I had never heard of him before Rogue One, but he is quickly becoming one of my favorite character actors. Finally, Larson did a great job of playing a stoic soldier who was trained to have her emotions in check. Her brightest scenes were when she showed Danvers’ humanity as she let her emotions free and accepted who and what she really is. While the acting and characters drove the film, there were some moments that pulled me out of the experience. I’m sure many people will love the many nods to the ‘90s setting, but I felt some of them were forced, especially the music. Captain Marvel tried to make the music a critical part of the movie, like in Guardians of the Galaxy, but it was never close to reaching that level. Beyond the ‘90s references, there was one scene towards the end that really bothered me, which I can’t expand upon without spoiling the scene. The CGI was also hit or miss. Some shots were a sequence of masterful graphics, to cartoony rubber person, to gorgeous light and explosion imagery, very similar to the problems in Black Panther. While there were flaws, I had a really good time for much of the movie and will probably see it one or two more times in theaters. I give Captain Marvel the ‘70s out of the ‘90s.