Captain Marvel: Makes up for in strength what it lacks in heart

As an entry into the MCU, Captain Marvel fits in well enough as an origin story. All the right elements are there—almost formulaic—but the formula is so good that it’s worth watching in theaters. It’s funny, has an intriguing story, and its characters are full of one-liners that hit the right spots, with references to the 90s and older MCU movies. The MCU refences are written in exceptionally well, especially the winks to the audience about Nick Fury’s eyepatch. It’s also fun to watch people fly around in the air and blow shit up real good. However, and it’s a big however, the titular character is hijacked by the breakneck storytelling, making the movie a bit less than the sum of its very good parts.

Without delving too much into the story, the problems stem from Carol Danvers’ (Brie Larson) journey, from fighting the Skrulls as a Kree soldier with amnesia to figuring out who she really is and what she’s capable of.  The issues aren’t with Brie Larson in the role either; she’s a great actress and she does okay with what’s given to her. She has a snarky, quit-witted attitude here, which is used in small doses throughout the film. The problem is that she’s not given much of a character arch to do anything with besides make some sly quips. Her arch is more within the physical realm, where she learns to believe in her powers over the course of the movie. That’s just not enough for a clearly feminist endeavor. The message that a girl can do or be anything is only used in broad strokes, but it doesn’t really line up with her personality. I’d assume that her personality would reflect that she’s being held back and that it would also let loose once she begins to assert herself. She doesn’t really communicate any of that, though, through no fault of her own. The script just doesn’t call for her to do all that much, save for shooting lasers from her hands and some karate moves, so the dramatic scenes later in the film fall flat, making the ending less exciting than it ought to be.

Like I stated above, there are a variety of good to great elements in the rest of the film. Samuel Jackson steals the show, with great dialogue and comedic timing that rivals anything from Thor: Ragnarok. All the other secondary players are fun, particularly Talos (Ben Mendelsohn), who plays the British straight man to perfection, as well as Marie Rambeau (Lashana Lynch), who also adds some heart to the story. The 90s jokes are on target, though the movie is definitely shot like a 2010s film and has absolutely no stylistic relation to the 90s except for some clothes, brand names, and toys (all forgivable). And finally, like all MCU movies, the action is shot fluidly and vibrantly, full of green and blue streaks carving up the sky, followed by Captain Marvel’s bright orange lasers. Oh, and Goose the cat is great too.

For all the movies the MCU has pumped out over the last few years, Captain Marvel is somewhere in the middle. It has mostly everything you’d want in an MCU movie, to the point where they’ve perfected their brand of humor and sci-fi storylines that help build their massive superhero world. For such an above average production, it’s disappointing that its universe-spanning plot had trouble fitting in time to really develop the personality and character of Captain Marvel herself. For a film that leans on feminism the way it does, it’s too bad there wasn’t as much focus on the heroine as there ought to be. I mean, girls can be just as strong as men, but physical strength isn’t the only measure of strength there is. I just wish I had seen more of the other kind.