The Mosley Review: The Marvels
Recently, the fandom surrounding the Marvel Cinematic Universe has become splintered into two types. On one side, you have the die hards that have enjoyed everything up to this point, but will also admit that there is a problem in the quality control with the films and television shows. On the other side, you have those that believe that we are currently experiencing superhero fatigue and Marvel has really gone down hill and should stop. Well, I'm of both camps. I have been there since day 1 and have enjoyed seeing these heroes have their stories told in a grounded manner. I also whole heartedly agree that ever since Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: No Way Home, the franchise has been floundering when it comes to the great storytelling and truly is running out of gas. The clear vision of where these stories were leading to has been so vague in this "Multiverse Saga" and it has truly hindered any hopes of recovery. Now comes this film that seeks to continue the cosmic portion of this saga by bringing us a sequel to a film that did nothing truly special for its titular character, but at least she gets some help. It should make for a fun and engaging story that helps further each character in development and maybe right the ship a little bit. Right? Unfortunately, that is not the case here and especially for Captain Marvel. I thought Thor was being miss handled in his third and fourth films, but man this character was all but destroyed in just her second film. Its a sad day when all that is worth watching in your big budget space adventure is your main three leads and only one of them is the true star.
Brie Larson returns as Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel and she was better this time around as the character. She had genuine moments of humanity as we see her become not so perfect. Where it all falls apart is when she continues to be the battering ram of a character that has no regard for authority or the lives of others when making her decisions. There are almost no consequences for her actions and she ultimately becomes the true villain of the story in my opinion. Teyonah Parris returns as Monica Rambeau and she continues to be a fun addition to the universe and I liked the growth of her character. She gets to let loose a little more and not be as tight and focused all the time. Her emotional connection to Carol comes full circle and it was one of the highlights of the film. Iman Vellani makes a joyuss return as Kamala Khan / Ms. Marvel and she truly was the star of this film. Her adorable and youthful energy really saved so many scenes and you really connect with her as her worldly views expand. The chemistry between all three of them is where the film shines and makes the film entertaining. Samuel L. Jackson returns as Nick Fury, but I was saddened by him. For half of the film, Sam IS Nick Fury and the other half is Sam being Sam as he just reacts to things and is just there for the ride. His connections to Monica and Carol are still good to watch but other than that, he really didn't have much to do in this film. Gary Lewis was really good as the leader of the Skrulls, Emperor Dro'ge and he highlights one of the biggest problems of the film. He carries the devastating torch left from the Secret Invasion series and it was so depressing. The so called "hero" Captain Marvel just makes things worse for him and his species. Speaking of problematic, Zawe Ashton was fantastic as the main antagonist Supremor Dar-Benn. Its always more interesting when a so called villain is trying to do something for the greater good, even if their methods are cruel. She embodied that and I empathized with her. The reason why I say shes problematic, is that there wasn't really anything else interesting done with her. She had all the fixings to become a truly memorable villain, but she falls into that predictable trap of just fighting all the time and not trying to solve the problem logically. The action scenes between her and The Marvels were all great, but I wish she had time to actually shine.
The score by Laura Karpman was good and puncuated the action scenes. I did like the theme this time around for Captain Marvel. It was more heroic and slightly more memorable. The action set pieces were the highlight of the film and there's plenty of it. So with all of the action sequences and spectacle stripped away, what do you have? A film about consequences for brash actions? No. Character growth of an older hero learning how to reconnect with humanity from another younger hero? No. How about using your head to solve a crisis for the betterment of a dying planet and/or its people? Not at all. What you have is a film that's all spectacle and none of the substance the Marvel films were known for in the past. For example, once we get to a solution for the antagonist that could benefit everyone, its as if the writer was like "Nah. That's boring. Make them fight and blow more stuff up!" and then the film is over. Honestly, the plot could've been solved in less than twenty minutes. Oh and don't get me started on the post credits scene. Its a cool reintroduction of a beloved character, but its an unnecessary over CGI'd version. I know the character looks more comic book accurate, but their practical version that was done years ago was so much better. This wasn't the worst Marvel film to date, but it didn't do Captain Marvel any favors. This was just a waste of time in the end. Let me know what you thought of the film or my review in comments below. Thanks for reading!
