Movie Title: Captain Marvel
Genre: Superhero, Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Director: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
Writer: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck, Geneva Robertson-Dworet
Starring: Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Djimon Hounsou, Lee Pace, Lashana Lynch, Gemma Chan, Annette Bening, Clark Gregg, Jude Law
Review: Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) is an extraterrestrial Kree warrior who finds herself caught in the middle of an intergalactic battle between her people and the Skrulls. Living on Earth in 1995, she keeps having recurring memories of another life as U.S. Air Force pilot Carol Danvers. With help from Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), Captain Marvel tries to uncover the secrets of her past while harnessing her special superpowers to end the war with the evil Skrulls.
One of the most highly-anticipated films of 2019, and a precursor to the grand spectacle that will be Avengers: Endgame, is Captain Marvel. The film kicks off with a bang as our titular character and her Kree brethren set off for the planet of Torfa to rescue an undercover operative infiltrating a group of Skrulls. Torfa is a very cool, foggy setting with an eerie feel to it. I really enjoyed this scene, but what ultimately followed was a bit of a lull as the film took a while to set everything up. As with any origin story, this is almost expected, but the first half or so of the film is dedicated primarily to learning who Carol Danvers really is, for both the audience and the character herself. While the film tends to drag at times, Brie Larson does a good job here, as she transforms the character from a more robotic Kree to fleshing out some of her more human traits as she begins to remember the person she used to be.
I love the buddy cop dynamic between Larson and Samuel L. Jackson. As a fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it was very interesting to see Jackson's Nick Fury get to really spread his wings and have a larger role than he's accustomed to having in previous MCU films. I also really enjoyed Ben Mendelsohn's Talos character. Talos is one of the characters with the most depth and a rather emotional backstory. The second half of the film is packed with spectacular visual effects, some well-choreographed fight scenes, and some unexpected twists. Plus, fans of Guardians of the Galaxy will surely love getting to see the return of Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace) and Korath (Djimon Hounsou) in their earlier, pre-radicalization days. Not to mention, there is a killer soundtrack packed with plenty of '90s hits. All in all, I think Captain Marvel really excelled in introducing a new, exciting character who will certainly become a fixture in the MCU. Among the 21 MCU movies to date, this one falls somewhere in the middle of the pack. I think it's a fun, enjoyable intergalactic war movie and I highly recommend it!
Fun Fact: When Talos confronts Carol and Nick in Louisiana, he sips from a fast food drink container. It is the exact same design as the cup that Jules (played by Samuel L. Jackson) sips in the scene in Pulp Fiction (1994) where they steal back the briefcase.