I went into this movie with somewhat low expectations. After all, it would be just another solo superhero flick by Marvel. I was not looking forward to watching it, to be frank. I mostly did so for the general MCU canon. I did find myself interested in what was happening, though. Surprisingly, the plot is one of the most solid aspects of the movie. I believe it sets up the whole Kree vs Skrull plot for later on, at least that is what I have heard. In any case, it's well-paced (definitely an improvement over the years in Marvel movies) and had enough twists and turns to keep me watching. The characters were fine. None of the newer ones stood out to me too much, but they all were generally well-written. Each had their own motivation. Carol Danvers herself is alright. I can't say she is quite as charismatic as other MCU leads, but I certainly didn't hold negative feelings for her towards the end. Brie Larson's performance is good, though the most outstanding one here is certainly Samuel L. Jackson. As a matter of fact, I loved how this movie explored the backstory of central aspects to the MCU. It tied it very well to the overall narrative. There was some doubt about the movie possibly being obnoxiously feministic, largely stemming from certain behaviour by Brie Larson. Honestly, there were only a handful of such moments in the movie, not obnoxious in any way. That being said, it is stuck in this weird line where it isn't overtly feministic, but it also does kind of want to make a statement. It doesn't succeed in the latter, having a couple of scenes that really just suggest discrimination towards women. I understand that it is difficult to balance the thread between the two extremes, though I feel it would have been better if the movie straight up removed these bits. They barely add anything wortwhile to the overall feeling of the movie. The 90s thematic has me feeling in a similar way. It's obvious that the direction was thought about this way: Guardians of the Galaxy did the 80s, so we will do the 90s. Great, right? Well, I mean, it's fine. The references aren't overencumbering. They just happen to be there. I will admit the only thing that slightly pulled me into watching this film was the inclusion of "Come As You Are" by Nirvana on the soundtrack. There's other great tracks "Celebrity Skin" by Hole etc. The thing is... They aren't integrated in a very natural way some of the time. Often, it just makes you go "Oh, right, this was set in the 90s". You've got Windows 95 PCs being used here and there, Blockbuster, Game Boys. It sounds good on paper, but it certainly doesn't succeed in transporting you back in that time and era. It just happens to be the setting. The cinematography was serviceable. VFX were pretty good, as is standard for Marvel films. All in all, Captain Marvel is a good movie. It did turn out better than I expected it to, and I found myself fairly entertained by what I was watching. I will see what the second offering has in store.
Review by Martin SestrimskiBlockedParent2020-02-21T12:11:56Z
I went into this movie with somewhat low expectations. After all, it would be just another solo superhero flick by Marvel. I was not looking forward to watching it, to be frank. I mostly did so for the general MCU canon. I did find myself interested in what was happening, though. Surprisingly, the plot is one of the most solid aspects of the movie. I believe it sets up the whole Kree vs Skrull plot for later on, at least that is what I have heard. In any case, it's well-paced (definitely an improvement over the years in Marvel movies) and had enough twists and turns to keep me watching.
The characters were fine. None of the newer ones stood out to me too much, but they all were generally well-written. Each had their own motivation. Carol Danvers herself is alright. I can't say she is quite as charismatic as other MCU leads, but I certainly didn't hold negative feelings for her towards the end. Brie Larson's performance is good, though the most outstanding one here is certainly Samuel L. Jackson. As a matter of fact, I loved how this movie explored the backstory of central aspects to the MCU. It tied it very well to the overall narrative.
There was some doubt about the movie possibly being obnoxiously feministic, largely stemming from certain behaviour by Brie Larson. Honestly, there were only a handful of such moments in the movie, not obnoxious in any way. That being said, it is stuck in this weird line where it isn't overtly feministic, but it also does kind of want to make a statement. It doesn't succeed in the latter, having a couple of scenes that really just suggest discrimination towards women. I understand that it is difficult to balance the thread between the two extremes, though I feel it would have been better if the movie straight up removed these bits. They barely add anything wortwhile to the overall feeling of the movie.
The 90s thematic has me feeling in a similar way. It's obvious that the direction was thought about this way: Guardians of the Galaxy did the 80s, so we will do the 90s. Great, right? Well, I mean, it's fine. The references aren't overencumbering. They just happen to be there. I will admit the only thing that slightly pulled me into watching this film was the inclusion of "Come As You Are" by Nirvana on the soundtrack. There's other great tracks "Celebrity Skin" by Hole etc. The thing is... They aren't integrated in a very natural way some of the time. Often, it just makes you go "Oh, right, this was set in the 90s". You've got Windows 95 PCs being used here and there, Blockbuster, Game Boys. It sounds good on paper, but it certainly doesn't succeed in transporting you back in that time and era. It just happens to be the setting.
The cinematography was serviceable. VFX were pretty good, as is standard for Marvel films.
All in all, Captain Marvel is a good movie. It did turn out better than I expected it to, and I found myself fairly entertained by what I was watching. I will see what the second offering has in store.