Captain Marvel- Another Marvel Film That Should Have Been So Much More
Marvel films are undeniably one of the greatest cinematic achievements in recent history, they revitalized the superhero genre with a series of ingeniously interconnected characters and films that provided constantly entertaining event cinema. However the release of 'Infinity War' realised a problem with this film series, there was a formula to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which several of them followed, however, the films that change this formula are always the most memorable, take 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' or 'Guardians of the Galaxy'. 'Captain Marvel' is a fascinating example of misused potential, the film was announced to be released after the cataclysmic Infinity War and introduce a new character set in the 90s with returning characters being de-aged, as well as the introduction of the fascinating shape shifting aliens the Skrulls. With such a mishmash of ideas and characters the potential was indisputably exciting, yet nothing in this film suprised me, it comes off as formulaic and unambitious. This is Marvel's first female centric film and should have been something incredible, but it lacks that exciting game changing feel that most Marvel films have and without that it comes across as a very bland film.
Now this may be an unpopular opinion and something that doesn't stem from political context but purely acting skill, but I do not think Brie Larson was the right choice for this character, she lacks any real identity in a film that should be about her. There is constant contrast in her representation as she falls into the Marvel stereotype of quipping confident all powerful badass whilst having no believable individuality. Marvel formulated this character archetype due to Whedon's writing style and then matured to make fully physiologically complex characters who's wit feels authentic and stems from an understanding of their character. Carol Danvers doesn't have any real distinction, the writers almost wrote themselves into a corner because they constantly avoid giving her realistic flaws as a means to portray her as this strong aspiring woman. However, when you have a running motif of Danvers being always able to get up after being knocked down, but without ever making it based on self growth, she's always this perfect survivor without any depth. Larson struggles to add any charm to the role as her smary exterior becomes exhausting to an extent there are so many scenes where her performance and the writing feel scared to go beyond this perfect confidence in fear of her coming across as weak, but this just makes the character one note and in no ways admirable. It's a tough thing to do but the strongest characters often work if they are also the weakest, resilience and self-growth is more admirable then perfection.
There are themes, ideas, concepts, characters and set pieces that have ridiculously high potential but ‘Captain Marvel’ doesn’t manage to act on any of this potential, it’s a frustrating film as most ideas fall completely flat on their face. The film isn’t lost for credit however, a lot of it is fun and very entertaining if nothing new. The action scenes are decently paced, a particular highlight being an intetesting melee scene at rhe end of Act 1, howevet the action towards the end feels very unidentifiable as it devolves into just CGI things crashing into each other without amy real semblance of impactful action. The supporting cast is pretty fantastic for the most part, Samuel L Jackson has always been fantastic as Nick Fury and the de-ageing effect looks amazing and allows him to have fun with the character that he knows so well, he is by far the stand out in the film as his comedy always hits the mark. Ben Mendleson's Skrull General is probably my favourite part of the film, he is charismatic and extremely entertaining and I kept wanting more, however, a few of his character decisions feel misguided and disappointing and he doesn't ever feel like that much of a threatening presence, instead he is more of a comedic presence.
My main gripe with the film is it’s lack of any impact on me, there was a lot riding on ‘Captain Marvel' and it’s ultimately just a disappointingly aversge Marvel film. It’s shot about as blandly as most Marvel films, it has a forgettable score except the use of some 90s tunes that work well for a couple comedic moments. It juust could have easily done with taking so many more risks, and that is completely my subjective opinion on all of these films, Marvel as a brand have a habit to play safe and appeal to the common denominator which is fair enough, they never cease to entertain and sometimes a film like ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ takes humongous risks and becomes a whole new genre piece. But the thing with this film is the rushed feeling to it’s presentation, I mentioned earlier about the fact this is Marvel’s first female centric film and this should have been a cause for celebration but Marvel are behind the game for this and it feels a bit too little too late. If they leant into the female representation, which would have divided opinions but to be honest when wouldn’t it, I would have a lot more appreciation but its the thin insubstantial glimmers of a message that had so much potential. It’s quite a shame this film didn’t work for me purely due to the heaps of wasted potential but to judge it on what it is, rather than what it isnt, ‘Captain Marvel' is another highly entertaining Marvel film that if you’re a fan of the brand, you’ll be a fan of the film.
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