3/10/19 - Captain Marvel (2019) - 5+/6-/10

Captain Marvel is in no way a bad movie (maybe not the strongest opening recommendation…), but it fails to fly to the otherworldly heights and shine with an unfathomable power like its titular star and some of its Marvel film brethren. It is a compact, competently constructed, and consistently fun addition to this larger Marvel world. It packs panache and a style all its own, but rarely wows. For me, it was what it is at least expected from Marvel movies, but not what I hope for . Still, even if it doesn’t catapult me to another universe, it flies high enough to satisfy.

What stunted my depthless love? For one, I have to point out Larson. I think she is a brilliant actress, having delivered in a wide variety of roles. From Scott Pilgrim to Short Term 12, Room to Free Fire, she has a palpable presence and brings the emotion to the heart of the viewer. But due to the Carol Danvers character being an untrusting, “bleach emotion from your character”, memory wiped stoic warrior, I was left a bit cold. Sometimes you need a hook for such a character, be it sporadic humor, intense violence, or an unyielding questioning. This is often something I encounter when dealing with Ryan Gosling-bots in his films. Do I take his cool and calm exterior for intense acting behind the eyes or for a boring one-note reliance on an emotionless facade? It often depends, but in something like his Driver role (from Drive), he packs the intensity in his actions and split soul. You see him act without remorse, but feel the loss of humanity in what he has done - just with that tortured glare. It is a character trait that can bring me along with his story. Captain Marvel failed to grip me with her presence, rather shielding me with her steely blankness. And this isn’t some incel-worthy “she should smile more” declaration. I think a performance/role like Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor in Terminator 2 springs to mind. She is a hard, tough, to the point grimace machine. But you still get an emotional range, from vile hatred, imposing terror, consuming traumatic breakdowns, and impassioned emotional maelstrom resembling love. In short, she is never blank, but a mask of horror and pain quieted with a scowl to get the job done, from minute one until the final shot. I did not get that kind of intensity or drive from Danvers, be it character or actor. Sure, there are smirks and we are told that she “cracks jokes”, but despite the small effort payed towards that point, they felt lifeless and tacked on. Now, the story and character eventually come along, but i don’t usually care to wait until a 3rd act to get into a character’s portrayal. That was a definite problem for me with this one.

I would say that I am evolved in my opinion of the overall story and plot. On the surface, it is pretty simplistic and rote. It feels like we have seen this story before, many, many times. It ticks along its plot points like off of a checklist while leaving some theoretically vital questions unaddressed. One big one that I wrestled with for a moment was how she attained her powers. My nerd brain initially rebelled, unsatisfied with the minimal dialogue about it. I wanted to rage against its lack of connecting dots and seemingly implausibility. But then I realized that it was not much different than a “radioactive spider bite” or a “gamma bomb explosion”. It’s comic books. The powers are special and it is a mystery how exactly they came about. And, ya’know, that is just fine for me.

Though the story is pretty stock, they do have a nice twist with the villains. It isn’t that hard to conceive long before it comes to pass, but the revelation and its “I give up” friendly manner was a pleasant surprise. And once they pour on that emotional syrup, flip-flopped short stack really gets delicious. I appreciate the gray areas within this narrative and its release from the confines of comic continuity. They did their own thing and they did it pretty well. It was something that engaged me as a viewer and comic book fan.

Whether you loved or hated Carol Danvers or were into the plain-turns-twisty plot, you have to admit that you have seen the future of film. In my mind, this is the point of no return. Why do I say this? Because of Samuel L. Jackson. Or rather, the de-aged computer enhanced version of Sam Jackson. Unlike any previous version of this tech before (Douglas in Ant -Man stands as a good example) or complete CGI renderings (Tarkin and Leia from Rogue One being egregious), the effects whizzes of Captain Marvel take it to the next level. It is seamless and faultless, erasing decades of Jackson and will probably now do the same for whatever star in whatever film they can afford it for. Tom Cruise already has some of this done, I am sure, but now he can disarm bombs and take down terrorists when he is 70 and still look like he is 35. Larger point aside, they did a remarkable and kind of scary good job. Deserves to be noted.

I don’t think Captain Marvel achieves the level of an artistic Black Panther, but it is superior to a blandly generic Ant-Man franchise. It is a solid film that does a commendable job of playing by its own gender rules and making its messages count. It has a cool feminine-bad-ass soundtrack, nice style, and solid action. It is almost too bad that we have to wait until this point in the larger Avengers story line to have her interact with those characters and this universe as a whole. She would have been a cool addition to their dynamic and a positive step in a forward progression. But, better late than never...Captain Marvel is an exciting entry into the ideology of Marvel heroes and comic book films in general. I would have liked it to say and do more (something a Wonder Woman has firmly over it), but it is enjoyable and just above average (settling it firmly in the middle of the Marvel movie oeuvre).