‘Captain Marvel’ Review: Marvel’s Ambitious Origin Film Soars High

It’s felt like forever since Marvel Studios first announced that Carol Danvers was set to make her big screen debut back in 2014. But that wait is finally over. Captain Marvel, which is the twenty-second entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is hitting theaters this weekend and if tracking is any indication, it’s going to be another win for Marvel Studios. But does the studio’s first female-led superhero film starring Brie Larson soar high or crash into the ground? Well, got a spoiler-free review for you. Let’s go.

Before we dive into the actual review, here’s a little backstory for those who might be a tad unfamiliar with the character. Initially, Carol Danvers appeared in Marvel Comics in the 1960s as an acquaintance of Doctor Walter Lawson who was the human alias of the original Captain Marvel. Following an accident where she is exposed to Kree technology, she gains powers and later resurfaces as the character Ms. Marvel. And obviously a lot happened after that but we’re going to flash forward to 2012. In July 2012, Carol Danvers assumed the mantle of Captain Marvel in a new series which was written by Kelly Sue DeConnick with art by Dexter Soy. That’s where the Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck film drew heavy inspiration from. While it does change that story up a bit, fans of that run are likely going to be extremely happy walking out of this film.

Despite some very minor issues, Captain Marvel is an absolute blast from start to finish. It’s action-packed and also a lot funnier than I expected it to be. One issue some might have though is that Captain Marvel isn’t exactly told in a completely linear method. It’s a method that both works and doesn’t, so it’s a bit of a double-edged sword. While I can commend the ambition on display here, I can’t deny that the directing is a bit wobbly at times. If you’re expecting a normally structured “hero’s journey” style origin story, I’m going to tell you that isn’t what you’re getting here. But once you’ve seen the film as a whole, you kind of understand why they went the route that they did. There are a lot of surprises and the method that they chose to tell the film’s story in allows a number of them to remain hidden until they need to be revealed. There’s a lot of things I definitely did not see coming and was glad to be completely wrong about a number of things that I expected to see walking into this one.

As for the film’s stars? Brie Larson is the boss of space. After having seen Captain Marvel, there’s no one else I can imagine as Carol Danvers. She nails everything about the character and knocks the performance out the park. The chemistry between Brie Larson and co-stars Samuel L. Jackson and Lashana Lynch is electric. I’m genuinely hoping that we see them explore the “buddy cop” relationship between Danvers and Fury further in the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe because that’s something I left wanting more of. But the film’s major scene stealers? Goose the Cat and Ben Mendelsohn’s Talos. For different reasons that I feel like I shouldn’t dive into because I don’t want to give anything away. I’ll simply say that Talos is by no means the usual villain type that Mendelsohn plays and might leave you very surprised. The character is one of the things I was very wrong about but Mendelsohn crushes it and seemed to have so much fun playing the character that you can tell.

Another of the film’s strengths comes from Pinar Toprak’s score, which has a very synthy sound and really fits the cosmic vibe of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But on the other hand, the film’s soundtrack could be a bit of a weakness. I expected that Captain Marvel would have a fair share of ’90s tracks on its soundtrack but it might have one or two too many which kind of sucked me out at times. There are a few moments where I’d have appreciated more of Toprak’s score instead of a couple of the tracks that were being used. Maybe I’m just upset because there wasn’t any Third Eye Blind on the soundtrack. Guess I’m going to have to rent a couple of billboards and ask Kevin Feige and company about that one. However, the soundtrack being the element of the film that I’m most mixed about isn’t that huge of a deal when it’s all said done.

Overall? Despite a few very minor issues which I stated above, Brie Larson’s first cinematic solo outing as Captain Marvel is an incredibly ambitious Marvel Studios origin film that is funny, action-packed and full of heart. It’s weird in all the right ways and has something for everyone from the most casual of Marvel fans to the die-hards and might require multiple viewings to really soak everything in. Know that I personally can not wait to see Captain Marvel again and more of Brie Larson as Carol Danvers in the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Throw on your best ’90s attire, grab some popcorn and strap in. Higher. Further. Faster. More.

Rating: 8.5/10