‘Captain Marvel’ is expectedly ‘marvel’ous

More Girl Power! The 21st film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is their first release with a female star and first to be co-written, co-directed, co-produced and scored by women. “Captain Marvel” was not so coincidentally released on International Women’s Day. The movie’s tagline is, “Everything begins with a her(o).”

Starring Academy Award winner Brie Larson, this movie is fun, exciting and expectedly “marvel”ous. This movie is not another DC Comics’ “Wonder Woman” (2017). Yet, both movies are certified blockbusters and their stars are strong and exemplary role models for today’s little girls who too often see themselves only as a fairytale princess.

The 29-year old Larson is a confident, charismatic Californian that carries this feature with a muted grin, quick wit and casual likeability. She trained in the martial arts for nine months for this role, but action fans will note her lack of quickness and fluidity in the well-choreographed scenes. With inevitable sequels on the horizon, we are confident additional training and more creative action scenes will smooth out the rough edges.

This origins story begins on the remote planet of Hala, capital of civilization. Vers (Larson), our heroine, already possesses great powers. Her mentor Yon-Rogg (Jude Law) shares, “Nothing is more dangerous than uncontrolled emotions.” For a movie with a feminist message, that sounds like a very sexist thing to say. Nevertheless, the two of them spar and she learns how to protect herself with valued lessons of life.

Random memories of another world flash through Vers’ head. She presses onward and eventually gets to meet the Supreme Intelligence (Annette Bening) who has high hopes for this rising star of the Kree people. The Supreme Intelligence offers Vers, “Your past fuels your emotions, serve well and with honor.”

The real fun begins when Vers is transported to C-53 (Earth) in the year 1995. There, she meets Maria Rambeau (Lashana Lynch), her fellow pilot from “another life.” They are confronted by Agents of Shield; Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Agent Coulson (Clark Greg). Both are digitally de-aged 25 years to the movie timeframe. Marvel has used this technique in prior films for flashbacks, but this is a first for an entire movie.

A couple of plot twists work very well for this story, but it is clearly a prequel film for Fury, Coulson, Korath the Pursuer (Djimon Hounsou) and Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace). Jackson described this Fury as a desk jockey who has not yet become cynical. He asks Vers, “So, you’re not from around here?” She responds, “It’s hard to explain.”

Soon, they are faced with the evil shapeshifters called Skrulls. The Skrull Talos (Ben Mendelsohn) speaks in his native Australian accent, but in his human form, speaks with an American accent. Either way, this evil monster is hilarious. In one scene, Talos is standing and sipping from a Styrofoam drink container just as Jules (Jackson) did in a scene from “Pulp Fiction” (1994), released in that same time period.

Spoiler alert: Vers becomes Captain Marvel and saves the day, yay! So, Fury wonders how the Agents of Shield will protect earth from external threats while she is away, “Gotta find more heroes!” He notices an old photograph of Vers as a pilot, standing next to the aviator call sign on her plane, “Avenger.” It has a nice ring to it.

“Captain Marvel” is 124 minutes and rated PG-13 for sci-fi violence, action, and suggestive language. Producer Stan Lee appears in his requisite cameo. Although he passed away a few months ago, he had already filmed for the upcoming Avengers and Spider-Man movies, so his memory will be around a while. Thankfully, Marvel offers an extended salute to their renowned creative leader during the opening credits.

A few times during the story, Captain Marvel is upstaged by a scene-stealing cat. Brie Larson is allergic to cats, so her scenes with “Goose” had to be filmed using a puppet. The name “Captain Marvel” is not used in the film until the closing credits, but as Captain Marvel declares to her detractors, “I have nothing to prove to you.” Girl power, indeed.

Ron’s Rating: C+ Leigh’s Rating: B+