My 10 year old and I attended an advanced screening of Captain Marvel in order to facilitate this review.
Hi, I’m a 41 year old woman who is a fairly new Marvel Movie nerd. My husband and I have seen the movies over the years, but it’s only been in the last year (since Black Panther) that I’ve become a bit obsessed. And now I’m introducing my son to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which has been ridiculously FUN.
So onto Captain Marvel…
I’ll be honest, I went into this movie knowing NOTHING about Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel. But I knew she was being introduced so we’d be familiar when End Game comes out next month.
SYNOPSIS: Set in the 1990s, “Captain Marvel” sidesteps the traditional origin-story template, with Carol Danvers already possessing her superhero powers.
Leaving her earthly life behind, she joins an intergalactic elite Kree military team called Starforce, led by their enigmatic commander, Yon-Rogg. But
after Danvers has trained and worked with the Starforce team, and become a valued member¬, she finds herself back on Earth with new questions
about her past. While on Earth she quickly lands on the radar of Nick Fury, and they must work together against a formidable enemy in the form of the
Skrulls—the notorious Marvel bad guys made even more dangerous by their shape-shifting abilities—and their leader, Talos, who is spearheading a Skrull
invasion of Earth.
I started the movie a bit confused. Not being fully entrenched in the MCU, I had some questions, wasn’t sure who everyone was etc. It didn’t detract from the movie, but I definitely found myself wishing I’d read a crash course on Kree, Skrulls and other aliens we’ve been introduced to over time. But by the time, we got into the second half of the movie, it all made sense and I was good to go.
There was plenty of action and lots more humor than I expected. I laughed out loud many, many times throughout the film. There were some really awesome reference to 90s pop culture including a hilariou dial-up moment.
Both Fury and Coulson are made to look younger through CGI technology, and while I’ve read that it bothered a lot of people, I barely noticed. Side note: who else got super giddy when Coulson showed up on screen? I might have clapped (and gotten a funny look from my kid).
The ONLY thing I think was lacking was some depth into Carol Danvers (Veers) character. They tried to pack a lot of information about her childhood, personality, and drive to become a pilot into the 2 hours and I think that could have been done better. She’s emotional. She’s human. But I really wanted them to go a little bit deeper. Oh well, maybe we’ll get more at some point.
Can I take my tween?
I say absolutely. Of all the Marvel films, this one is perfect for the tween market. There is some language, but nothing crazy. And the violence wasn’t very graphic at all, just a lot of things blowing up. My son really enjoyed it!
Bottom-line
Is this the best Marvel movie ever? No. But it doesn’t have to be, not do I think it was expected to be. It’s a fun film to get everyone prepped for End Game and makes for a fun night out with your family. Don’t forget to stay through the credits!
