[Film Review] Captain Marvel

Captain Marvel introduces a new player in Marvel’s continuously expanding Cinematic Universe, and this aggressively humdrum installment can’t help but feel like a soaring letdown. 

Oscar Winner Brie Larson takes on the role of Carol Danvers (who we will come to know as Captain Marvel), an ex-fighter pilot who possesses bursts of powerful energy and strength. The film’s convoluted plot sees her travel between different planets, fighting against alien shapeshifters with the help of Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson).

You’d think a superhero movie with such a valiant title would be more exciting and uplifting than what we witness in this forgettable pile of formulaic space junk. It’s somewhat amusing at first, as the film hits us with some nostalgia bits as Danvers lands on planet Earth during the ‘90s. Oh, there’s Blockbuster! There’s an AOL screen! But those elements eventually wear out their novelty when the film plummets down an eye-rolling list of superhero origins. The story is so stale and unoriginal that the movie feels like it actually could’ve been made in the ‘90s... one didn’t age well. It’s even ugly to stare it. The special effects and production design are dark and dour, and the film’s villains look like something out of the “Power Rangers” TV series.

For being so impressive in films like Short Term 12 and Room, Brie Larson is glaringly bad here as the central hero. Each line is delivered like a a half-asleep college student ordering an Espresso from Starbucks, and each bored facial expression mirrors how I felt during the entire duration of this film. Even considering the underwhelming material Larson is given, she completely brings this ship down. She appears to be so detached and emotionless that she might as well have been one of the cardboard cutouts used to promote the movie. 

The orange cat that tags along with the crew is the only good thing about Captain Marvel, and it deserved way beetter. 

3/10