By Kate Hawthorne, Staff Editor
After 11 years since the beginning of the Marvel Cinematic universe, one of the most anticipated films in the entire series is set to premiere next month. However, before this film “Avengers: Endgame” is released, a major Marvel comic character – and, apparently, a large part in this film – needed to be introduced in her own franchise. Captain Marvel, one of the most famous female superheroes in the Marvel comics, came soaring onto screens this year on March 8, 2019.
As this was the first film released after Marvel icon Stan Lee’s death in November 2018, the film opened with a touching memorial to the company’s figurehead and one of the comics’ major writers. Although simple, the tribute was no less poignant and fitting.
Set in the mid 1990s, this movie will surely cause some laughter for anyone who can remember the 90s or early 2000s – pagers, Blockbuster, video cassettes, or dial-up internet connections. And, while nostalgia is always a massive plus, that was not even the best part of the movie! With a spellbinding look at a young Nick Fury, the ‘eye patch-wearing spy’ in the Marvel universe played by Samuel L. Jackson, and a young Phil Coulson, a fan favorite in the Marvel movies played by Clark Gregg, there is almost no way to watch this movie without some laughter.
While I recommend the movie to both Marvel fans and the average moviegoer, I will admit that it is a little easier to understand the plot with the background knowledge of the previous Marvel movies. The basic premise of the movie is that a Kree woman named Vers, an alien race that made a cameo in Guardians of the Galaxy films, who is fighting against the Skrulls, another alien race, and follows them to Earth, where secrets of her past are revealed. The knowledge from previous Marvel movies is not requisite at all, it does provide a useful tool through which to understand the movie, as one of the main motives of the film was to set up Captain Marvel’s appearance in the soon-to-be released film “Avengers: Endgame”.
Vers, the main character of the film, is played by Brie Larson, whose previous films include “King Kong: Skull Island”, “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World”, and “Room”. Larson wonderfully portrays the amnesiac alien Vers trying to reconnect with her past, while staying true to the hard-earned lessons she has been taught in the Starforce. Some have critiqued her performance as expressionless and emotionless, causing an uproar in some circles – especially as one of the criticisms of her original movie poster was how she was not smiling, even though no other Marvel superhero has smiled on their movie poster. Other actors in the film include Ben Mendelsohn, Jude Law, Annette Bening, Lashana Lynch, Gemma Chan, Lee Pace, who all of did a great job of bringing their characters to life.
Despite some criticism, “Captain Marvel” had a historic opening weekend. With a domestic box office of $153 million and a global box office of $455 million, the movie was the second biggest solo superhero non-sequel launch, the third biggest March opening of all time, the fifth biggest female-led debut weekend of all time, the sixth biggest global launch ever, and Marvel’s seventh biggest opening of their 21 movies.
The first female Marvel superhero movie comes two years after “Wonder Woman” – the first DC universe female superhero movie. While female superheroes may have played roles in previous Marvel films, like Black Widow, these were the first moments when the star superhero was female. After the film came out, there were efforts to compare “Wonder Woman” and Captain Marvel” and to pit them against each other, which was ignored by the actresses themselves. Gal Gadot, the actress who played “Wonder Woman” in the eponymous movie, weeted to Larson a piece of fan art featuring the two superheroes, along with the caption “I’m so happy for you sister! Congrats!” Similarly, the director of “Wonder Woman”, Patty Jenkins, sent along fanart and well wishes to Larson and the “Captain Marvel” team.
To be honest, it is silly to compare the two films, as both are amazing stories with gorgeous cinematography, costuming, and acting with absolutely stellar casts. Moreover, both are landmark films in the growing superhero film industry and have proven inspirational to many individuals.
“Captain Marvel” lived up to, and exceeded, my expectations. An amazing cast, seriousness and hilarity mixed together, and a plot that has the viewer tagging along with Vers on an epic journey of discovery. The movie truly shows some of the best the Marvel franchise has to offer and I look forward to seeing more of Captain Marvel, and Larson, in the future.
Photo credit: Wikipedia
