Captain Marvel

Usually, the best super hero films are about origins.  Captain Marvel (2019; dirs. Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck) is definitely an origin story.  But it’s not as straightforward as most: it uses jumbled chronology and suppressed memories.  It’s about the main character discovering who she was in the past as well as who she is in the present.  She remembers nothing of her past. It’s also about her discovery of her super powers, which are considerable. This makes the film more interesting than I would expect.  It’s also delivers a not too subtle message about political points of view and oppressed minorities.  In this case, the Kree, an alien race to which the main character belongs, is attempting to exterminate the Skrulls. The plot is more involved than I’ve made it out to be, so I’ll stop the summary there. 

Captain Marvel is so powerful that there’s hardly any question as to who will win in her various conflicts in the film—her side always wins, though because she doesn’t initially know how to use her powers, what she can do to her enemies isn’t always exactly clear.

Captain Marvel is a woman.  Not many super heroes are. The film deftly avoids assigning stereotypical female traits to her. She is firm, self-assured, and forceful. She shows little emotion, although she does show anger and concern about the alien race in danger of extermination.  The film ensures that she is attractive in her super hero suit.

What will our hero do after this film ends? We see her briefly in The Avengers: Endgame, but she departs before she can defeat Thanos, leaving that to others of the group.  She definitely doesn’t fit in as well as other Avenger members, and tin one brief scene other members of the group talk her into joining them. The fact that she doesn’t employ all her powers to destroy Thanos just doesn’t make sense.

The digital effects are extensive and spectacular.  DGI technology has advanced so far that you hardly notice the fantasy and the comic book universe.  The colors and visual design of this film are distinctive. It was fun to watch and entertaining overall.

Samuel Jackson plays Nick Fury, Captain Marvel’s close ally.  He’s been digitally altered in the film to look like a man in his 30s.  The transformation is convincing, yet his character seems artificial in a certain way, especially his face. The jive turkey lines he delivers don’t help.