Judging the current state of the MCU, this film could go either way. And I’m not even factoring in the myriad of behind-the-scenes issues the franchise has run into in recent years, from Jonathan Majors going to court, to recurring audience fatigue from the extent of the MCU assembly line, to how said assembly line has grown so big that they are now running into the issue of losing in competition with themselves, given how the second season of Loki basically eclipsed this film’s release.
No, I’m just talking in regards to what Phase Five has already given us this year alone. On one hand, there’s Quantumania, a clearly derivative and bizarrely uninteresting entry that felt very made-by-committee. And on the other, there’s GOTG Vol. 3, which succeeds because it is the product of a singular vision, giving the overarching franchise a booster shot of individual creativity that seems to be increasingly lacking post-Phase Three. James Gunn isn’t the only auteur to work on the MCU (Taika Waititi, Ryan Coogler, and Sam Raimi definitely fit into that category), but Vol. 3 (in my opinion) benefited the most from having that kind of distinguishable artistic voice behind it. That Gunn has now jumped over to heading DC Films has been taken as a sign that the kind of identifiable uniqueness that Vol. 3 showed amongst its contemporaries isn’t likely to repeated by Marvel any time soon.
With all that in mind, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this. I mean, I liked the first Captain Marvel (although I’m starting to chalk that up to being familiar with Brie Larson as an actor long before that film became a talking point, which I’d wager a guess isn’t the case for the Johnny-hate-latelys that have been on her arse since), but I am also starting to run a bit ragged on the MCU myself. It’s been heading towards the continuity threshold for a while now, where everything is so interconnected that it can feel unapproachable unless you’ve done all the homework beforehand, this film being no different. Along with the first Captain Marvel, this also has ties to WandaVision, Ms. Marvel, Secret Invasion, and to a lesser extent Thor: Love And Thunder and Hawkeye. I’ll admit that I haven’t seen all of the lead-in material, and quite frankly I’ve felt less inclined to keep up with it all as the years go on, but I’m still willing to give this film a chance. And frankly, I’m glad I did.
For a start, there’s a recognisable amount of specifically comic book-style weirdness in the plot specifics, starting with how the titular Marvels are involved. As teased at the end of Ms. Marvel, her, Monica Rambeau, and Carol Danvers have started to swap places with each other whenever they use their powers. It’s the kind of high-concept team-up idea that I could easily see working on the printed page, but given the teleporting tag-team nature of the fight scenes, it likely makes more sense on the screen. Then there’s additions like the planet where the primary language is song and dance like they’re in a permanent musical, or the amazing resolution to an evacuation problem aboard the S.A.B.E.R. space station (no way in Mephisto’s realm am I going to spoil that one). This is the kind of weird shit I read comic books specifically to indulge in, and it shows some genuine creativity on the part of the filmmakers.
Then there’s the main trio as characters, and not only are they quite strong on their own, but they work even better when pushed together. Teyonah Parris as Rambeau, admittedly, is the weakest of the three, to the point where she gets given the clichéd ‘black token’ moment of just saying “Dayum!” at one point. But as Danvers’ surrogate niece, someone who looks up to her as part of her family and as a hero in her own right, she adds a fair bit to the emotional stakes of the plot.
This effect is amplified by the presence of Iman Vellani as Ms. Marvel, who is just as endlessly watchable here as she was in her own series. Introduced with a fan-made comic book insert that made the aesthetic of that show stand out as much as it did (even if that’s the only instance of it here), she is still playing the superhero as fangirl of other superheroes, stuck between trying to do right by her paragons and being dumbstruck with fan squee at the mere sight of them. The look on her face when she learns that Captain Marvel was in her house because of the quantum entanglement whatsit swapping was simply delightful, and she maintains that energy throughout.
As for Captain Marvel herself, she’s still got that charismatic aura that won me over with her first appearance, but there’s a darker tinge to it this time around. She’s become more of a lone wolf, used to saving planets on her own since distancing herself from the Kree, and now she has to team up with two other heroes who treat her as someone to look up to… even though she is guilty of war crimes. Like, the whole point of the villain (Zawe Ashton’s Dar-Benn)’s scheme is to steal resources from other planets in order to restore her home planet, which Captain Marvel ravaged as a result of destroying the Supreme Intelligence in the first film.
I just know that this is something that will forever be held against Captain Marvel, as if she is the only Marvel character who has been guilty of shit like this and went through a redemption arc (in the comic books, basically every major player in the original Civil War had to go through a similar process, in particular Iron Man and Mr. Fantastic), but the way it’s handled here shows that it’s a genuine mistake she made and she has to make up for it. It’s not as if she’s the only one to underestimate the damage that can be caused by a power vacuum; at least real-world people didn’t get hurt… hopefully.
Now, I should mention that this film apparently went through extensive reshoots and re-edits, and that does come through in the finished product. Aspects like that redemption arc and the internal guilt leading up to it can feel rushed, and what makes the film work textually could certainly have been boosted even further by giving more time to them. However, considering how overlong films in this sub-genre can get, this clocking in at around 90 minutes (minus credits) helps with the engagement factor overall. There’s a real zip to it that reminds me of No Way Home in how lacking in dead air it is. It may be lacking some connective tissue for the more emotional and even narrative moments, but what’s left over doesn’t feel like it’s wasting time on other things that aren’t necessary.
It probably helps that the action scenes are pretty damn good. The quantum swapping idea factors into the fights pretty well, even including a training montage devoted specifically to the Marvels learning how to fight while the swaps are happening. From there, the camera framing, staying away from hyperactive cutting or zooming in too close to the action, lets the kinetic choreography shine through. There’s also the first major fight scene, set to a remix of Skrillex, Missy Elliott, and Mr. Oizo’s Ratata combined with Laura Karpman’s orchestral compositions. Holy moly, this one moment absolutely stands up to how great 2023’s action heights have been, and I won’t hear a single goddamn word against it.
When taken all together, I found myself really liking this. All the individual parts work well together, the story, if muddled, never feels bogged down, the action scenes are fun, the characters even more so (the Khan family are as enjoyable as ever), and it’s got the kind of lavishly ludicrous elements that I like seeing in superhero stories. I mean, if nothing else, this film certainly isn’t lacking in ideas, both for itself and for setting up what’s coming next for the MCU. As knotted and gnarled as the continuity is getting nowadays, to the point where I suspect an Ultimate Marvel style reboot is in the works just to make things easier on everyone (theoretically, at least), I’d say that this is worth checking out.
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