For the past few weeks, I was so excited about Captain Marvel and got to see the midnight premiere. Its opening weekend made a historic global $455M: the 6th largest opening ever, largest ever for a female-fronted film, and the largest superhero movie opening second to only Infinity War. Safe to say, it lived up to the hype.
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First of all, the plot was solid. Carol Danvers’ (played by Academy Award winning actress Brie Larson) discovery of her past and powers played out in an intriguing way via flashbacks and secret government files. My favorite part was how at first you believe that the enemy is an alien race called Skrulls and Vers (Carol’s Kree name before she remembers her past) is following justified orders to hunt them. When the Skrulls are revealed to be refugees and her Kree commanders to be the oppressors, the movie directly reflects the power struggles for refugees in real life America.
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My article on why Captain Marvel matters attributed its predicted success to its empowering feminist message. After Larson said that she wants more diversity in interviewers for the press tour, sexist trolls began to bomb review Captain Marvel on Rotten Tomatoes. But contrary to their jeers, the movie is not overtly political. In fact, Captain Marvel subtly showed how superheroes can be powerful regardless of gender. The most empowering moment is when Carol’s former commander challenges her to prove she is stronger than him without her powers and she simply aims a photon blast at him and says, “I have nothing to prove to you.” This exemplifies that feminism is about empowering women, not about proving our worth to men. Captain Marvel doesn’t coast by on girl power alone; the feminist message bolsters the plot and character development.
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Instead of giving Carol a love interest, the movie centers on her friendships and personal growth. Her banter and adventure with Nick Fury shows a different side of the Fury we know but still lets Carol shine with her wit and determination. Her mentor Mar-Vell is a Kree scientist that was a role model for her before she died in the blast that gave Carol her powers. Most important though is her friendship with her best friend Maria and her daughter that reminds her of who she is and what makes her human.
The only downside to Captain Marvel is that with its premiere, the MCU loses some momentum between Infinity War and Endgame. It was a wholesome and enjoyable origin story film, but Captain Marvel lacks the fierceness of Black Panther or the hopefulness of Spiderman: Homecoming. However, I would say that because the MCU knows the formula now, Carol Danvers’ debut film definitely trumps the older first films of Iron Man or Thor. I would give her first entry into the MCU a solid 8.5/10. I look forward to her saving everyone’s asses in Endgame (which we saw a sneak peek of in the mid-credits scene!) and her almost-guaranteed sequels.