Aaron Pruett
apruett@lc.edu

Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, and Jude Law star in the twenty-first Marvel Cinematic Universe movie: Captain Marvel. After The insane heights of Avengers: Infinity War, the ground-breaking action in Captain America: Winter Soldier, and the deep and rich characterization of Black Panther, where does this movie stand against it’s twenty predecessors?

There’s been a lot of controversy surrounding this movie as it is the first female lead superhero film in the MCU, many deeming it terrible because of a female lead, specifically the casting of Brie Larson in the main role; the other extreme exists as well with critics automatically hailing it as a masterpiece of revolution. The reality lies somewhere in the middle.

What I believe makes a movie great is the characters, and simply put Captain Marvel was a bland character. It was in no way poorly acted and was at times even charming thanks to Larson’s acting. Overall, she comes off as wooden and unflawed in nature. We are constantly told that she often lets her emotions get the best of her, but we never see that actually happen. To this moment I can’t decide if this was actually supposed to be a character trait or commentary on how women are treated in modern society.

Serious moments are often undercut by humor that falls flat, and after the first five minutes of this movie you can figure out exactly which beats are going to be hit for the third act. This is one of those few moments that you can honestly say that DC did it better with “Wonder Woman” (2017). If “Captain Marvel” were my kid, I would advise it to stop acting the way it thinks that people want it to act and be original. Don’t be afraid to take risks and show your flaws just because you’re the first of your kind in this family. After all, isn’t being original what makes us marvelous?