It's always a celebration and joy whenever a Marvel Studios film makes its debut into theaters, and today marks the release of the first 2019 entry in the long running Marvel Cinematic Universe that not only sets up a new hero to join Earth's Mightiest Heroes in their final stand against Thanos in April's "Avengers: Endgame", but also takes us back to the 90's and introduces us to a cosmic powered heroine like no other. That lady is Carol Danvers - also known as the Kree powered human superhero called "Captain Marvel"!
Thanks to Walt Disney Studios PH and Marvel Philippines, I got to see an EARLY GLIMPSE of this fantastic film last February 27 at a private viewing of the movie for the press (which you can view my QUICK REACTIONS VIDEO here!). It was intimate, exciting, and certainly something I've been looking forward to since we saw the post-credits scene of Infinity War last year - where Nick Fury activated a secret beeper that showed us the familiar logo of Captain Marvel when everything was going dark and dust (literally thanks to the Snappening). Of course, I've always known Carol Danvers as the hero "Ms. Marvel" - following her adventures with the Avengers, X-Men, and of course her storied rivalry and complicated relationship with the X-Man Rogue (who stole her powers and life, but that's for the internet to explain). This film gives us a very fresh take on the character, while also staying true to her roots and adding a bit of nostalgia at the same time by bringing us another period superhero film after "Captain America: The First Avenger" that perfectly recreates the era and soaps it up with RnB songs, Blockbuster Video stores, and all that 1990's flavor we love to hate or miss.
So without further ado, here is my review for CAPTAIN MARVEL - which is now playing in theaters in the Philippines and opens in the US Friday! SPOILER ALERT for those who want to avoid any surprises, as I may be talking about some key points about the film below!
MOVIE: CAPTAIN MARVEL
Presented by: Marvel Studios and Disney
Starring: Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Jude Law
Release Date: March 6, 2019
As the first female superhero led entry in the Marvel Movies, Captain Marvel does a pretty good job of introducing us to very different parts of the universe that we have yet to explore in the MCU. We meet the titular character, played by Brie Larson, who goes by the name Vers and lives in the Kree homeworld Hala. Vers is a member of the elite Starforce - a team of skilled and powerful warriors who are led by Yon-Rogg (Jude Law). The Kree are locked in a war with the shape-shifting aliens known as the Skrulls, and Starforce is sent on a mission to extract a contact with information that could turn the tide of the war to their favor. Not everything goes according to plan, and Vers is caught by the Skrulls and soon finds herself on Earth where she meets young S.H.I.E.L.D agent Nicholas Joseph Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). Her mission and experiences on the planet soon make it clear that she had a life before the Kree, and the woman known as Carol Danvers will rediscover her origins while also emerging as a new hero that will help and inspire others.
I'm not going to lie - Captain Marvel was pretty good, and doesn't deserve all the controversy and messy build up it had weeks prior to the film's release. The film, very similar to the likes of Guardians of the Galaxy (which it has ties to) and Ant-Man, does a fine job of introducing another layer we can all appreciate about the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole while giving us a decent and steadfast superhero lady to root for. As Carol Danvers, Brie Larson is in her element - positioning herself as another player to take note of in the future Marvel Studios is carving down. I take the actress for how she performs her role in this particular film, and she does so well as Captain Marvel that I'm actually looking forward to what happens past this origin film and into Avengers: Endgame and beyond. It's your typical "out-of-this world yet discovering yourself" situation that has been told in the past, but works well for Larson to emerge as her character - and she's full of wit and attitude to boot.
The supporting cast aren't to be taken lightly either, and there's PLENTY of good faces in "Captain Marvel" to make this one a memorable gathering of characters. The aforementioned Samuel L. Jackson reprises his role as Nick Fury - but is a younger version of the character with both of his eyes intact and yet to become the badass secretive director of S.H.I.E.L.D. He has a lot of green yet wit to him, and is the other guy you need to be paying attention to. Jude Law of course plays Yon-Rogg, who is the leader of Kree's Starforce and acts as mentor to Larson's Carol Danvers. Clark Gregg also reprises his role as Agent Phil Coulson - something he has been doing in TV constantly but hasn't appeared in an MCU film since 2012's The Avengers. Then there's Gemma Chan as Minerva, Annette Bening as Dr. Wendy Lawson, Lashana Lynch as Maria Rambeau, and other familiar space guys you've seen in a past Marvel film that return because this is before that! Also Goose the Cat - who is a standout and actually is adorable. You HAVE to see this with fresh eyes.XD Of course, there's also a fitting and loving tribute to the late great Stan Lee that you will see and will not miss. EXCELSIOR and we miss you old man.
While Captain Marvel may not be on the same hype or level as the likes of Captain America or Iron Man, she still factors in and does an incredible job in her first solo outing - giving us more interesting elements to dabble in the cosmic side of the MCU while also going retro 90's and visiting another time before superheroes emerged and Tony Stark paved the way for the rise of the Avengers. This is actually the character that inspires Nick Fury to prepare S.H.I.E.LD for anything, and it also makes us surprised for things we actually thought we knew but Marvel had other plans for in presenting in their cinematic franchise. Plus the songs - oh wow hearing the likes of Courtney Love's "You Make Me Over" and TLC's "Waterfalls", and of course the early days of the internet. This is fun period superhero stuff all around.
Captain Marvel is now showing in theaters c/o Walt Disney Philippines and Marvel Studios!
Rating 4/5
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