Higher, Further, Faster: A Captain Marvel Review

Ever since the first “Captain Marvel” trailer emerged back in October, the internet has been highly critical of this latest project from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Brie Larson’s seemingly stoic acting style, Marvel’s claims of Captain Marvel being the most powerful character in the MCU, and Larson’s occasional bouts of feminism on her press tour have somehow accumulated into something that many people of a very conservative demographic find distasteful. Before this movie’s release, it already had haters. As soon as reviews went up, those haters tanked the film, even sending out bots to drag down its Rotten Tomatoes score.

With all this criticism, the movie had a lot to live up to in order to escape the hate. Almost unsurprisingly, it crushed those expectations and went above what might have been expected for an origin story about a character not many people know of. This movie, much like its advertising campaign promised, went higher, further, and faster, as it took viewers on a thrilling ride through the extraterrestrial life of the titular superheroine.

“Captain Marvel” stars Brie Larson, with other famous names like Samuel L. Jackson as a young Nick Fury, Jude Law as Yon-Rogg, Lashana Lynch as Maria Rambeau, and Ben Mendelsohn as Talos, in an intergalactic space adventure set in the 1990s. Our hero, whose real name is Carol Danvers, is a warrior who was adopted by an alien race called the Kree and can’t remember her past. The Kree are in constant warfare against the Skrulls, a race of shape-shifting aliens who seek to invade planets full of unsuspecting people. After an impending Skrull invasion brings Captain Marvel to Earth, she starts discovering the truth about her past, her people’s war, and the empire she thought she knew best.

Storywise, this movie is excellent. Never was it boring or uninteresting, and while the first half of the movie is dedicated to setting up the characters and worlds of the Skrulls and Kree, it was so fun that it passed in no time at all. The movie really picks up steam, however, once Captain Marvel arrives on Earth. The chemistry between her and Nick Fury is exceptional, and their buddy-cop dynamic sets up for a great time. This movie doesn’t just have a great story on its side, but also excellent humor. When this movie is funny, it is really funny. It’s just another bonus to a plot that takes so many unexpected twists and turns that left me dumbfounded. I don’t yet know how Danvers will play into the events of “Avengers: Endgame,” but personally, I can’t wait to find out. This movie never feels like a typical Marvel origin story with boring exposition dumps. Instead, it keeps the audience constantly guessing as to what is going to happen next.

The action in “Captain Marvel” is just as exciting and fresh. Toward the end of the movie, our heroine becomes such a force to be reckoned with that it was impossible for me to keep a smile off of my face as she smashed through spaceships and anything else that got in her way. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige wasn’t lying when he said that Captain Marvel is the strongest MCU hero yet. Even in the opening sequences of the movie, just seeing Captain Marvel come to terms with her own power and eventually come into her own as a fighter was a delight.

Another stellar aspect of this movie is the special effects. By far the most notable effects were the de-aging techniques used for Nick Fury and Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg). With CGI, actors Jackson and Gregg were made to look as young as they did in the ‘90s. This was blended so seamlessly into the film that I didn’t notice until I remembered that Samuel L. Jackson doesn’t actually look like that in real life. The actual explosions/flying/lasers/etc. looked like normal Marvel effects—no better, no worse—but the de-aging technology proves that we are living in the future.

For the most part, the characters are very well-written. Captain Marvel herself is an empowering hero, who is equal in parts snarky and stoic. Sometimes this is strange, as she will quickly go from cracking a joke to staring off into space, contemplating existence, but for the most part, her character lands. The side characters also pack a punch, a crucial aspect for a two-hour-plus movie to have. Lashana Lynch is amazing as Captain Marvel’s best friend, Maria Rambeau, and Ben Mendelsohn knocks it out of the park as the leader of the Skrulls. Each character serves a specific purpose that enhances the fluidity of the movie and makes it great all the way through.

The advertising slogan for “Captain Marvel” was “Higher, Further, Faster,” and this quote rang true throughout the entire movie. This film was fun, original, funny, and a win for women everywhere. Hopefully, the trolls will back down when they see this movie so it can truly succeed on all fronts.