Captain Marvel (Movie Review)

As the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first female-led film, it’s safe to say expectations were sky high for Captain Marvel. After decades of clamoring for a female-led MCU movie and the blockbuster success of Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman, the franchise needed a hit that would set a strong example while also proving it could make a girl-powered action flick. And while it doesn’t quite reach the heights of Black Panther or the zany fun of Thor: Ragnarok, Captain Marvel still delivers a better-than-average superhero movie.

The bulk of the film centers on Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) as she tries to figure out who she is and where her place is in the universe. Her journey is a battle between the fragments of her memory and the warrior ethos instilled in her by the Kree she has spent years training with. When the shape-shifting Skrulls led by the swaggering Talos (Ben Mendelsohn) invade, she is forced to confront her past and decide where she belongs in both worlds.

Larson holds the many moving pieces together with grace and a smile. Her performance eclipses any other MCU lead in recent history—including Robert Downey Jr.’s charisma in Iron Man 1, Chris Hemsworth’s brooding swagger in Thor: Ragnarok, and Michael B. Jordan’s tortured villainy in Black Panther.

While the movie occasionally veers into period nostalgia and cheesy sci-fi (the Skrulls’ ability to shift between human and alien form is accomplished with state-of-the-art digital trickery, but they look like a bunch of Sleestaks in green wigs). Its flaws are minor, and it’s anchored by a magnetic performance from its star.