Jon Crunch: Movie Review: “Captain Marvel”

The first Marvel movie of 2019 is upon us.

I’ve been trying to figure out how I’m going to talk about “Captain Marvel” without giving away any spoilers.

Even though people have suggested “Captain Marvel” isn’t an origin story, the reality is that it’s basically an origin story.

Sure, the narrative is “sliced and diced” in such a way to keep the audience in the dark during the movie’s first 30 minutes.

But anyone who has watched the trailer can pretty much figure out what the whole thing is all about.

In a nutshell, “Captain Marvel” tells the story of Vers (Brie Larson), a Starforce pilot on the planet Hala (the capital of the Kree Empire) who has nightmares/visions of herself in another life. The year is 1995.

During a rescue mission early in the movie, Vers ends up a prisoner of the shape-shifting Skrull (the sworn enemies of the Kree).

Before long, our protagonist flees her captors in an escape pod, and she crash lands into a Los Angeles Blockbuster Video (there is a funny moment in the video store involving a “True Lies” standee — an obvious dig at director James Cameron, who has been critical of Marvel in recent years).

Vers soon attracts the attention of S.H.I.E.L.D. — young versions of Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) arrive at the shopping center to investigate the mysterious woman. Their investigation is interrupted when the Skrull attack.

I should mention that the “de-aging” techniques used to remove wrinkles and lines on Samuel L. Jackson and Clark Gregg were well worth whatever money was spent. Those guys looked 20 years younger — and it wasn’t at all distracting. Kudos to the special effects team.

Fury and Vers eventually team up to discover her true identity. If you’ve seen any of the promotional materials, you’ll know she is a U.S. Air Force pilot named Carol Danvers.

I won’t go any further with the plot since I am committed to keeping this thing spoiler-free.

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I don’t think society needs a new superhero movie every few months. (Disney released three “Marvel Cinematic Universe” movies last year.) I thought the genre stayed “fresher” when there were fewer superheroes in the marketplace.

That said, I enjoyed “Captain Marvel.”

With the glut of superhero properties released annually, I actually find myself enjoying those entries that aren’t universally beloved like “The Avengers,” “The Dark Knight,” and “Captain America: The Winter Solder.”

For example, I loved both of the “Ant-Man” movies (read my review of “Ant-Man and the Wasp”) and I’m one of the few people who liked “Doctor Strange.”

There are a lot of fun things in “Captain Marvel.” I liked the chemistry between Samuel L. Jackson and Brie Larson. There was an orange tabby cat named Goose who provided some nice comic relief.

Ben Mendelsohn is also in the movie. I’ve been liking his work recently.

Mendelsohn has made a living the past few years playing the “heavy” in films like “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” (read my review) and “Ready Player One” (read my review).

There is a plot twist involving his character (which I can’t give away because I’m not doing the spoiler thing).

As mentioned earlier, “Captain Marvel” takes place in the 1995. As a result, the filmmakers include some nostalgic bits from that era in the movie.

Did they capture the mid-1990s well? Honestly, it was sort of a mixed bag...

Sure, they have “period appropriate” cars in a chase sequence. There is one instance where an old Internet search engine is used. There are also songs by Nirvana and No Doubt featured in the movie (both felt way too obvious in the context).

The most noticeable “retro prop” used in the movie was a “Happy Days” lunch box featuring Arthur Fonzarelli’s image. That is more a nod to the 1970s and 80s. Not sure what they were thinking there...

The soundtrack had kind of a retro synth beat at times. Which, briefly, sort of felt like chords out of “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” (there is a motorcycle reference in “Captain Marvel” that seemed like an homage to a famous scene in “T2”). Overall, the soundtrack wasn’t nearly as distinctive as the electronic masterpiece featured in 2017’s “Thor: Ragnarok” (read my review).

Compared to recent female superhero movie “Wonder Woman,” the overall impact of “Captain Marvel” fell a bit flat.

Marvel had a chance to make something really special — and give the MCU a quirky and unique female protagonist like Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman became for Warner Bros.

Unfortunately, Brie Larson is somewhat bland in the role of Carole Danvers. Sure, she is likable. And, as I mentioned earlier, she has nice chemistry with Samuel L. Jackson. That said, they could have done more with the character.

My wife Bridget pointed out that the first part of “Captain Marvel” was somewhat slow and confusing. I’ll add that some of the sequences and characters seemed more suited to a budget-constricted “Star Trek” movie than something from the polished MCU.

Overall, I had a good time watching “Captain Marvel.”

But the movie could have been so much more.

This goes back to my previous point about there being “too many” superhero movies released annually. If Disney stays on pace to release three Marvel Cinematic Universe movies per year, the quality will eventually take a hit.

Be sure to stay for both post-movie “easter eggs” (during and after the credits)...