Captain Marvel

[selenak]

How you know you're getting old, part the XXXIV - it's now the 90s turn for nostalgia. I mean, the 90s! When we were thrilled as anything to have those slow loading computers. (And where Carol would not have gotten through this movie without at least one scene in her underwear.)




I enjoyed this a lot. Not in a "best of MCU" manner, but I liked Carol and actually the entire ensemble, I really appreciated the MCU pulling the best switch on audience and character preconceptions since what Iron Man 3 did with the Mandarin, and go, Marvel, for not killing anyone (save a few unfortunate redshirts early on and a character who died before the movie starts) just to provide other characters with angst and grief. I mean, we all knew Nick Fury (and Coulson) would survive due to continuity, but pretty much everyone else of the supporting cast was fair game, and they all made it; since the movie among other things makes a point about wars and propaganda, this meant there was no innate hypocrisy here. Also, the mixture of humor and suspense felt right to me; I'm among the minority who is not that fond of the relentless jokiness of Ragnarök or the first Guardians movie.

While I sometimes wished they'd have picked an older actress for Carol, Brie Larson brought the deadpan wisecracking, swagger, temper and fierceness, and had excellent chemistry with everyone - Samuel Jackson, Lashana Lynch and Jude Law, oh, and Annette Bening in a double role. There hasn't been so much Nick Fury in an MCU movie since Winter Soldier, and since he's 30 years younger, less paranoid and with less blood on his hands, he gets to play a very different part. It occurs to me that this means MCU Carol Danvers has a relationship with good old Nick none of the other superheroes have, or can have, because there's no hierarchy here, he's neither a mentor figure nor an authority figure to rebel against, he's the supporting part of her buddy movie. Also, once you've experienced Nick Fury: extreme cat person and bossed him around, he's not going to intimidate you.

(Though of course that relationship begs the question as to why the hell Fury if he had Carol on his speed dial didn't ask for help on any on the various occasions Earth got invaded thereafter until the Snappening.)

(Also: whatever became of Goose?)

For all that the marketing ignited the anger of a certain type of male fan (not to mention that the gender switch for Mar-Vell will probably cause more of same), the movie actually isn't Carol vs the Patriarchy. I really loved that she doesn't let Yon-Rogg psych her into fighting him without her powers; she really does not have anything to prove to him (or anyone else), and the rest of the movie bears that out.

(Oh, and the Bechdel test gets passed not just by Carol & Maria but Carol & Monica, Carol & the Supreme Intelligence, Carol & "Wendy Lawson", and at one point Carol & Gemma Chan's character.)


The twist similar to what Iron Man 3 did with the Mandarin: I don't want to put it more detailed than this, even beneath a spoiiler cut, but as mentioned before: loved that one. And the acting opportunities it provided instead of reducing a bunch of characters to generic villains a la Thor: The Dark World.

In conclusiion: a very entertaining way to pass two hours.

Comments

[felis]

I really loved that she doesn't let Yon-Rogg psych her into fighting him without her powers; she really does not have anything to prove to him (or anyone else)

Given all the speculation about Jude Law's character, I so loved the Mar-Vell reveal, and I literally cheered when she didn't let Yon-Rogg goat her into fighting him on his terms. It was her story, on her terms, not his. So yeah, I loved when she refused to engage him, especially because it was also coupled with the "you are too emotional" cliché. Yay.
Also loved the "Carol keeps getting back up" montage and the moment when she finally took full control of her powers. Plus, lots of points for not making her the lone female character, but giving us Maria. (And Monica, clearly inspired by Carol and providing her colours in return. And Mar-Vell of course.)

Speaking of Carol's powers - while I can see why the Infinity Stones at least would need a team effort (yay, mid-credits scene - and only a couple of weeks away, too), I am wondering what kind of villain is even going to be a problem for her in the future, after her display with the Kree ship.

best switch on audience and character preconceptions since what Iron Man 3 did with the Mandarin

With you on both! Appreciated the character scenes that went with it and that they didn't actually kill Talos, which I thought might happen for a moment.

Re: Fury - I have to say, I am beyond amused that this is the backstory they gave us for his eye injury. Goose was a great detail for the movie and I did not expect Fury of all people to be the cat person here.

[jesuswasbatman]

I saw it tonight as well - won't really do a full review, but Hole's "Celebrity Skin" was a teenage favourite of mine, and using it for the end credits works to a degree for Carol, but as a rather darker reading than I think they were going for.

[coffeeandink]

It is emotionally completely off. I don't know what they were thinking.

[squirelawrence]

Just got back from watching it - enjoyed it thoroughly. Not certain how I'd compare it to Wonder Woman, DC's first female lead superhero movie. Like WW, certain holds it own at the very least, which is a good thing. The chemistry between all the characters, particularly Carol and Fury, was awesome. I think perhaps the biggest difference is that Captain Marvel "fits" with the Marvel Universe better than WW did with the DCEU. How you feel about that may depend on how much WW was a sorely needed breath of fresh air for you. Both very entertaining, and close enough for me that I might have to go rewatch CM three or four more times to decide which I like better. Which is a recommendation in and of itself, if you like.

[shadowkat]

How you know you're getting old, part the XXXIV - it's now the 90s turn for nostalgia. I mean, the 90s!

Yes, when the critics called it "a somewhat retro" tale set in the 90s. I thought, wait, the 1990s are retro? When did that happen? Ack.

Didn't help that Luke Perry died at 52 of a stroke. Ugh.

What happened to the 1970s and 60s being retro? Now it's the 1990s and 80s?

Also, I knew I was getting old when people would tell me that they grew out of Live Journal when they graduated from high school, which was ages ago. I'd think, okay...

[rosaxx50]

Agree completely! It's more a movie that I like and enjoyed, than one that I think of as being very well-made, but the more I think about it, the more I like what the movie was going for. I thought a lot of the pointed scenes and plotlines were there as the natural flow of the movie--Rambo saving the earth and a bunch of civilians with her flying, and that being the point instead of acknowledgement from others; the person Carol most admires being Mar-Vell, an older woman; the relationships between the women, as you say; Fury via Coulson, and Maria/Rambo via Carol, being the ones who inspire such loyalty and devotion among the cast. Ex-US-military member apologizing for being part of a war predicated on brainwashing from her government, because they thought the other side would find a weapon of mass destruction. It's all there, just not very... pointed. And so on.

It occurs to me that this means MCU Carol Danvers has a relationship with good old Nick none of the other superheroes have, or can have, because there's no hierarchy here, he's neither a mentor figure nor an authority figure to rebel against, he's the supporting part of her buddy movie

Hah, I was thinking this too, watching the two of them as buddy-cops.

The entire audience groaned when they saw the dial-up internet disconnect. I kind of love that Carol is the younger-audience stand-in, trying to comprehend old technology, and was doubly glad that enough audience members were old enough to remember this.

[selenak]

Speaking of Carol's powers - while I can see why the Infinity Stones at least would need a team effort (yay, mid-credits scene - and only a couple of weeks away, too), I am wondering what kind of villain is even going to be a problem for her in the future, after her display with the Kree ship.

Well, for starters, she can't be everywhere at the same time. And she has to sleep at some point. Meaning: a villain who can threaten other people she can't reach in time and/or who overwhelmes her when she's not alert could get the upper hand. Also of course villains with psychic powers. As far as I know via fannish osmosis, not having read the relevant issues myself, in the comics Rogue (the mutant of X-Men fame) started out as a villain who really did a number on Carol by absorbing her powers, for example, which had psychological aftereffects for a long time.

But in general, I'm a bit worried because: Vision was introduced as superpowerful and then subsequent movies who had to go through plots which realistically would have ended far sooner if Vision had kept his Age-of-Ultron level of power had to work around that, so he's distracted by love of Wanda in Civil War and completely incapacitated by a blast early in Infinity War. Which could set the precedent for Carol getting knocked out a lot in future movies...

I did not expect Fury of all people to be the cat person here

Well, you know, Cardinal Richelieu historically was a cat person. He had thirteen of them at some point. This did not stop him from transforming France into an absolutist state, so there's precedent. :)

[selenak]

Having googled the lyrics, I see your point.

[selenak]

DC's first female lead superhero movie.

*coughs* Catwoman *coughs*

(I mean, I know that like Elektra on the Marvel side of things, it flopped big time, and Diana and Carol respectively make for far more impressive first female heroes on screen, but well, these other movies did happen....

Both very entertaining, and close enough for me that I might have to go rewatch CM three or four more times to decide which I like better. Which is a recommendation in and of itself, if you like.

Indeed it is!

[selenak]

Rambo saving the earth and a bunch of civilians with her flying, and that being the point instead of acknowledgement from others

Yes, quite. A lesser movie would have felt the need to let some other character say a variation of "see, a mother who hadn't been allowed to fly the important missions when she was in the air force saves people!" and let her hear it, but that so wasn't the point.

And yes, the metaphorical/real life implication of Carol's storyline. Having watched Vice recently, I was reminded all over again of my rage re: the Bush government and the Iraq War.


The entire audience groaned when they saw the dial-up internet disconnect.

In my cinema, too! That was one of the most successful gags of the movie on that occasion.

[jesuswasbatman]

Especially how really well "Come As You Are" works lyrically for the final confrontation between Carol and the Supreme Intelligence.

[contrary_cal]

And the acting opportunities it provided instead of reducing a bunch of characters to generic villains a la Thor: The Dark World.

I was delighted with this for any number of reasons, but possibly the biggest was that it definitely enabled a certain actor to achieve a state aptly described by another DW reviewer as Peak Mendo. I think he actually achieved a Platonic ideal of Mendohood at some points, usually the ones that sent the audience into gales of laughter and meant we missed half the next scene...

They definitely made the Skrulls into an interesting element of the Marvel Universe; given how that bit of the story ended, I can't help but wonder if they'll be back at some point.

[jesuswasbatman]

They wouldn't have needed to put her in underwear in the 1990s, given the costume she was wearing at the time as Ms. Marvel.

[coffeeandink]

See, that also irked me because Carol left Earth in 1989 and Nevermind was released in 1991.

The price of watching period pieces set in a time period you actually remember.

[jesuswasbatman]

She probably heard it on the radio while she was driving around with Fury.

[davetheanalyzer]

Saw the film three days back. It was a bit slow at first once they got to Earth, it picked up and I did enjoy it. Carol and Fury have great chemistry and I liked the twist. I wonder what will happen when Carol returns later and finds Fury and Maria aged (and Monica grown up).

Nick Fury: extreme cat person Speaking of that-

Trust Exercise: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18088979
Summary: Five times (of many) that Fury trusts Goose to show him when someone is an ally (or not).

[selenak]

Aw, that's adorable!