Review | Captain Marvel film review: Brie Larson plays intergalactic warrior in fun but convoluted build-up to Avengers: Endgame
- Film tells the origin story of Vers, a super warrior who crash lands on Earth in the 1990s
- Brie Larson’s lead role lacks charisma, but Jude Law and Annette Bening are strong in support
3.5/5 stars
The first female superhero in the Marvel canon to get her own stand-alone film, Captain Marvel arrives last but not least.
As anyone who saw the ending of Avengers: Infinity War knows, S.H.I.E.L.D.’s director Nick Fury sends out a signal into the ether after the evil alien Thanos wipes away half of the world’s heroes.
On the receiving end? A wonder woman who may not be as well known as Iron Man, Thor and Hulk, but is evidently going to be crucial in the upcoming Avengers: Endgame.
In the interim, we have her origin story, the final piece of the Marvel jigsaw dropping not a moment too soon. Directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, the filmmaking duo behind the excellent Half Nelson and Mississippi Grind, Captain Marvel begins far from Earth as we meet the Starforce, an elite military unit of the Kree alien race.
Among them is Vers (Brie Larson), a powerful warrior haunted by dreams and a past she cannot explain. The plot really kicks in after Vers crash lands in Los Angeles in 1995 – right through the roof of a Blockbuster video store.
Chasing members of the rival Skrull alien race, Vers soon runs into a younger Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and his fellow agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg).
