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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).
Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury in a still from Captain Marvel.
Vers gradually begins to realise that she once belonged to Earth as Carol Danvers, a former Air Force pilot who, after an accident involving Kree technology, was infused with super strength.
Of course, this is not just the Danvers story; Marvel fans will get a kick out of a knowing script that shows us Fury before he acquired his signature eye patch and just how The Avengers got their name.
The humour is nicely played, with some neat ’90s gags – everyone waiting around for a CD-ROM to load is particularly amusing – to accompany a grungy soundtrack that includes Nirvana’s Come as You Are. Danvers even sports a Nine Inch Nails T-shirt.
From left: Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), Leader of Starforce (Jude Law) and Att-Lass (Algenis Perez Soto) in a still from Captain Marvel. Photo: Chuck Zlotnick/Marvel Studios 2019
It isn’t perfect: the convoluted plot and a surfeit of visual effects cause bewilderment at times. Then there is Larson, who lacks a little charisma in the lead, though a strong support cast – including Jude Law and Annette Bening as two very different mentors, and Ben Mendelsohn as the shape-shifting Skrull leader – props her up.
Admittedly, they’re all upstaged by a ginger cat. Called Goose, in a Top Gun nod, this cuddly feline gets all the best moments. He even has Nick Fury cooing.
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