Spoilers Captain Marvel - Grading & Discussion

[JD]

My mom and I saw this this morning and we both thought it was great.
Brie Larson was awesome, I loved her take on Captain Marvel.
I was surprised by the switch up with the Kree ending up the bad guys and the Skrulls the good guys. I knew there was a pretty good chance Jude Law was going to end up a bad guy since he was Yon-Rog, but I did not expect the Skrulls to end up good guys.
Seeing Carol kick ass at the end after she got her full powers was awesome, probably one of my favorite action sequences in a Marvel movie.
The stuff with Nick Fury was really good too, him and Brie Larson had great buddy chemistry. It was also nice to get to fill in a bit more of his history. The CGI deaging him and Clark Gregg was great.
Loved Goose.
I wasn't aware of Mar-Vell's human name, so I was surprised that she was Lawson. I'm aware of his/her comics history, and I'm not bothered by the gender swap at all.
I was a little surprised we never saw the Supremem Intelligence's real form from the comics, during the fight at the end I kept expect it to switch from Lawson to it's real form.
The Rambeaus were pretty cool to, it will interesting to see if Monica follows any version of her fate in the comics.

 

[Noname Given]

One thing that I did find hilarious that I forgot to mention: I would NEVER peg Nick Fury as a 'Cat Person'. (Loved it.)

 

[MakeshiftPython]

You know he’s a cat person when he doesn’t even get angry at the cat for scratching his eye. He knew right then he probably went a little too far and was like “ok ok my bad”.

 

[Captrek]

You know he’s a cat person when he doesn’t even get angry at the cat for scratching his eye. He knew right then he probably went a little too far and was like “ok ok my bad”.

That wasn’t a cat, it was a Flerken.

 

[Noname Given]

You know he’s a cat person when he doesn’t even get angry at the cat for scratching his eye. He knew right then he probably went a little too far and was like “ok ok my bad”.

You knew it when he ran into the cat in the Basement Records area and started petting it and doing 'cat talk'; and Captain Marvel had to remind him of the situation.

 

[MakeshiftPython]

That wasn’t a cat, it was a Flerken.

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[JD]

Was the mid credits scene a clip from Endgame? It felt to me like it could have been and they have done that before.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

I don't see how it couldn't be. It's literally the introduction between Captain Marvel and the Avengers.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

Captain Marvel - Review

GOOD: Although a very formulaic Marvel movie (like most of the MCU's origin films), Captain Marvel worked thanks to Brie Larson portraying Danvers as someone justifiably confused, then upset at having her real life taken/erased by the Kree. She's pretty mch a boat without a sail, as she (until the last 20 or so minutes of the film) never felt she was anything other than a conduit for the interests of others, which made her quite the sympathetic character. Despite what some in social media said or predicted, Larson's performance--and the script did not run roughshod over male characters or males in general. There was the Maria Rambeau character's reference to not being supported as a pilot, but that's just being matter-of-fact, rather than soapboxing an issue.

Speaking of Rambeau, there are a number of longtime comic fans in the African American community who accused the filmmakers of making her a sidekick, when she--as originally introduced in 1982's Amazing Spider-Man Annual #16--was the hero who would also bear the name Captain Marvel. Some feel as if she's only there in name (as in a call out to comic fans), but not giving her the identity and importance (as a black female superheroine) she once had in comics. I too thought about the change in the movie version, but this would not be the first time a major Marvel comic character was significantly changed for the MCU into an arguably "watered down" version, as in the case of Civil War's Zemo, who was nothing like the comic version--one of Marvel's most famous/infamous villains (the man who Captain America blamed for Bucky's death in the Silver/Bronze Age storylines).

BAD: Nick Fury's behavior in relation to his timeline and world view. In Captain America - The Winter Solider, Alexander Pierce recalled the story of Fury's actions in Bogotá and his assessment of Fury in general:

Pierce: "You're the most ruthless person I ever met."
Fury: "I did what I did to protect the people."

That kind of reputation/history did not spring up overnight. To be the kind of purpose-driven, chess piece moving, vicious leader Fury always seemed to be, one would assume it took long years of similar actions/choices to become the kind of man introduced in the first Iron Man film, up to the way he was viewed by both Steve Rogers & Tony Stark in The Avengers. In Captain Marvel, he's far too jovial, almost like he's a camp counselor instead of master spy. Sure, Fury did not leap out the womb as a cutthroat or manipulative agent, but for the character to be all of what was seen during the first 10 years of the MCU, I would imagine by the time the 1990s rolled around, he would be a darker personality, whether he encountered CM and aliens or not.


NOTES: Now that the post-credits tease has CM in the present day, one must wonder why she has not really aged at all, and what's become of her "sister" and "niece" over the past two decades.


GRADE: Sitting somewhere between a strong C+ and B-. It not the most thought-provoking of MCU origin films, and cannot serve as a stand-alone film, and that's sort of the problem--it should have been produced to do just that, whether the character appears anywhere else or not.

 

[MakeshiftPython]

I don't think Fury's depiction was too off base, and it was actually interesting to see where he was in his life in 1995 before becoming more hardened by the present. In a lot of ways it was fun to see Samuel L. Jackson return to playing the kind of performance he used to give off in the 90s when he had a slight dark undercurrent under that jovial facade, which is what I would expect of a typical agent trying to get people's guard down.

However, I could totally see present day Fury still interacting with cats the same way he did 20 years ago.

 

[RPOW0614]

I gave it a C.
My post from the other Captain Marvel thread.

I saw Captain Marvel over the weekend. It was the worst of the MCU movies so far, IMO. They tried hard to make it be their "Wonder Woman" but all we got was a stoic (read that as boring) Superman knock off. Brie just walks around with a blank expression on her face most of the movie. I never felt she was in trouble, ever. Every time it looked like she was in trouble, BOOM, new superpower is discovered, problem averted.

While I had to see this to be up to date on all of the background stories of the "supers" I think this could have been much much better. This bounced "Thor: Ragnarock" out of last place. I was only impressed by the CGI to make Sam Jackson look younger. But the eye jokes were dumb. All I could think about was Lenny on the Simpsons "My doctor said not to get pudding in my eye."

 

[Doc Mugatu]

I gave Disney's Captain Marvel a "B+."

The criticisms I couldn't help hearing before actually seeing this film tended to be rooted in right-leaning politics. The claims being that this film was an outrageously feminist "Mary Sue" affair. Secondarily, the film was linear from start to finish and without challenge or obstacles. After seeing the movie, I disagree with both assessments.

First, the overwhelming majority of Hollywood (not to mention world) cinema is from the male perspective and in celebration of his machismo. One movie every year or two (or 10) celebrating the message of "girl power" is not excessive or some vast left-wing attempt to emasculate men. Just saying.

True, the ability or competency of Capt. Marvel/Carol Danvers is never in question. Doesn't have to be as there is a mystery afoot and a McGuffin to be had.

Where Disney generally gets it right (and Warner Bros wrong) lay in that they keep their origin movies pretty basic and straightforward. They don't throw everything at you nor overwhelm the senses. DC films usually come off as desperate by virtue of their bombastic house style.

The story is linear but told in non-linear fashion (uses flashbacks) and it is fast paced with a nice little twist in it. I really like this film, and hope mothers take their daughters to see it. I would imagine they'd be uplifted and inspired.

I'd also like to add Captain Marvel (and Wonder Woman (2017)) were two great examples of films with females leads being written credibly and not as a gimmick. Women can absolutely be leads in successful movies while acknowledging there is a difference between male and female and you can't/shouldn't treat them as interchangeable.

 

[Ethros]

I gave it a C.
But the eye jokes were dumb. All I could think about was Lenny on the Simpsons "My doctor said not to get pudding in my eye."

Has anyone seen Hot Tub Time Machine? Where the Crispin Glover character in the present doesn't have an arm, and when they go back in time he has two, so there's a running gag of how they keep thinking he's gonna lose his arm at any moment. That's what I kept thinking about.

Saw it last Friday but haven't posted yet, so just to say I'd give it a C too. I don't care whether the lead role in a movie is a male, female, or an androgynous purple alien from Neptune, I just want a movie I enjoy. So all the bashing before it even came out from trolls I find odd. It's also annoying I have to even say that just as I've noticed elsewhere if you don't absolutely love a movie like this then that's what some folk label you as, a "hater" etc. I follow a lot of movie fans on Instagram and in the coments on their review posts I'm seeing this a lot, just because they gave it less than 8 or 9 out of 10.

Anyway, yeah I just found it bland for the most part, ok but not great. The first 15 minutes especially were a mess and really uninspiring. I love the MCU and Marvel movies, but to be fair of the 21 films half of them are only on the pretty meh/ok/notbad level. And this fell into that as I watched it, I don't see how it's substantially better than anything like say Thor: The Dark World, Iron Man 2 or Doctor Strange. If people loved it great, but for me... shrug.

 

[JD]

Speaking of Rambeau, there are a number of longtime comic fans in the African American community who accused the filmmakers of making her a sidekick, when she--as originally introduced in 1982's Amazing Spider-Man Annual #16--was the hero who would also bear the name Captain Marvel. Some feel as if she's only there in name (as in a call out to comic fans), but not giving her the identity and importance (as a black female superheroine) she once had in comics. I too thought about the change in the movie version, but this would not be the first time a major Marvel comic character was significantly changed for the MCU into an arguably "watered down" version, as in the case of Civil War's Zemo, who was nothing like the comic version--one of Marvel's most famous/infamous villains (the man who Captain America blamed for Bucky's death in the Silver/Bronze Age storylines).

Carol's friend, Maria Rambeau, is not the character who became Capt. Marvel in the comics, that's her daughter, Monica.

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

Carol's friend, Maria Rambeau, is not the character who became Capt. Marvel in the comics, that's her daughter, Monica.

Makes me wonder, how will Monica gain that power set? As the Space Stone was the source for Carol‘s..
either she transfers her powers somehow, or the source will be different (assuming they go that route at all).

 

[Noname Given]

Makes me wonder, how will Monica gain that power set? As the Space Stone was the source for Carol‘s..
either she transfers her powers somehow, or the source will be different (assuming they go that route at all).

If they go that route after a few films with Brie as CM and they want to "transfer the title" - I'm sure CM can infuse transfer her power to someone else she deems worthy at some point; or their will be a certain "one in a million accidents" (caused by a Villain or some 'well meaning' alien/science type that will cause said power transfer. - Haven't you read a Marvel comic?

 

[Grendelsbayne]

Makes me wonder, how will Monica gain that power set? As the Space Stone was the source for Carol‘s..
either she transfers her powers somehow, or the source will be different (assuming they go that route at all).

I'm not up on these characters, really, but the only time I saw Monica in the comics she had a very different power set from Carol. Maybe they'll just go with that.

 

[Doc Mugatu]

… Brie just walks around with a blank expression on her face most of the movie. I never felt she was in trouble, ever. Every time it looked like she was in trouble, BOOM, new superpower is discovered, problem averted. ...

Even though we gave this film different scores (my "B+" to your "C"), I agree that we never really feel she is imperiled, however, for me it was oddly refreshing. Sometimes you want to see just a good old-fashioned, lopsided butt kicking. Just like sometimes you want to see a one-sided football game. The quest for the film though was for Danvers to find out who she was rather than one of trying to prove herself. The constant illustrations of her being knocked down at various times in her life and then getting back up was highly effective and the more important part to focus on (IMO).

To me there is a hint of a double standard. In films where the male pilots act cocky then its worth a cheer but in the rare case that a female test pilot has an air of cockiness then it's a problem. Again, her "need" here was to discover who she was and not to find her inner strength. Based on her "need" the story went accordingly. Every superhero fight is a knockdown dragged out thing. This wasn't and the change of pace was nice.

 

[Doc Mugatu]

The other day I was watching a clip from The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1969) - a series I remember fondly. In it Jody Foster played a friend of Eddie. She was a tomboy. Seeing this Eddie's father (Bill Bixby) decides she need to learn her place and has his house keeper Mrs. Livingston teach her the Japanese way of waiting on the men hand and foot. I went with it as kid and not knowing any better. In retrospect it really pissed me off to see a young girl be taught her joy in life should be in serving hot tea and meals to the men. Throughout the 70's girls had even fewer superhero role models on primetime: Wonder Woman and the Bionic woman and Cher was about it. Now once again girls are given a super heroic figure to identify with. Someone they can see themselves in. I personally am not going to tear that down or belittle it. I applaud Captain Marvel: The Movie. I'm glad she kicked tush and took names.

 

[Anwar]

Captain Marvel - Review

Speaking of Rambeau, there are a number of longtime comic fans in the African American community who accused the filmmakers of making her a sidekick, when she--as originally introduced in 1982's Amazing Spider-Man Annual #16--was the hero who would also bear the name Captain Marvel.

The Rambeau who is the Superhero is her daughter, the little girl seen. She'll be in her 30s when we see her in the present.

Civil War's Zemo, who was nothing like the comic version--one of Marvel's most famous/infamous villains (the man who Captain America blamed for Bucky's death in the Silver/Bronze Age storylines).

The Zemo who killed Bucky (sort of) was Heinrich Zemo, the one seen in the movie was his son Helmut who was the second one in the comics. He was more morally ambiguous.[/quote]