[Review] Captain Marvel (5.5/10)

Title - Captain Marvel
Studio - Walt Disney Pictures, Marvel Studios
Starring - Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Gemma Chan, Mckenna Grace, Jude Law, Annette Bening, Djimon Hounsou, Lee Pace, Clark Gregg
Writer - Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
Director - Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
Release - 8 March 2019

This did not resemble a Phase 3 MCU origin movie. This feels more like a Phase 1.

The writing (and to certain extent, the directing as well) from the duo Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck showed some maturity issues, that or just some lazy writing that should not even exist in the MCU.

There were so many events or plot points that you could ask "why". Like, why didn't they turn the Pegasus cloaking device back on after boarding? Or, why did they have to leave Norex behind? Or, why no one knock Captain Marvel out when she was about to break free? Or what was the face mask for?

That last one was probably the most disappointing as one of the coolest shot we saw in the trailer was not in this movie - when her face mask came on while she was just standing still.

We also did not get enough of the Kree members, except for maybe Minn-Erva played with a very cool flair by Gemma Chan. We didn't get enough of the Skrulls as well, for that matter.

But what I liked about this story was the use of the 90's era for an alien invasion. This felt a little bit like a throwback to the TV series "Roswell". Then again, anything that referenced the 90's was a nostalgic highlight and delivered well.

Ben Mendelsohn was a great character, but once the full make up was put on, his natural spark was covered up beneath all that prosthetics. Jude Law was a surprise because I did not think he would have that big of a role. Clark Gregg, however, was a slight disappointment as I thought we would get more of him.

As for Brie Larson, I honestly did not think she shone in any way. Don't get me wrong, she was not bad. But again, as an origin movie, she and the whole movie were lackluster. Even most of the humour in the movie came and went without being memorable - unlike most of the other MCU movies.

In the end, Captain Marvel's powers were so unclear as to what she could do. Even now as I'm writing this, we really don't know what the extent of her powers are. It was also very confusing because in one scene she would be taking a considerable amount of time to get rid of two Kree soldiers. And in the next scene she was blowing up an entire spaceship.

This definitely is the least polished MCU movie Kevin Feige has put out of late, unfortunately. It felt like it was done in a rush. Or just that Boden and Fleck could not measure up to what was needed of them.