Directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck

Starring: Brie Larson, Jude Law, Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn

With all the out of nowhere hate surrounding Brie Larson, and all the poor marketing for the movie, I wasn’t sure what I would think of it. I knew nothing about the character, and since this is a film in the interim to End Game, we are all obligated to watch it. But what I can tell you is this: Brie Larson’s comments, or persona, or whatever reason the Incels (whatever those losers online are calling themselves) made up to bring the pitchforks is all irrelevant. Who cares. What matters is the movie. And so I will judge the film on the film’s own merit. As I have always done, as I will always continue to do. And so for the movie, I liked Captain Marvel.

I think it’s neat that we got a good origin story in a universe filled with bad origin stories. Look at the first Captain America. Look at the first Thor. Not good movies. But they spawned incredible sequels like Winter Soldier and Ragnorak. I think any future films with Captain Marvel will be promising. I also like that this movie itself looks good, has a head on its shoulders, and has a story that is relevant to our times, but not for the reasons you might think.

Oh I’m sure some will find its slower moments boring, or maybe they will cringe at some of Brie’s delivery. But I dunno, I didn’t. I liked her as the lead. I wasn’t quite so sure in the opening scenes, but by the end, I knew she was a good choice. I think it was boosted by all the scenes between her and Nick Fury (a much younger Sam Jackson this time around), since much of the runtime is them buddy copping together on Earth (or C- 53).

It begins in confusion. Captain Mar- er- Vers finds herself awakening from something, blue blood all over her hands. Some faded memories perhaps. She sees them as nightmares. There’s   a recurring woman in them who she does not recognize. She tells all this to Yon-Rogg (Jude Law), her supposed leader and mentor. They are on some planet called Hala, which the race called Kree live on. They’re ruled by some unknown and unseen entity called The Supreme Intelligence. Okay, that part is dumb.

Vers has trouble handling her emotions in combat, and has powers she doesn’t know how to control. Her hands flare up in some mystical electric fire. Who knows why.

Her and her Kree team are sent on a mission to rescue another Kree agent, who is undercover against the Skrulls (I think that’s what was happening? I was a bit confused). Oh right, the Skrulls. They’re another group of aliens that have been at war with the Krees forever. They can shapeshift into anyone’s likeness, all the way down to the DNA. But they can only copy recent memories of whoever they are mimicing. Important to note.

But Vers gets captured by the head Skrull, and they work vigorously to probe her memories. The movie goes on for a bit here in her past, as the Skrulls look for certain clues for what they want. That mysterious woman appears again. They want her identity.

Vers manages to escape, and it’s a pretty fun action bit here, since her hands are locked by that metal, and she has to beat up the Skrulls without her real powers. But she crashes her pod on Earth, in that Blockbuster we all saw in the trailer (can you tell it’s the 90s?) Nick Fury and Colsen find her. Yes, the birth of SHIELD taking on intergalactic threats.

Now you’re probably wondering why Vers looks human, and why she was on the planet of Crees. Well, the movie gets to explaining that. And it gets to explaining that woman in her memories, and why the Skrulls want her so badly.

And goddamn did I lose it when Ben Mendelson appeared yet again as another fucking villain. Come on, he was the bad guy in Ready Player One, AND Rogue One, AND in the recent Robin Hood movie no one saw. How I cringed, but how delighted I was when the filmmakers realized everyone was tired of his onscreen villainy, and made him appear in his Skrull form for the rest of the runtime. Genius. Absolute genius. Mendelson is actually incredible as the head Skrull Talos. He sounded so goofy during the probing scene of Vers, but trust me, he will grow on you.

The relevance of this movie for us today has to do with the Cree and the Skrulls, and Marvel’s relationship with them. And so I will not spoil it here. But I truly enjoyed the way this conflict played out.

So I won’t talk more of the story. I won’t talk about why she is called Vers or how she gets her powers. Just that I liked her and Fury’s witty buddy cop relationship. The movie is surprisingly funny. And the de-aging CGI on Jackson’s face is undetectable, and therefore among the best visual artistry in years. And I ended up greatly liking Ben Mendelson’s role as Talos. And i think all the acting here is all around solid. And Brie Larson won me over with her punk rock skater girl fun with the role. With a cool 90s soundtrack to boot. And a really good and fitting score by Pinar Toprak.

Captain Marvel is a fun and solid film, and I’m glad I saw it. It is not preachy as some will end up crying it is. Believe me, I know preachy, this movie is not it. And Goose is the real mvp (is he a reference to top gun?). And I’m not too disappointed by the weak fight at the end because I expected as much. And Ronin showing up was of course silly but I guess we had to see her powers somehow.

We are told she is the strongest Avenger, and although this film doesn’t really show it, we at least get the HINT of what she can be. I have absolute confidence in all those who are working on End Game that will all reveal itself. And I fully believe it will be amazing. After Infinity War blew all our minds we have had just Ant Man and the Wasp and Captain Marvel to to hold us off for End Game. Ant Man and the Wasp was awful filler, one of the most useless movies ever made perhaps. Captain Marvel is a welcomed entry. And I can’t wait to see where she goes.