There have been a lot of expectations for Marvel Studios newest project. Captain Marvel is the first female-led movie from the House of Ideas, which, in the opinion of nearly everybody, is long over due. But has it been worth the wait? Many of us at CinemaBlend have had the chance to see the film and, as per usual, we have a lot of opinions on the topic. Eric Eisenberg wrote the official review for Captain Marvel. He gave the movie four out of five stars and felt the movie was largely the exciting adventure it needed to be, that largely overcomes the manb hurdles set before it. According to the review.
Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck's Captain Marvel is absolutely a blockbuster to which the industry should look as it's doing its part to try and reinvent the wheel, and while doing so serving up a fantastic hero debut within a spectacular and twist-filled, 1990s-set adventure.
While Eric largely thought that Captain Marvel did a great job of being a fresh take at the superhero origin story, that's not to say the film completely avoids every ptfall and trope that comes with it. CinemaBlend writer Sarah El-Mahmoud largely loved the movie as well, but felt that ultimately, the film was a lot of setup for a payoff that has yet to come. Of course, when that payoff comes in any potential sequel, she'll almost certainly be there.
Captain Marvel is the '90s action flick that was missing from my (Disney princess-filled) childhood but better late than never! Brie Larson's Carol Danvers is an unapologetic badass, Sam Jackson's young Nick Fury & Goose the cat have stolen my heart & Lashana Lynch (!!!) There's tons to love about this one & but I was left finding it to be a bit incomplete on its own by the end. It's an origin story that screams sequel!
While Captain Marvel is the last movie before Avengers: Endgame ends many stories of the MCU, it actually takes place prior to the vast majority of them. It's a "period piece" because apparently something taking place in the 90s counts as a period piece now (get off my lawn). This means it gives us new insight into the larger MCU with a look at an era we hadn't seen before. Marketing Editor Adrienne Jones enjoyed the flashback to Marvel's past, and also the cat, of course.
Captain Marvel gives us a fun, action-packed look at the MCU's past that we didn't know we needed. While some of the effects come off as a bit cartoony, this is a great superhero debut from Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson shows us an enjoyable new side to Nick Fury and Goose the cat will not soon be forgotten.
While there are clearly elements that everybody at CinemaBlend enjoyed about Captain Marvel, the fact is that nearly every Marvel movie qualifies as "pretty good" and with the bar now set as high as it is, it's hard for anybody to clear it. CinemaBlend News Director Jessica Rawden was expecting a lot more than she got.
Captain Marvel has some mild laughs, it has some fun action sequences and it has a cat that gets plenty of screen time (if that's your thing). Regardless, it’s missing the energy, creativity and fun with tone a lot of the better Marvel movies have, and its story is super paint-by-numbers. I didn’t leave feeling disappointed, exactly, but I expected more from a character and a movie that had the privilege of taking us to the past while setting up for the MCU of the future. Maybe it was too large of a request. Nothing about Captain Marvel is inherently bad, it’s just fine, forgettable fluff.
One certainly begins to wonder if marvel is becoming a victim of its own success. Back when the first Iron Man came out, nobody was necessarily expecting it to be revolutionary. The fact that it was good was enough. Now, fans are clearly expecting not just good, but great. Iron Man largely follows the same origin story formula, but since there's wasn't a decade of movies preceding it, nobody was too upset by that. Now, audiences have seen this sort of story before, and there's an expectation to do something different, or at the very least, better.
Having said that, CinemaBlend Editor Adam Holmes seems to accepted the film for what it is, and enjoyed what it brought to the table.
While predictable at times, Captain Marvel is nonetheless an enjoyable watch. It wisely balances its '90s setting with cosmic action, and it did a solid job of setting up Carol Danvers as one of the new leading heroes going forward in the MCU. Samuel L. Jackson also gave a delightful performance as a younger, less cynical Nick Fury, and, of course, Goose the Cat is an absolute treasure. Captain Marvel isn't one of the MCU's most exceptional movies, but it definitely delivers on entertainment.
CB Project Manager Cody Beck is another that was ultimately expecting something more. In addition, he felt Captain Marvel had some pretty rough dialogue and visual effects that really weren't quite up to what we expect from the Oscar nominated Marvel Studios. Also, did we mention the cat was great?
Captain Marvel was a fun ride, but with cookie cutter storytelling. The messages are positive and the exposition abundant, but some of the dialogue used to deliver both is cringeworthy at best. Definitely not my favorite MCU entry, but also not my least favorite. Some of the de-aging and visual special effects didn’t seem quite up to par with other huge superhero blockbusters, but I’d go again just to see Samuel L Jackson and that scene-stealin', crazy cat.
The superhero origin story is something we've seen countless times before, including many different times from Marvel Studios. At this point, many are just tired of seeing the same formula play out over and over, and it does need to be said Captain Marvel, while it structures the origin in a unique and interesting way, still hits most of the same beats you're probably expecting. Having said that, I actually really enjoy origin stories for exactly those reasons.
I actually love origin story movies because there's nothing quite like that building of anticipation toward "the moment." It can only happen once. Captain Marvel makes you wait. Some things are worth the wait.
If there's a general consensus among CinemaBlend, it's that Captain Marvel is, well, a fun superhero movie. While there was once a time when that was all anybody asked for, and many might still be ok with it, if you were hoping for an Avengers level epic, then you may need to wait until the next actual Avengers movie. Captain Marvel is in theaters now.
