Captain Marvel: review

CAPTAIN MARVEL hit theaters last week, and I finally made it to the theater to see it.  The theater was not packed, but there were plenty of people there.  I've heard claims of some showings being completely empty, but with all the things being said about this film, everything has to be taken with a grain of salt.  So, let's get with it.

I have to start with the Stan Lee tribute at the start of the film.  It was perfect.  Just as his cameo was in the movie itself.  His appearance got a reaction from the audience as one would expect from people seeing pictures of a dear, departed grandparent.  And yes, I did choke up a little.

As for the movie itself, it was alright.  I wouldn't put it in the dead bottom of my list for MCU movies.  It wasn't unwatchable, but it was also took a bit for me to stay in it and go along for the ride.

My problem was Carol.  I do understand that this is a character that is being told and trained to keep her feelings in check.  Unfortunately, Larson's portrayal came off really wooden.  I cared about the plot, but really was not sold on the character in the film.  This is a bummer because I like Carol Danvers in the comics.  There was a pretty big overhaul concerning her origin story, but it works well.  A lot of it was that I never felt the character was in any real danger.  She was really powerful, and then went on to be super-duper powerful.  Also, we never really get much emotion from her when memories come back, and she learns a bit more about her past.

As for the nitty gritty of the film, the story is pretty solid.  Nothing ground-breaking, but had enough intrigue to keep me from zoning out.  Some of the humor fell really flat and came off as awkward when you have aliens using phrases that one would expect from a human, not a creature from another planet.  The fight scenes boasted plenty of action, but unfortunately much of it was hard to follow.

I did like the soundtrack.  I came of age in the 90s, so much of it was right in my wheelhouse.  The bit exception was the use of No Doubt's "Just A Girl" in one of the big fight scenes.  It took all the potential edge off the fight, and I suppose they were going for campy, maybe.  It was really cringe-inducing though.

I guess I should address the cat.  Everyone loves the cat.  The cat is cute.  My kids love the cat.

Where the hell did the cat come from?

I'm dead serious.  It's an alien just wandering around Project Pegasus with NO EXPLANATION WHATSOEVER!!!

And how did little Monica figure out how that change the color of Carol's uniform so quickly and intuitively?

I'm finding that the more I think about the movie, the more annoyed I get.  So, I'm just going to let this one rest, and wait for AVENGERS: ENDGAME.  I could have done that anyways as this movie does not tell me anything that I really need to know going into the next film aside from Carol Danvers is Captain Marvel and she's super powerful.  That's literally all you need to know.

It wasn't terrible, but I have no desire to see it again.