Natalie Schroeder | Staff Writer
03/14/19
After the grim ending to Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War, an origin story full of action, humor and happier endings hit the big screen this past weekend. Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Jude Law, Ben Mendelsohn, Djimon Hounsou, Lee Pace and Lashana Lynch starred in Captain Marvel. Captain Marvel earned a Certified Fresh status from Rotten Tomatoes and still holds the first place in the box office. The movie follows Carol Danvers (Larson) as she discovers her true self and fights those who have deceived her. Following an Air Force crash, Danvers absorbs the explosion and is taken by the Kree to their home planet Hala. She is given the name “Vers” and her true past is forgotten.
The movie takes place in the ‘90s, which brings older fashion trends and technology to the screen and characters we know today, like Fury and Coulson, are younger. Danvers, or “Vers” in the first half of the movie, struggles with the slower, less advanced technology on Earth. She also crash lands into a Blockbuster, which warranted chuckles from the audience.
The movie showcased more humor than was expected, showing the audience that Danvers is sassy and sarcastic, even in the most intense scenes. Being a superhero that has fun discovering her powers while successfully fighting her enemies makes it easy to like the character. Danvers is not the only one that offers comedic relief; Nick Fury (Jackson) and a cat named Goose made the audience laugh through most of the movie. In many scenes, the interactions between Fury and Goose stole the show. These breaks between the action packed scenes allows an audience to see Danvers as more than just a warrior.
While there were many negative comments spreading nationwide about the choice of Brie Larson portraying Danvers, Larson did not disappoint. For any movie, there is always a cluster of people that don’t like the acting, the dialogue or the scenery. Captain Marvel has stellar acting from a stacked cast, funny and sarcastic dialogue and stunning visuals.
Throughout the movie the Kree, Danvers and Fury are dealing with Skrulls, shapeshifters that can take on the physical attributes of any living person. Since these beings also acquire the memory of that person, Fury and Danvers exchange abstract memories a Skrull could never know. Larson and Jackson have excellent chemistry, and when they are on screen together, it is easy to believe that the relationship between Danvers and Fury would become more than a chance encounter.
After the first promotion for the movie, there was backlash towards Brie Larson as Danvers, stating that she never smiles, but this criticism is unjustified since every other superhero in the Marvel universe is presented as stoic and full of determination. In the movie, however, Danvers seems to smile more than any other stand-alone hero. Throughout the movie, Danvers is determined to succeed, but there are also times where she showcases her sassy personality.
From the beginning of the movie, Danvers is taught that emotions are a warriors enemy but has difficulty believing that. As she learns more about her past, she learns to harness her emotions rather than fight without them all together, which gives her something to fight for and makes her even more powerful.
The world that Danvers finds herself in is stunning and visually moving, but the Kree on Hala are taught to fight without emotion. It is not until she goes to Earth and figures out she once had a life there that she uses her emotions to her benefit. In order for viewers to understand her uncertainty of the life she used to have on Earth, the movie shows Danvers gradually moving from being comfortable in her Kree suit to later being comfortable in a world she used to know very well. While she possesses gifts beyond a normal human, much like the people who deceived her, she changes her suit to something more personal.
Larson gave a stellar performance giving depth to a character and making her audience believe that Danvers was a Kree that didn’t remember her past and later being a deceived human from Earth. Because of Larson’s portrayal, Danvers is a likeable character and a necessary hero moving forward in the Marvel universe.
The movie overall was enjoyable, funny and interesting from start to finish. It certainly deserves the praise that many critics offered and its place in the top box office. Captain Marvel created a compelling, fascinating character just in time to take on Thanos in Avengers: Endgame and save the world yet again.
