Captain Marvel

Going in: I have avoided every review I can but unfortunately, the headlines started slinging hints that it was only mediocre. I'm really hoping not. In retrospect, I even wasn't expecting another Wonder Woman. I just wanted to see how they put this together.

Popcorn: 8/10. This movie was an absolute blast. There's a lot of fun moments and it was just completely enjoyable. I saw it in IMAX 2D and I'm not sure it was worth the extra price. When it comes out, I'll probably buy it right away. It wasn't as funny as Thor: Ragnorak but it had a lot of strong moments. Oh, and the opening titles/logo? Worth seeing. My friend Jason and I hope that it they keep that in the home release. There's no reason they would change it but it was pretty moving.

Art: 8.5/10. Thoroughly enjoyable, great acting, impressive CGI and set design, and a lot of fun. Strangely enough, story was the weakest part of this film. But there's plenty to enjoy.

Acting: 6/6. This has a powerhouse of actors: Sam Jackson, Brie Larson, Ben Mendelsohn. And none of them disappoint. And man it was great seeing Clark Gregg again. I didn't like the rookie version of Agent Coulson but it was still a treat. Strangely enough, Larson was the weakest of the three main characters, but I think had more to do with her character.

Music: 3/4. The music carries the story pretty well. There's a lot of soundtracking in the background and not much of a reliance on orchestration which alwasys bums me out a bit but it was still a major asset.

Filming: 3/4. This film had a ton of CGI so the camera work was a little artificial. They had some interesting camera work though but I wouldn't consider it "amazing". Even the beauty of some of the scenery was overshadowed by the CGI.

Art Dept: 4/4. Have I mentioned the CGI? Oh I have? Not enough. The obvious is the action scenes with Captain Marvel. But the de-aging is pretty amazing and it's used a lotress. This was perfected through other movies but they made it shine here. And for a movie in the 90s, there's a lot of pop-culture reference in great spots. Nice little nods, particularly in the beginning.

Editing: 3/4. This was pretty good. There's a lot of word around the busy editing but I didn't notice. I wish that it would have been a little more noticeable but there wasn't anything that made me go "Oh, that was the editor".

Story: 5/8. Strangely, this is the weakest part of the Marvel film (the studio, not the character). There was an obvious attempt to make things relevant but it just fell short. I have theories about this that I address this in the black box. The characters were great and the story was enjoyable but it didn't have much substance.

Directing: 4/6. Everything still fits together for the most part. At the same time, it felt like two people at the helm (I mean there were literally two directors but you could tell). But I really enjoyed - more of the popcorn value than the art.

Production: 4/4. Despite my misgivings about the story, we need more films like this. This was still really well done.

Orthodox thoughts (major spoilers):

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So, I'm going to push aside theological discussions but focus on the story problems. I had two big problems with the story. The first is coincidence. Vers just happened to have a Kree as her mentor. She just happened to have that last flight. On and on. There's a lot of coincidence in this film and it's not driven by the choices of the main character or antagonist, but more of a reaction to fate.

The other problem is in the main character. There are a lot of things I liked. Carol Danvers is driven, her own person, not envisioned by a 12-year old male fantasy. The best line is at the end. Throughout the movie, she's constantly challenged to fight without her powers. At the very end, her mentor tries to get her to do this when they're about to have their big showdown. She just blasts him and says the best line in the movie: I don't need to prove anything to you.

But the character doesn't lose anything. There's no sacrifice to be made. The best characters go through some sense of loss. I think that's why Ben Mendelsohn's character was more compelling. Captain Marvel didn't go through that.

And I think Marvel Studios could have done better. There's been a lot of negative feedback about my thoughts on this. I've talked with people, rewritten, and rewritten again. This opinion, which is neither right or wrong (it is simply my opinion), is informed by my hobby as a writer, the hundreds of movies I've watched throughout my lifetime, and living as a non-typical male in the 80s. I'm not speaking as a minority group. I'm speaking as a writer who has seen Captain Marvel and evaluated the story from that perspective.

There are essentially three different types of representation. The first is misrepresentation where characteristics and traits of a class of people are exploited, ridiculed, or in some way offensive. Sometimes this is intentional to bring awareness, but most of the time not. The first but probably not best example I think of is Malvin from Wargames with his thick glasses, high-pitched voice, and pocket protector. Or the entire Revenge of the Nerds franchise. These people are portrayed this way to get a laugh and when the majority experience this character in real life, they do the same. They laugh, ridicule, and ostracize. Or consider Birth of the Nation (1915), probably the most dangerous movie out there in which black people are horrifically characterized.

The second type is physical representation where the character shows up on screen as a character that's equal to the other characters. It is a middle of the road response. I couldn't think of anything from nerd culture but when I reflect on Lethal Weapon, Murtog (who was black) could have been any race. Or consider any character who off handedly mentions "I'm Jewish." That doesn't delegitamize the representation; it brings groups of people up to the same level. But it's not the best kind of representation.

The final, and I believe best kind of representation, is full representation where not only is the character the same as the other characters, but their differences bring a major contribution to the story. WarGames doesn't exist without David Lightman as a nerdy computer hacker. Black Panther can't be anything other than African culture because of the position of Wakanda and its access to Vibranium in conjuction with the oppression black people have suffered all over the world. Ron Stallworth has to be black in order for BlackKklansman to work. Full representation empowers a group of people by celebrating the differences.

In these definitions, Captain Marvel is physical representation done well. But, in the aftermath of the #MeToo movement, the toppling of high power figures within Hollywood, and the stunning representation of Black culture with Marvel Studio's Black Panther, I expected Captain Marvel to be a full representation movie and it didn't come across that way to me.

It's a great movie and I had a lot of fun watching it with friends. There's no misrepresentation. I was just disappointed it wasn't a full representation movie.