Rating: 3.25 of 5  

I’m a bit disappointed because I wanted to like Captain Marvel more, despite my reservations.

The trailers weren’t great. Very little story and even less personality. But I still hoped the movie would deliver.

I should have known better.

It’s not a bad movie. It’s just…bland. It’s not exciting. It’s not fun or funny. The movie has as little personality as the trailers.

It looks cool in parts – when she’s all on fire (but without the lame helmet) and the way her memories flicker through the scenes. It’s quippy (but not in a way that made me laugh). It’s got some great 90s jokes (ok, two but they really are THAT good).

But it’s lacking any sort of energy, which is the downfall of the whole thing.

Brie Larson is entirely too placid. I liked her in Kong, but she can’t carry a movie. She’s not even working with an entirely good, straight-laced character to hold her back the way Chris Evans was with Captain America. And yet he brought personality to the character and made it interesting (even fun) to watch (I mean, he’s not Tony Stark but he’s kind of the heart of the Avengers for a reason).

If Captain Marvel was surrounded by particularly dynamic, funny or interesting secondary characters it would have breathed some life into the movie. But she’s not. The music also doesn’t bring any sort of vitality or great energy (which music has the power to do really well). It’s all female rock stars of the 90s (except for one Nirvana song). Which I get. But also, I was never a fan of 90s chic rock so I don’t actually like any of the songs. The action is fast and strong, but sometimes a little blurry, and not overly exciting.
It certainly doesn’t rev the movie up.

And not to get too nit-picky but there’s some shots in the first act that are vague and boring and kind of useless. Enough that I noticed them and thought they were pointless.

One thing it does really well, though, is tie into the larger Marvel Universe. There’s history and connections in this movie that play into a few things really well. It’s amusing in it’s own way.

The thing is, over all it’s disappointing because it had the potential to be really good. Carol’s emotional trajectory technically is rife with depth and angst and hope. It could have been a movie with great, subtle, heart with a different a lead actress. Vibrant and fun with a few good secondary characters. And sharp and beautiful with a more experienced director. Instead it was all just kind of ok…

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See how Captain Marvel ranks with the other Marvel movies.