Brie Larson is Captain Marvel-ous!
- Dusty W. Fleischman
- Jun 14, 2019
- 3 min read
Directed by Anna Boden/Ryan Fleck
Cast: Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Jude Law, Annette Bening, Ben Mendelsohn, Djimon Hounsou, Clark Gregg, Gemma Chan, Lashanda Lynch, Lee Pace
Released: March 8, 2019
Box Office Gross: $1.128 Billion
Budget: $175 Million
The Marvel Cinematic Universe never fails to amaze. Their latest Blu-ray/DVD release is the box office hit, Captain Marvel. After sitting down and watching the film, I can understand why it was so successful. Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel is not one of the more well known or iconically popular Marvel mainstays, well that was until actress Brie Lawson brought the character off the pages of the comic book series and onto the big screen. Now, she is one of the most recognizable and popular characters in the Marvel Universe. She is also one of the most powerful. If there was a Marvel version of Supergirl, then it would be Carol Danvers.
A stubborn and gifted pilot for the USAF, Danvers volunteers to help her friend and mentor, Dr. Lawson fly an experimental aircraft designed with light speed capabilities. During a test flight they are attacked by an alien species and the craft is shot down. Danvers is hit by a wave of core power from the exploding engine and develops abilities that no other human possesses. She can fly, has super strength, and shoots streams of power from her hands. Add all that to her charming personality (I say that sarcasm) and you have a feisty heroine that everyone can love and admire.
Returning to Earth after six years, Danvers teams up with a young Nicholas Fury (the film takes place in 1996) to stop an alien invasion that will put an end to life on Earth. Isn’t that how the story always goes? Oh well, what follows is two hours of action, laughs, betrayal, reuniting of old friends, and of course an appearance by Stan Lee. The formula of the film follows closely to the other successful films in the MCU and despite the absence of the all the other main Avengers characters (with the exception of Fury) the film stands alone as one of the best that Marvel/Disney company has produced yet.
No doubt the highlight of the film is the performance from Brie Larson as Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel. The character is on a roller coaster ride of emotions as she struggles to control her powers and discover who she was before the aircraft crashed. Larson is witty, charming, beautiful, and tough as nails. The perfect recipe for a kick ass superhero. Her chemistry with co-star Samuel L. Jackson shined on the screen and created the perfect “buddy cop” type situation. Another great performance was by Ben Mendelsohn who plays Talos, the would-be villain. Once the creep factor has melted away, his character adds a great deal of humor and charisma to the story. Especially his fear of cats. As with all their films, MCU put together a great cast that created an epic film that will be fun to follow as it makes its way into the Avengers Universe and hopefully beyond.
I also have to give brownie points for the use of hits from the early to mid-90’s that include Nirvana, Hole, Garbage, Elastica, and No Doubt. I know that those of you out there who know me knows that I am more of an 80’s guy, but I did spend my teenage and young adult years in the 90’s so these songs are also a part of my life soundtrack and to have them play over the great action sequences in Captain Marvel literally gave me goosebumps.
After getting just a taste of what the Captain Marvel character is all about, I am anxious to see what the MCU filmmakers have in store for her next. I know she will play a part in the final installment of The Avengers series, Endgame, but I do hope that they continue on with her character in a series of sequels and possibly team her up with the remaining Avengers cast. I could see a lot of fun with a film teaming her up with Black Widow (hint, hint Disney). And after breaking box office records I do believe we will see more of Miss Danvers in the future.
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