“The Marvels” is an excellent example of why it’s generally best to actually watch a film before jumping to conclusions about its quality.
It feels like this sequel to 2019’s “Captain Marvel,” hitting theaters Friday, got nitpicked to death before there was enough concrete information available about what the latest Marvel Cinematic Universe film had up its sleeve. To be fair, there were plenty of red flags in the form of release date delays, lengthy reshoots and a recent report that director Nia DaCosta began working on another project while “The Marvels” was still in postproduction.
Starring: Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, Iman Vellani, Zawe Ashton, Samuel L. Jackson.
Rating: PG-13 for action/violence and brief language.
There are definitely elements of “The Marvels” that feel like they were cobbled together at the last minute to make its story even vaguely intelligible. It’s also lore-heavy to the point that at least some parts likely won’t land as hard for viewers who aren’t caught up with certain MCU films and shows.
And yet, I had a great time. Go figure!
Brie Larson is back as Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel, the ultra-powerful superhero and longtime friend of original Avengers architect Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). She’s quickly tasked with stopping a looming cosmic crisis masterminded by Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton), a Kree warrior restoring her dying planet to its former glory by stealing resources from other worlds.
Captain Marvel is accompanied on this outer space adventure by fellow energy manipulators Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), the daughter of Carol’s late friend, Maria Rambeau (Lashana Lynch), and Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani), a teenage Captain Marvel fangirl with a magical bangle that Dar-Benn thinks is the key to completing her mission.
Don’t worry, cat lovers: Goose the flerken also returns to the fold in a highly amusing way.
The first third of “The Marvels” is a rough exercise in exposition dumping, an unfortunate necessity when your film stars characters like Monica and Kamala who were first introduced in Disney+ shows. They’re integrated into the film’s plot fairly seamlessly, but the amount of time it takes before the action truly gets going may bore MCU veterans and leave more casual fans scrambling to catch up.
Despite Marvel’s best efforts, the film’s story doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Dar-Benn is a reasonably layered villain in terms of her goals and the pain she’s willing to inflict on other species to achieve them. It’s still not particularly difficult to poke holes in her overall plan, and it’s never made totally clear throughout “The Marvels” what she believed obtaining Kamala’s bangle would help her accomplish that she couldn’t already do herself.
Even at its most narratively incoherent, “The Marvels” manages to recapture the sense of pure fun that has been largely missing from the MCU post-”Avengers: Endgame.” It’s significantly shorter than the MCU’s last few big-screen offerings and moves at a propulsive pace from the time Carol, Monica and Kamala formally join forces. Their collective chemistry is always entertaining and helps the film stay grounded and zippy.
The trio end up together after Dar-Benn’s shenanigans inadvertently result in their light-based powers becoming entangled. That seemed like a potentially annoying plot point when it was revealed in the film’s first trailer but ultimately inspired a delightful training montage and some clever fight sequences deftly orchestrated by DaCosta and expertly stitched together by editors Catrin Hedström and Evan Schiff.
A lot has been made about how Marvel’s rushed production schedules have begun to yield movies and shows with increasingly poor special effects. While there are definitely a few instances of rough CGI in “The Marvels,” nothing is as distracting as the visuals that caused many viewers to recoil earlier this year during “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.”
This film’s greatest strength is its willingness to take big swings. Whether they work or not will likely depend on filmgoers’ affinity for unabashed wackiness and, in a surprising twist, musicals. Either way, they’re so weird and aesthetically striking that one can’t help but, well, marvel at their audaciousness.
Larson feels way more comfortable as Carol Danvers than she did in “Captain Marvel.” She’s better attuned to the MCU’s sense of humor now, and some of the rough edges from her previous solo outing have been sanded down into a more well-rounded character. There’s a palpable guilt and maternal instinct Larson communicates regarding Monica, whom Parris clearly relished adding dimensions to after only scratching the surface in “WandaVision.”
Vellani consistently steals scenes thanks to the comic timing and authentic adolescent wonder she has been displaying since “Ms. Marvel.” Zenobia Shroff, Mohan Kapur and Saagar Shaikh warm hearts and elicit laughs while reprising their “Ms. Marvel” roles as the Khan family. Ashton is yet another fine but forgettable Marvel villain, while Jackson seems more lively here than during all six episodes of “Secret Invasion” combined.
In case you were worried that more Goose would produce diminishing returns, fear not: Everyone’s favorite tentacle monster remains just as adorable, lovable and horrifying as ever.
“The Marvels” is a structurally disjointed superhero film requiring a level of homework that may potentially alienate a portion of its intended audience. Still, it’s a charming team-up flick infused with enough genuine wit and admirably insane creative choices to warrant a full-throated recommendation.
Oh, and PSA for MCU diehards: You’re probably going to really dig this film’s ending tag and mid-credits scene. Just saying!
Joshua Axelrod: jaxelrod@post-gazette.com and Twitter @jaxelburgh.
First Published: November 10, 2023, 10:30 a.m.
Updated: November 11, 2023, 12:54 a.m.
