Marvel Studio’s latest superhero movie was released in theaters last weekend, and the two of us were lucky enough to be a part of the $455 billion global box-office ticket haul Captain Marvel pulled in during it’s opening weekend — a very small part, but a part nonetheless. This marks the 7th Marvel movie we’ve been able to see together in theaters (holy mackerel, that’s more than originally expected before counting), and we’re fully on board with seeing whatever Marvel puts out at this point. Seeing as this blog is run by both of us, and we do enjoy chatting together about movies we love, we thought it’d be fun to create our own super team-up in a post sharing our collective thoughts on the newest superhero flick.
Oh, and if you’re curious what a Mardney is, well.. MARk + syDNEY.
The conversation below will NOT be spoiler-free, so if you haven’t yet watched Captain Marvel, why don’t you go ahead and do that first. If you’ve already seen the movie, though, or are searching for some convincing opinions as to whether or not you should, read on!
And since Captain Marvel marks the first time a Marvel movie has focused on a female superhero, we’ll let mushakian.com’s own female superhero start us off…
Sydney: I have always had a huge love for Brie Larson, ever since I saw her amazing performance in Short Term 12. So, I was already super stoked to see her kick butt as Captain Marvel (and kick even MORE SERIOUS butt in Avengers: Endgame). She’s just so cool, man. I know that most women think Wonder Woman is the best female superhero, but honestly, Diana ain’t got nothin’ on Carol.
Anyway, enough gushing. My favorite thing about the movie was the dynamic between Carol and Fury. If there was a spin-off “buddy cop” type movie with the two of them, I would be first in line to see it.
Mark: I’d be second in line 🙂 I haven’t seen Short Term 12, yet, so I guess that’s another title to add to our ever-growing list of movies to see. The first time I was aware of Brie Larson in a movie (Scott Pilgrim vs the World and 13 Going on 30 don’t count) was in 21 Jump Street, and she was absolutely adorable and so darn endearing. Then came Room and — dang, that was rough. But she performed wonderfully in that heavy role, so when she was announced as the newest Marvel-movie superhero, I was fully on board.
By the way, that announcement came just before Sydney and I even met! We’ve all been collectively waiting on Brie and this movie since 2016, and I’m glad to say that it knocked my expectations outta the park 🙂
It seems inevitable that Wonder Woman comes up in conversations about Captain Marvel, given that these are the two female-led superhero movies we have right now. A lot of folks enjoy the aforementioned DC title (I did not), but I think there are actually two different comparisons to be made between them: the movies on a whole or the characters themselves. If I look at these two titular characters, I think they’re both really great in their own way; each carries a quiet strength into each scene, Wonder Woman with an extra dash of sweetness and hope, Ms. Marvel with an equal amount of compassion and leadership. Each of these characters really feel the struggles they’re in, Wonder Woman dealing with the horrors of war and human failings, Ms. Marvel with identity crisis and standing up to imposed limitations. As characters, I think they’re both fantastic — and women that any kid could be proud to look up to 🙂
On the movie side of things, while I’m slightly biased in that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has me fully enraptured, I do think that Captain is simply the better movie. We’ll chat more about the specifics below, but if I’m looking at the stories told, the filmmaking at play, and the simple enjoyment of watching, Wonder Woman can’t compare.
One aspect of these two movies that immediately stood out to me is the differences in how they present their female lead. Wonder Woman was on TV a couple of nights before we saw Captain Marvel, and it made for a nice, immediate side-by-side. Gal Gadot is a stunningly attractive person, and in Wonder Woman, this physical quality of the performer is not at all lost as Diana fights and moves through the movie in her scant apparel. Granted, the Wonder Woman costume has always been very leggy in comics and TV, and it’s far from obscene in this movie, but Gadot’s physical appeal is always very evident to the viewer. Captain Marvel‘s Carol Danvers, however, isn’t portrayed as obviously sexual in the movie — her costume isn’t revealing, there is no romantic storyline, and the actress’s natural good looks aren’t played up. There is nothing inherently wrong with any of those things, nor with a female being presented as very alluring (Marvel does that aplenty with its collective cast of great-looking men and women in their other movies), but it was simply refreshing to see that Captain Marvel wasn’t cast in such a light.
Boy, I didn’t mean to speak so much about another movie in the midst of our Captain Marvel review, but it seems to be a pretty prevalent conversation elsewhere, so I thought it pertinent enough to mention… and I feel it’s one of Captain‘s great strengths.
So, Sydney, what in particular makes the, as you say, “kick-butt” character of Captain Marvel so cool in your book?
Sydney: It’s her personality. I grew up on more of the tomboy side of the spectrum (having a brother two years younger than me made me turn away from typically girly things), and my parents were really into rock music (my mom thought of herself as a “grunge chick” — think back to the scene where Carol steals the clothes from the mannequin), so a lot of that really influenced my own personality.
I never expected a superhero to be so cool. She loves rock music, has a great and hilarious wit, but is also compassionate and knows the right thing to do. She’s the perfect superhero that girls today need (and I wish I knew about her when I was a kid — it would have been awesome to have her as my hero).
And Mark, I totally agree with you about Captain Marvel not being portrayed as sexy. It absolutely was refreshing, and it makes the case for her being the perfect female superhero even more convincing. The movie put more focus on her power and accomplishments than on her looks and feminine appeal. Also, HOORAY! No romantic storyline for a female main character!!!
One of my second favorite things about the movie is the soundtrack. I love 90s music (which is, of course, influenced by my parents as previously mentioned), and when “Waterfalls” by TLC started playing as Carol and Fury were driving to the secret Project Pegasus base I got super excited. The best moment, however, was when “Just A Girl” by No Doubt played as Carol beat the crap out of the bad dudes. It was a perfect Girl Power scene – and it hit me right in my heart.
Mark: Describing Carol as a witty lover of rock makes me think that she and Tony Stark could be pretty good friends. I think you and her were a lot more tomboy than I was growing up… but that’s not much of a surprise to anyone who knows me 🙂
I actually went into this movie with only medium expectations, but by the end I was in full-on giddy territory. For the sake of brevity, I’ll go through exactly why in a list of my favorite bits:
- Injecting Stan Lee into the opening Marvel title sequence is a really sweet tribute — as is his later cameo and the simple smile he and Carol share.
- Starting Carol off brainwashed by the Kree and with a fragmented memory make this yet another fresh take on the superhero origin story by Marvel, and as secrets are revealed to both her and the audience, it’s a roller-coaster of emotions.
- Mainly, though, this movie is darn fun. Once Carol lands on Earth, my viewing partner was LOL’ing pretty frequently… and I did, too. As mentioned, Carol and Fury’s camaraderie was an absolute blast — the role reversal of Fury not being the one with the answers made him all the richer as a character, and it was great seeing him experience such an out-there world of bodysnatcher-like aliens and galactic wars. And Flerkens… he definitely had one heck of an eye-opening experience learning about those 😉
- I either love the idea of how Fury actually lost his eye or it seems like a disappointing throwaway gag. Depending on when you ask me, the opinion changes by the minute — but it is increasingly staying in the love category.
- Freakin’ digital de-aging is amazing! I had to actually remind myself throughout the movie that every frame of Samuel L. Jackson has been altered, and that he didn’t somehow find the fountain of youth. I was really impressed when Marvel previously did the same thing with Robert Downey, Jr. and Michael Douglas, but now we’re in near-seamless territory.
- The quick cat-and-mouse chase in the Pegasus archives with the motion-activated lights is a really fun and clever bit that I very much appreciated.
- The Skrulls browsing through a captured Carol’s memories by fast-forwarding, repeating, and zooming in, is such a subtly trippy way to show what could’ve been a simple and dull thing.
- Speaking of Skrulls, I think one of the most poignant lines in the movie comes from the Skrull leader, Talos. As a horrified Carol reels from the realization that she’s been on the wrong side, Talos comforts her with the line that he also has plenty of blood on his hands in this war. It could have easily been a switcheroo (the technical term) of who we think are the good/bad guys, but I really enjoy the gray area in this.
- There is no gray in how fantastically exciting it is to watch Carol use her powers, though! Her entire arc of growing beyond imposed limitations makes for a really exhilarating visual display once Carol is able to just let loose. In other Marvel movies, watching someone like Hawkeye or even Captain America in a fight offers times when they seem worn out or hurt. Once her powers are at max-levels, Carol never gives off that impression, though, and it isn’t for a lack of action — she punches her way through planet-destroying missiles, while flying through space mind you, and the effortlessness of it all really sells just how darn powerful she is.
- What really sells Carol, though, is her character. She stands up for the innocent Skrull families, she is great with her friend’s daughter, she can admit her mistakes, and the budding trust and friendship that she and Fury share is wonderful.
- Our realization that these powers of hers come from an infinity stone is such an exciting reveal, if only for the potential it has in this Marvel movie universe. There are plenty of callbacks to the other movies, as well, and none of them felt rushed or unnecessary. By the time Fury names his new initiative plan after Carol’s call-sign, “Avenger,” my face was plastered with a smile of complete satisfaction.
- The most powerful moment of the movie, for me, is when Carol stands up. It was a moment teased in the film’s trailer, and I’d honestly imagined that it was just a cool trailer-specific edit — but the dramatic weight of Carol rising up, as she has since she was a little girl, carries such an emotional heft to her story, to the overall Marvel universe, and to the beauty of the human experience. I didn’t full-on cry, but boy were my eyes damp and my heart bursting!
I’ll cut myself off before I talk about every scene in the movie, and just say that I am an absolute fan — both of this movie and of Carol Danvers. I’ll let my beautiful bride-to-be have the final word on this story, because as much as I enjoyed it and the story touched me, ultimately it meant even more to Sydney. I can’t wait to see more of Carol in future movies, and for now I’ll wrap up by borrowing a line from the god of thunder: “Bring… me… THANOS!”
Sydney: Thank you, Marvel, for giving us such an inspiring character, and for giving me a superhero that I can finally relate to and someone whom I want to be my best friend 😉
Mardney Score: 6 out of 5 Flerkens! (one Flerken ate another, so it gets a bonus point)
