ReelBob: ‘Captain Marvel’ ★★★

By Bob Bloom

The first few minutes of “Captain Marvel” are confusing, as we find ourselves in the midst of the fragmented dreams of Vers, a Kree warrior on the planet Hala.

But as the movie pushes forward, what we saw at the outset becomes clearer for us and our hero — who actually is former United States Air Force fighter pilot Carol Danvers.

“Captain Marvel,” set in the mid-1990s, is not the best offering from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It’s like an old car on a freezing, winter day. It sputters when you start it, but gradually warms up and hits on all cylinders.

The Kree are battling a race called the Skrull, and during one encounter, Vers is captured. The Skrull probe her mind to find something that is important to them.

But Vers escapes and winds up on Earth, where she causes quite a stir, which brings her to the attention of S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Nick Fury.

“Captain Marvel” is not so much an origin story as it is a mental odyssey, as Danvers seeks answers to who she really is and how she became who she is now.

Like the majority of movies in the MCU, “Captain Marvel” blends action and humor.

Directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, who also cowrote the script with Geneva Robertson-Dworet, have fun with the time period, tossing in such cultural artifacts as a Blockbuster Video and a Radio Shack. Plus, the soundtrack is loaded with 1990s girl-band rock tunes.

“Captain Marvel,” admittedly, is uneven. At times, it stops dead in its tracks so a character can offer some — mostly unnecessary or redundant — exposition.

It’s neither the story nor the action that carries the movie; it’s mostly the repartee, especially the back-and-forth between Brie Larson’s Danvers and a digitally-de-aged Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson).

At first skeptical of Danvers’ claims of being from another planet that is battling shape-shifting aliens, Fury becomes a true believer after his own close encounter.

One of “Captain Marvel’s” drawbacks is, ironically, Larson. Whether it is by script design or her own acting choices, the Oscar-winning Larson fails to give her character the personality and spark needed for us to embrace this newest superhero.

At times, it feels as if she is foundering, unsure of how to project her character. And that indecision is relayed to the audience. You feel Larson grasping for something tangible to grab onto in her portrayal and seemingly unable to get a firm grip.

Captain Marvel is different from other Marvel heroes not because she is a woman, but because her backstory and her persona seems more complex than, say, Captain America, whose sole purpose is driven by a singular moral code, or Tony Stark, who is mostly driven by his over-inflated ego.

Another problem plaguing “Captain Marvel” is the perception of the Kree and Skrulls the filmmakers foist on viewers. Sure, the shifting alliances and betrayals work as plot points, but people familiar with the various storylines that run through the MCU know who’s who and what’s what, thus deflating supposedly surprising twists in the scenario.

The cast also includes Jude Law as Yon-Rogg, Danvers’ Kree commander and mentor, Ben Mendelsohn as Talos, the Skrull leader and a bored-looking Annette Bening as Danvers’ inspirational mother figure.

Smartly, the movie does not attempt any feminist politics, allowing the actions and abilities of Danvers — who, by the way, is never called Captain Marvel — to speak for themselves.

“Captain Marvel” is saddled with a convoluted plot and uneven pacing, but that is balanced by strong effects, solid repartee and a dynamite soundtrack.

It may not be in the top echelon of Marvel movies, but it soars when needed and gives you a hero — who saves a people and a planet — for whom you can cheer. Also, hang around for the end credits — you won’t be disappointed.

I am a founding member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My reviews appear at ReelBob (reelbob.com) and Rottentomatoes (www.rottentomatoes.com). I also review Blu-rays and DVDs. I can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com or on Twitter @ReelBobBloom. Links to my reviews can be found on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

CAPTAIN MARVEL
3 stars out of 4
(PG-13), science fiction action and violence, language