Pick of the Brown Bag
June 14, 2023
by
Ray Tate
This week, I take you on a mostly spoiler-free voyage of the latest Captain Marvel film: The Marvels.
Truth be told. I saw The Marvels in standard.
It's just a cool poster.
You may be thinking: well, The Marvels is not really a Captain Marvel film since it's also graced with Iman Vellani's Kamala Khan alias Ms. Marvel and Teyonah Parris' Monica Rambeau...
...as well as a certain Samuel L. Jackson portraying you know who.
Yeah. That means you really haven't been paying attention. Else, you would know that this isn't really the second Captain Marvel film. It's the third.
Avengers: Endgame
Marvel Comics films are frequently ensemble flicks because the Marvel cinematic multiverse...
Iron Man Two or Black Widow One. You decide.
...is actually more cohesive than DC's cinematic multiverse. That's ironic, if you read comic books.
Superhero entanglement feeds into the reason for The Marvels assembly. The theme also cuts a lot of needless padding. For example, Nick Fury doesn't really need to explain how he knows where Kamala Khan lives. He's Nick Fury, Director of SHIELD.
However, for those who came late to the multiverse, Marvels briefly covers Ms. Marvel's origins and oddly enough Captain Marvel's origins. The latter in flashback.
I would have thought it more likely that some might not know Monica Rambeau's power source. She evolves in WandaVision.
Parris summarizes what happened only in dialogue. If you didn't watch WandaVision, you can be forgiven for not understanding the lip service. On the other hand, you can also say to yourself. Hey, it's a new super-powered lady and watch with no real dent in your enjoyment.
Monica Rambeau comes into her own as a superhero in Marvels. She has grown in depth since WandaVision. Her relationship with her Aunt Carol and her deceased mother is what's important.
If you spent time with Disney stream series Secret Invasion and Ms. Marvel, you'll get more out of the film. Not because of plot points. You'll just better absorb the richness of character development in Nick Fury, Kamala Khan and her family.
As established in Ms. Marvel, Kamala's grandmother gifted her a bracelet. The bracelet triggered her abilities and allowed her to control them to a greater degree. Kamala's powers mimic the hard light constructs of a Green Lantern's ring.
The bracelet and its mate serve as the catalyst for The Marvels. They bring the band together. They're greedily sought for by Kree villain Dar-Ben.
The bracelets are the problem and the solution to most of the questions raised by a well-written science fiction plot. They also cleverly allude to the nega-bands that allowed Rick Jones and the original Captain Mar-Vel to switch places.
With a few exceptions, the Kree are basically shitty versions of Superman. Kree Warriors display remarkably homogenous superiority complexes because they possess a greater toughness, stamina and strength over ordinary aliens.
The Lady Sif already bested one in Agents of SHIELD. In that same episode human SHIELD agent Mockingbird fought the Kree invader to an impressive standstill.
Captain Marvel, of course, smacked down a whole slew of them. The Kree rationalize that by ostracizing Carol Danvers, dismissing her and fearing her at the same time. She's dubbed the Annihilator.
In The Marvels, the planet of the Kree, Hala, is dying. It's only that passing semblance to Kryptonians that saves the species from expiring with it. Dar-Ben has a plan to save Hala and the Kree. It's a half-assed plan. One that makes perfect sense given the Kree mind-set.
Dar-Ben also has an ulterior motive. Her reasoning mirrors Darth Vader's petty revenge against Han Solo in The Empire Strikes Back. She and Captain Marvel go back aways, from Dar-Ben's perspective.
It seems that Carol unwittingly abased her. Carol on the other hand doesn't really know who Dar-Ben is. That slight is enough for Dar-Ben to attack all that Carol holds dear. Dar-Ben however is a tragedy rather than a personal genuine threat.
Dar-Ben emerges as a wannabe grandiose villain, but she actually can't muster that kind of presence. She only seems tough because Captain Marvel is holding back a helluva lot. It's apparent through the movie.
The fact is that Carol could have simply cut off Dar-Ben's hand or arm that holds the McGuffin of power, but Captain Marvel doesn't do that. She's not that kind of person. All three heroes wind up fighting Dar-Ben simultaneously.
The fights presented in The Marvels are some of the best. They're athletic and short, depending on wirework and the actresses' and/or stunt people's battle training more than CGI. The minds behind the movie furthermore seamlessly blend in the switching of the combatants without losing the momentum of the skirmishes. This was not an easy movie to make, and yet everybody behind it makes it look effortless.
That kind of natural flow can be seen in the performances of all involved. This movie actually plays like episode seven or so in a Captain Marvel series starring Brie Larson. The agency she imbues to the Captain, her interplay with Nick Fury, even her relationship with Goose the Flerkin, which happens to look like a cat, is so practiced that Larson persuades you to believe that Captain Marvel has been pursing a life ever since she left the stage of Avengers Endgame. In other words, Carol's existence didn't stop when the movie ended. Her life ran parallel to all the movies and stream series that came after.
The movie in fact explicitly states that Captain Marvel is a known quantity throughout the galaxy, perhaps beyond.
Given my disdain for the particular genre the film dovetails into, I should despise these scenes.
These moments clearly happened to be on whatever creator's checklist for making an alien species. I should have really hated these instances, but I didn't.
Larson as Captain Marvel is simply too convincing not to take everything in what should be a nauseating action at face value.
I'm aware of the online hate bubbling around The Marvels. I suspect it's got more to do with a potent black Captain Marvel character and a Pakistani-American Ms. Marvel joining Brie Larson. All three powerful women portrayed by accomplished actresses. With the Captain demonstrating once again why she may be the most powerful superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Well, to the haters...
...I don't get you. I never have. The Marvels is a blast of fun.
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