Captain Marvel (2019) ★★★★

A strong performance from Brie Larson as Captain Marvel (aka Carol Danvers) elevates this screenplay several notches above what it should be. By all accounts, a 21st installment in this franchise should be wearing most of us thin. That said, though there are parts of this movie that feel quite stale, much of it works. A digitally de-aged Samuel L Jackson and a quirky cat piggy-back on Larson’s charisma and make for a pretty fun time at the theater, if nothing else. 

Late in the film, we do have some moments symptomatic of traditional Marvel shortcomings; in particular, a two-person fighter pilot chase through some canyons. These over-CGI’d story beats tend to run rampant in many of Marvel’s origin stories (Thor, Ultron, Black Panther) and often feel like a cheap way to magnify the scale of whatever is happening. I’ve come to accept this as a necessary evil in most cases. I just wish that in THIS case, we could’ve spent less time zipping though space and more time actually getting to know Carol Danvers.

Though certainly not in the Top 5 films in the MCU, Captain Marvel does a tidy enough job of establishing it’s first female lead character and acting as the next glowing stone to be placed in the MCU’s film gauntlet. 

Reviewed by Max Minardi. Full review on Fresh Hop Cinema Episode 117.