Deconstruction: Captain Marvel

Ah, Captain Marvel. If Marvel was going to have to nail a movie, it would have to be the one with their brand in the title. Superpowered Vers is training as a soldier for the advanced Kree civilization, hoping to make a difference and raring to kick some ass. She's still struggling with a half-remembered past when she's sent on her first mission into enemy territory. Inevitably things go not according to plan, sending her hurtling to a backwater world that seems more than a little familiar. Allying herself with a soon-to-be-famous S.H.I.E.L.D agent, Vers must track down the shape-changing Skrulls and unravel the secrets of her own identity in order to set everything right. Fantastic visuals, great characters, and a worthy plot, Marvel delivers in this newest installment. Continuing in its trademark balance of heart and humor, we also see helpings of Nineties nostalgia and a touching tribute to Stan Lee. I know the film's been out for some weeks already, but if you haven't seen it yet I'd advise not reading beyond this point: SPOILERS AHEAD. 


All right, on to some details of the movie. There's a lot to like here, and I actually have a hard time pointing to something I don't like. What struck me the most is that while Wonder Woman (2017) was widely hailed as some sort of feminist threshold moment, Captain Marvel seems to have borrowed its pros and by-and-large avoided its pitfalls. We have a female protagonist who sails largely under her own power and has varied examples of other female supporting characters. There's no forced love interest side plot. No one's putting people in skimpy outfits. And although there are some "defy the patriarchy" in her flashbacks, the movie does not get its drive from "girl power" and the color pink. Instead it dwells on the deeper themes of self-determination and self-empowerment, which just about everybody can relate to. It's a superhero movie that happens to have a female lead, not a "girl" movie that happens to be about superheroes.


Sociocultural norms aside, let's look at the movie itself. Lots of great characters, well-acted. We get more background on the badass that is Samuel Jackson's Nick Fury, and a lot more about the Kree. Before I was a little fuzzy on who/what were the Kree, only knowing the little about Ronan the Accuser being a destroyer-of-worlds sort of blue guy and that the shiny good guys of the Nova Corps didn't get along with them in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014). There's also a line or two about Yondu Udonta being a former Kree battle slave from Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (2017), and you pretty much know that if somebody's got "battle slaves" they sure as heck can't be good. But the opening does a pretty good job of concealing those hints, showing things from the Kree point of view. Which makes a lot of sense. Few villains imagine themselves as the villains, and if our protagonist is living and training with them it only makes sense that she also sees them as doing things for the right reasons. How can you not trust this culture that emphasizes discipline and protecting others and has Jude Law as the patient mentor? Of course there's a sprinkling of hints that this isn't all the utopia it's cracked up to be. A society that entirely focuses on it's military is either deeply autocratic or desperate, usually both. But it feels right at home for Vers, being a soldier in her former life.  


The turn about the Skrulls was unexpected enough that it worked for me. I didn't know anything about Skrulls ahead of time, which is good because it would have definitely spoiled that plot twist. Probably my favorite performance in the movie came from Ben Mendolsohn, the movie's Skrull leader Tanos. Although like the Kree he's totally driven on one goal, there's enough room for humor and flexibility that makes it believable that he can go from someone painted the villain to a workable ally. The way the story is told, it doesn't totally exonerate the Skrulls from whatever damage they've done, but it does put things in perspective and sheds their demonized status.

There's a lot more to unpack in this movie, but those were the main points that stuck out for me. Definitely recommend a rewatch, and am looking forward to the imminent conclusion of the Avengers Infinity War.

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