The Marvels (2023)
There is no denying that Phase Five of the MCU has been quite disastrous. Plagued with a disappointing reception to the content on screen and plenty of developing problems behind the screen, what was supposed to be a substantial step towards the next grand conclusion for the universe has become a lackluster dud. The phase continues with The Marvels. Directed by Nia DaCosta, the film serves as the sequel both for 2019's Captain Marvel and 2022's Ms. Marvel with Carol Danvers (Brie Larson), Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani), and Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) finding themselves mysteriously connected and at the center of villainous plot for destruction and revenge.
It is without a doubt that The Marvels suffers from the messy nature that has defined much of the MCU up to this point. Scattering small bits of stories between various films and Disney+ series, the film is tasked with both introducing and continuing the individual plots and positions of its three main characters in a way that will feel both rewarding to those who have seen their individual projects and like enough to help those who haven't understood. Even if one was to have watched Captain Marvel, WandaVision, and Ms. Marvel, there is work to be done in setting up The Marvels as Captain Marvel's time between her original titular feature and now in the Universe has yet to have been truly explored or understood. While, thankfully, The Marvels largely takes a step back from the connected plots weaving together to create The Multiverse Saga, this is still a dense film to comprehend.
Especially in the first act, this weakness is on full display as the film rapidly jumps perspectives and styles to get all of its characters together and on the same page. Luckily, the narrative does begin to uncurl itself and this chaos does die down eventually. When the film becomes more focused, the center conflict surrounds Dar-Benn, played by Zawe Ashton. Dar-Benn is a Kree warrior who is set on destroying the planets that mean the most to Captain Marvel in order to give life back to her planet, Hala. Once a thriving society, Hala has turned into a dystopian home where the sun is dying, the air has ran out, and the oceans have dried; a fate convolutedly blamed on Captain Marvel's destruction of the Supreme Intelligence that once ran the society.
On paper, it seems like this is a conflict that could produce some real weight and questions of morality. In her attempts to find justice, Captain Marvel has created a world of suffering and pain. While these individuals lash out and cause harm to millions of innocent people for revenge, they also do it to survive. The line between good and evil gets blurred here in a way that could create something genuinely interesting. Sadly, the film is never able to truly have this conversation. This conflict is set up in such a confused and lackluster way that these angles never truly feel present within the film's runtime itself and the grand conclusion comes out of nowhere with no true sense of gravitas or weight. Ironically, if there was a story in the MCU that feels like it could have been benefited by an episodic delivery where each episode could truly devote itself to a certain time and perspective to create a clear organization of a complex narrative, it is this one. Rather than having the story in this layout, however, it is crammed into a 105-minute runtime.
While the narrative weight of The Marvels ends up feeling rather underwhelming, its comedy stands tall. Especially in their cinematic outings, it has been far too long since the MCU has felt as fun as it does in The Marvels. The film actually embraces personality and charisma to build an enjoyable viewing experience with multiple standout comedic sequences including one of the funniest MCU segments to date set to Memory from Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats.
The biggest positive for the film, however, is its cast. One of the strongest ensembles of any MCU feature in recent memory, the cast has a charm and chemistry rarely seen in the franchise anymore. While Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, and Teyonah Parris are proven commodities, it is Iman Vellani who steals the show with her debut feature performance. Vellani brings such a natural and personable energy to the screen as she not only fangirls over her involvement in a Captain Marvel mission, but also must step up and carry these stakes for the first time. While the build to a Young Avengers MCU project has seemed obvious, Vellan's performance here is the best sign for potential and promise for that eventuality.
Overall, The Marvels might still carry the mess and underwhelming emotional punch of the recent MCU releases, but undeniably brings the fun to provide an overall enjoyable MCU feature that harkens back to some of the enjoyment found in the earlier films in the franchise. While it is hard to say the film is a great step forward in the slow crawl of the connected Multiverse Saga, it will remain one of the more inoffensive and passable features of the time.
It is without a doubt that The Marvels suffers from the messy nature that has defined much of the MCU up to this point. Scattering small bits of stories between various films and Disney+ series, the film is tasked with both introducing and continuing the individual plots and positions of its three main characters in a way that will feel both rewarding to those who have seen their individual projects and like enough to help those who haven't understood. Even if one was to have watched Captain Marvel, WandaVision, and Ms. Marvel, there is work to be done in setting up The Marvels as Captain Marvel's time between her original titular feature and now in the Universe has yet to have been truly explored or understood. While, thankfully, The Marvels largely takes a step back from the connected plots weaving together to create The Multiverse Saga, this is still a dense film to comprehend.
Especially in the first act, this weakness is on full display as the film rapidly jumps perspectives and styles to get all of its characters together and on the same page. Luckily, the narrative does begin to uncurl itself and this chaos does die down eventually. When the film becomes more focused, the center conflict surrounds Dar-Benn, played by Zawe Ashton. Dar-Benn is a Kree warrior who is set on destroying the planets that mean the most to Captain Marvel in order to give life back to her planet, Hala. Once a thriving society, Hala has turned into a dystopian home where the sun is dying, the air has ran out, and the oceans have dried; a fate convolutedly blamed on Captain Marvel's destruction of the Supreme Intelligence that once ran the society.
On paper, it seems like this is a conflict that could produce some real weight and questions of morality. In her attempts to find justice, Captain Marvel has created a world of suffering and pain. While these individuals lash out and cause harm to millions of innocent people for revenge, they also do it to survive. The line between good and evil gets blurred here in a way that could create something genuinely interesting. Sadly, the film is never able to truly have this conversation. This conflict is set up in such a confused and lackluster way that these angles never truly feel present within the film's runtime itself and the grand conclusion comes out of nowhere with no true sense of gravitas or weight. Ironically, if there was a story in the MCU that feels like it could have been benefited by an episodic delivery where each episode could truly devote itself to a certain time and perspective to create a clear organization of a complex narrative, it is this one. Rather than having the story in this layout, however, it is crammed into a 105-minute runtime.
While the narrative weight of The Marvels ends up feeling rather underwhelming, its comedy stands tall. Especially in their cinematic outings, it has been far too long since the MCU has felt as fun as it does in The Marvels. The film actually embraces personality and charisma to build an enjoyable viewing experience with multiple standout comedic sequences including one of the funniest MCU segments to date set to Memory from Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats.
The biggest positive for the film, however, is its cast. One of the strongest ensembles of any MCU feature in recent memory, the cast has a charm and chemistry rarely seen in the franchise anymore. While Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, and Teyonah Parris are proven commodities, it is Iman Vellani who steals the show with her debut feature performance. Vellani brings such a natural and personable energy to the screen as she not only fangirls over her involvement in a Captain Marvel mission, but also must step up and carry these stakes for the first time. While the build to a Young Avengers MCU project has seemed obvious, Vellan's performance here is the best sign for potential and promise for that eventuality.
Overall, The Marvels might still carry the mess and underwhelming emotional punch of the recent MCU releases, but undeniably brings the fun to provide an overall enjoyable MCU feature that harkens back to some of the enjoyment found in the earlier films in the franchise. While it is hard to say the film is a great step forward in the slow crawl of the connected Multiverse Saga, it will remain one of the more inoffensive and passable features of the time.