With Our Powers Combined: The Marvels (2023) Review

Director: Nia DaCosta

Notable Cast: Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, Iman Vellani, Zawe Ashton, Samuel L. Jackson, Gary Lewis, Zenobia Shroff, Mohan Kapur, Park Seo-jun, Lashana Lynch

 

Although I was overly optimistic about Captain Marvel initially, I’ve cooled quite a bit on the film since its release. The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has struggled to figure out how to use the character in any kind of exciting way outside of being a deus ex machina-esque plot device in Avengers: Endgame. Yet, the Disney-led Marvel machine seemed intent on creating more layers around the character by introducing two other Marvel-style characters, Monica Rambeau and Kamala Khan, introduced in the Disney+ Marvel series WandaVision and Ms. Marvel, respectively. 

 

Thus, powered by the synchronicity of the MCU, we are now delivered with Captain Marvel 2. Oh, I’m sorry, it’s called The Marvels and not Captain Marvel 2. A film where Ms. Rambeau and Ms. Khan join Captain Marvel to take on the latest threat of world-ending sky beams powered by a villain with a semi-relatable cause in a spectacle-driven blockbuster. You know, it’s a post-Avengers MCU film through and through. 

 

Yet, don’t let my inherent sarcasm in that last statement dissuade you from this one. While the MCU has undoubtedly struggled to be consistent in recent years, The Marvels is a shockingly fun and loose ride that moves like lightning, warts and all. After the abysmal garbage fire that Marvel released under the title Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, maybe The Marvels feels like it's worth its weight in gold, but it’s a film that finds a pop and energy that makes it move like it has places to be. 

 

Captain Marvel (2019)

Directors: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck

Notable Cast: Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Jude Law, Djimon Hounsou, Lashana Lynch, Annette Bening, Gemma Chan, Clark Gregg, Lee Pace

It’s that time of year again. That’s right, it’s the first Marvel film to hit the big screen for the year (with two more on the way by the time July rolls around) and with it comes the usual banter about the substance and quality of the superhero genre takeover of the box office. This first film of 2019 belongs to Captain Marvel, a film that Disney and Marvel seemingly pushed forward as scrutiny from its dedicated fanbase began to criticize the juggernaut company for taking so long to produce a female lead superhero flick. It’s not often that the live action DC films beat Marvel to the punch, but in this case they did. Still, there was a lot of momentum going into Captain Marvel. Not only was this their first female lead film, but it was riding on the coat tails of a highlight year for the company. In 2018, both Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War came out blazing to massive box office numbers and incredible critic and fan praise. Hell, the former even won a couple of Oscars and was nominated for one in the best picture category. Ant-Man and the Wasp aside, which came and went with little in the way of punch and pizzazz, that’s some huge momentum going into Captain Marvel and it was going to have a lot to live up to in terms of quality and expectation.

Kong: Skull Island (2017)

Director: Jordan Vogt-Roberts

Notable Cast: Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, John Goodman, Brie Larson, Jing Tian, Toby Kebbell, John Ortiz, Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, Shea Whigham, Tomas Mann, Eugene Gordero, John C. Reilly

There are essentially two kind of King Kong movies. You have the more serious adventure ones that mean to paint Kong as a kind of tragic figure who is betrayed by humanity which is represented by the original 30s version and Peter Jackson’s 2005 remake. Then you have the silly Kong films, best represented by the Toho versions (King Kong vs Godzilla and King Kong Escapes) and to a lesser extent King Kong Lives. While the initial trailers made out the latest Kong film, the second in Legendary’s new expanded Monsterverse that includes 2014’s Godzilla, to be something more serious and drawing on plenty of Vietnam war imagery, this film is far more akin to the latter films than the previous. This is not a remake. This is not some kind of morality tale outside of the subtext. This is a giant monster film. This is pure kaiju cinema worship and it never takes a breather from its intent as being an entertaining popcorn flick. Don’t expect to be blown away by thoughtful characters, dynamic plotting, or even logical progression because that is not what Kong: Skull Island is about. This film is about big monster fights and giving the audience their money’s worth in outrageous entertainment.