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.