Film Review: Captain Marvel Is The Woman
Watching Captain Marvel, my womanhood cosmically combusted and nearly led an intergalactic Women’s March (lol!). I could have been turned into stardust with how empowered and understood I felt as a strong person that, by birth/ fortune, was born a woman. There are many comic-book movies out there, but few have reached a level of social importance quite like Captain Marvel.
Representations Matters! You hear this term all the time, but it is not only about making oppressed groups visible as much as visionary. Brie Larson makes Captain Marvel the epitome of a strong, brave person whose vulnerabilities never shake her to the point of weakness or immorality; nor are they related to her gender. Instead, she is a person trying to figure out who she was to become who she needs to be for herself and the people she loves. This is the most human of journeys that becomes revolutionary because it is a woman being portrayed as human: not a damsel, devil, or sexual deity.
NOT ONCE is Captain saved by anyone, especially men; she either saves herself or them. While her supposed “mentor,” Jude Law as Yon-Rogg, calls her “too emotional” and “dangerous” to have so much power, directors/ writers Anne Boden and Bryan Fleck, turn emotionality into the source of her resilience. They show that when someone lies, abuses, cheats, and manipulates you then you have every right to get emotional; it is your heart/ soul being broken. Betrayal of one’s trust, both physically and spiritually, IS an emotional experience, and Captain Marvel/ Carol Danvers goes through this with a few of the men in her life.
It is of no irony that the men overseeing Captain Marvel/ Carol Danvers’ training tell her not to cry or get angry over the hurt they give her. They go after her more because of her womanhood while telling her to take their double attacks as less than nothing. Yet, Carol Danvers’s anger towards injustice, both to herself and others, is the fuel to her perseverance. This truth leads to many scenes that will speak to women on a personal level. From Captain Marvel fearfully being called a “weapon” at the height of her power and self-empowerment, which are interconnected, to her affirmation that she does not need to be saved, ladies will look on with cheering eyes while girls stare at her with admiring ones. SHE’S A HERO!
It feels good to have a superhero that is a super person. Larson makes Captain Marvel one of the snarkiest and smiliest Avengers to enter the game, which makes me EXCITED to see her finger-snap Thanos. This film really elaborates that Captain Marvel is a powerful character, which shocked me a bit.There were times when I thought, “She could literally break The Hulk and Thor in half!” With that being said, you WILL get really great action sequences and visuals, which is to be expected. This movies is stunning in its effects, but Marvel films always deliver in this respect. Yet, I felt Captain Marvel was one of the best Marvel films to balance character development and relationships with action.
Samuel L Jackson’s Nick Fury, Ben Mendelsohn’s Talos, and Lashana Lynch’s Maria Rambeau are all beating hearts that win you over with their “humanity” and humor. This movie can reach “Gilmore Girl” levels of quick-wit being infused into casual conversation, which, again, surprised me. You get the feeling that everybody on the “same team” genuinely likes each other; the key is to figure out who is on your side. With a clean storyline, brisk pace, SO MANY 90’s references, good music, and well-developed characters, the audience is truly drawn into this stand alone film.
While Captain Marvel feels apart of the Avenger Universe because you know, beforehand, that she is, this character feels separate because of what she will mean to women. It is a marvel that, in 2019, there have not been many female characters to make women feel like they are human enough to do anything with their life. It is because she is human that Captain Marvel is strong, and it is because she realizes this that she becomes unstoppably powerful. Captain Marvel Comes out On March 8 In Theaters.
