Captain Marvel Review
Before Captain Marvel came out there was a concerted effort by a certain segment of the population committed to hating it. In some ways, I can understand that. There are plenty of movies I’m sure I won’t like and feel bad that they even exist. But I just don’t go and see those movies.
For some people, that’s apparently not enough. They dislike the idea of a movie so much they make it their mission to ruin it for everyone else. They tried to do it to Star Wars. They’re trying to do it to the next Star Wars. They tried to do it to Captain Marvel. To that, Carol Danvers has this to say:
“I don’t need to prove anything to you.”
In some ways, this is a trite thing to say. A woman superhero saying it to a man whose ass she just blasted does kind of ring hints of social justice warrior politically correct feminism. Is that the message Marvel’s first lead female superhero should be sending? Or should it be safe and just be a cool action flick?
Carol? What do you think?
“I don’t need to prove anything to you.”
You know what? You’re right. You don’t. This movie didn’t need to prove anything to anybody, other than that it’s a well-made movie. If you don’t like that it also tried to have a message, so what? Don’t see it then. I didn’t see “Atlas Shrugged” because I don’t like the message it sends. Yes, I’ve ranted about Ayn Rand but that’s about how people act using her as a cover, rather than the book/movie. Never saw the movie so I can’t comment.
Now, personally, I enjoyed the movie. And I also agree with that message. Forcing people to prove themselves to you is a great way to maintain control. The powerful do it all the time. By asking someone to prove themselves, you’re saying you don’t think they can do it. You’re undercutting them before they’ve started. Look at the way the powerful elite speak about AOC, millennials, OWS, etc, etc.
That’s not to say people don’t need to prove themselves capable of doing something. Captain Marvel isn’t a good movie just because it’s a Marvel movie. AOC won’t be a good legislature just because people have talked about her. Millennials don’t have better ideas than Boomers just because they’re younger. You are these things when you do them. But you doing them doesn’t require the consent of the powerful.
Captain Marvel set out to tell a story and be an enjoyable movie. It accomplished that. I enjoyed myself as did the rest of my family. There were plenty of exciting action sequences, lore building and twists and turns. I figured out Jude Law was the bad guy but they kept you uncertain about it. Having him oppose Ronin early in the movie gave him a chance to be a good Kree.
How does this all fit into the greater Marvel universe, more specifically Avengers? We’ll find out in a month and a half, obviously, but as for me, I don’t think Carol Danvers becomes the “I Win” button in the fight with Thanos. She’ll be a power hitter for sure, but restoring the population of the universe that was lost can’t be won with photon blasts. Though, I suspect Lieutenant Trouble, now 23yrs older, might play a role by building a space ship.
If I have one real critique of the movie it’s that it could have used more Coulson. The MCU is always better with Coulson.
