The Marvels Movie Review

“What has been given can be taken away.” Great MCU films could be what the quote is referring to. Well, I won’t be that harsh on “The Marvels.” If you’re a teen or younger and have followed all the stories of the younger characters in the MCU, you’ll thoroughly enjoy the flick. If you don’t fit into these categories but still do like the Marvel Comics movies, consider this an at-home watch when you have the time.​

A large part of the film is on constructing a sisterhood between three young women. These individuals are Croc-wearing Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani), aka Ms. Marvel, and Monica (Teyonah Parris), whose nickname is Captain Rambeau, have something pushing them apart, not helping them come together. Parris was in the Disney+ series WandaVision, by the way. And Ms. Marvel?? Did I miss something?? Yes. The shows created around these films. Things like this were important to know going into watching this. This isn’t a “Young Avengers” film, not what the audience expects anyway, but it seems to be what this movie is the foundation of. It could be the start of that separate storyline.

With this team, unlike in any of the other Marvel films, I was turned off and irritated by one of the main characters. Ms. Marvel. She’s annoying with a continual drive to devise nicknames for the “team.” She also fangirls all over Captain Marvel, posters and all. I understand she’s young, but Director Nia DaCosta should have considered her audience and tamed that down. It’s hard to take the joy of her seeing Captain Marvel for too long.

Whimsical scenes similar to the first Captain Marvel, such as her falling into a Blockbuster Video and then getting communication equipment from Radio Shack weren’t as prevalent here. These little scenes make the movie more creative and amusing and what we need to continue to receive from the franchise. Had they added more of that and thrown in a few Marvel characters, it would have been more of what we were there to see. There is one ending scene showing a strong likelihood we’ll get what we need in the next film, perhaps.

You won’t like what you see here if you’re a hardcore fan of the original MCU characters and movies. The script is sporadic and scattered, which gets old quickly, but I will admit there are some fight scenes worth seeing this for. Sadly, what’s good about “The Marvels” is that it doesn’t really get going until about halfway through.

The feature starts with the terrible Kree leader Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton), who doesn’t look powerful or capable of getting much done, searching for the twin bangle bracelet so she can use the two together to collect enough power and energy to destroy the planet the Skrulls have inhabited.

She’s angry with Captain Marvel because the sun is dying on her home of Hala, and it’s Carol Danvers’s fault. Much of the story circles around this anger. Still, it is puzzling, nonetheless, because it’s lousy story writing, redundant, and, as I mentioned before, based on Ms. Marvel’s behavior, sophomoric and immature.

The Hala Empire is running out of time and the Kree leader warns them she’ll do whatever it takes to stop that from happening. Captain Marvel figures out what she’s planning on doing. Dar-Benn will destroy the colony of Tarnax, where the Skrull fled to, taking their water.

An epic fight scene with Dar-Benn and the team of three begins. It would have been better had you known who everyone was. There’s another fight scene that is similar to it that proves this theory.

Bad visuals, a poor grip on the actual comics and what the fans want make this a TV watch at best. What’s missing is what brought you to the MCU. You don’t see it no matter how much you look for it.

The bangle bracelet story is as weak as they come, truly making this a movie for teenage girls rather than people who take the stories about actual action figures seriously, waiting for their return. I can’t recommend you see this. However, you should because it may give information you’ll need to connect this plot to another someday down the road.

You will like the cats. They rule. During one of these scenes, the song “Memories” can be heard. For those of you who understand why, that’s an extra treat for you.

Also, stay for the ONE post-credit scene. This will give you hope.

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