Review: Captain Marvel, The Plot Filler

Hunter Quinn, Student Contributor|April 5, 2019

Did ‘Captain Marvel’ fail at being one of the greatest female super hero movies of all time?

Marvel is known to make memorable movies that are loved by comic book fans and moviegoers alike. With the upcoming release of Avengers:Endgame there were many questions that needed to be answered for the story line to be completed. Captain Marvel was a movie that was used as a plot filler and nothing else. Although I enjoyed the film for its recognizable style, I feel that if more time and effort was put into the production it could have been one of the greatest movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

Captain Marvel, movie number 21 in the MCU, is a well-needed addition to further the plot of The Avengers story line and develop key characters’ backstories. Captain Marvel, played by Brie Larson, shows the fictional tale of Carol Danvers, an Air Force pilot turned into a superhero after a catastrophic accident during a test flight for a light speed engine. After recuperating from the crash, she finds herself in between an intergalactic battle with humans and the Skrulls. After a crash landing on Earth, she meets a young military strategist, Nick Fury, played by Samuel L. Jackson. The two of them team up to defeat the Skrulls and try to understand their purpose.

With many high expectations surrounding the movie’s release, there were many people hoping that Captain Marvel would have a similar tone and response as the movie Wonder Woman. When D.C. Comics released the movie Wonder Woman, moviegoers were pleased with the product of a strong female lead, which is usually not seen in comic book movies. In Captain Marvel, there was a similar goal in trying to portray the first female lead character in a Marvel movie, but this goal did not work for Marvel as the movie’s story suffered from the constant effort to be like Wonder Woman.

On top of this, there was even more pressure on Marvel to not let the fan base down, because if the movie was a bust, the fans would be outraged. The expectation was to create a fantastic movie with a strong female lead and change people’s opinions about the MCU, as well as providing a backstory for the character Captain Marvel that would stick in the hearts of comic book fans everywhere. This was not achieved, as there was nothing that caused it to be one of the greater movies in the MCU. The movie was used as more of a stepping stone for the next Marvel movie, Avengers: Endgame. This is extremely disappointing because if the movie had succeeded in its goal, it could have been considered as one of the greatest comic book movies of all time.

Even though the movie was not what I expected, I was not completely disappointed with the outcome. I enjoyed the Marvel style of filmmaking that can be seen in every Marvel film. I also enjoyed the backstory of the character Captain Marvel. There were many ways in which the movie drew the audience in and involved them in the story. It made them feel as if they were on the same mission that Captain Marvel was on. I was glad that all my questions were answered about the story line and more information was given to prepare everyone for the new Marvel movie coming out at the end of April, Avengers: Endgame. I was just hoping for a movie that would change the MCU instead of just another movie to add to the story line.