The Marvels has soared into theaters and we’re here to let you know if it’s worth checking out.
The Marvels, the 33rd entry in the ongoing Marvel Cinematic Universe, has finally arrived in theaters and I was beyond excited to check it out. Captain Marvel has been one of my favorite superheroes for years and I was legitimately excited to see how Marvel would follow up after Captain Marvel’s solo MCU film in 2019.
The Marvels takes place in the near future after the events of Avengers: Endgame, WandaVision and Ms. Marvel. Carol Danvers is struggling with the fallout of her actions post-Captain Marvel when her life suddenly gets even more complicated: somehow her powers become entangled with that of Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel and Monica Rambeau. Discovering what’s going on will lead the “Marvels” on an interstellar adventure where existence itself is at stake.
First, let’s address the elephant in the room: yes, The Marvels is the shortest MCU film to date, clocking in at 1 hour and 45 minutes. However, I cannot emphasize enough that the film does not suffer at all from a shorter running time. Director Nia DaCosta has crafted a finely tuned story that wastes no time getting in to the action and this is exactly what The Marvels needed. There’s no bloat, no excess filler and it was actually refreshing to sit through a Marvel film that didn’t feel like it was running too long.
Aside from that, The Marvels is a wonderful film, one of the best post-Endgame for sure. The interaction between Ms. Marvel and Captain Marvel in particular is everything one could hope for. Iman Vellani was absolutely born to play Kamala Khan and seeing her character arc throughout this film is very touching. Like Spider-Man, Kamala is a teenager with superpowers suddenly thrust way over their head into a huge conflict and the aftershocks are probably going to affect Kamala for some time to come. I hope Marvel doesn’t gloss over the emotional damage, there’s a whole story that could be told from that alone. Also, I feel that Marvel portrayed Kamala’s hero worship of Carol in a very realistic way.
The overall story of The Marvels was well done, although it does require the viewer to have seen Captain Marvel and be at least familiar with the events of WandaVision and Ms. Marvel in order to fully appreciate the entire plot. For instance, if you haven’t seen WandaVision, Monica’s explanation for how she got her powers will make no sense. It’s a minor quibble, but one that can’t be ignored as it shows that Marvel might be pushing the limit of how far one can spread story details before bringing them up in a later film.
I have to mention again how awesome it was to see Captain Marvel, Ms. Marvel and Monica Rambeau share the screen together. Seeing how the three heroes have to learn to get around with their powers being entangled is fun and exciting and a nice change of pace from seeing huge space battles and other large scale events.
Another detail that affects the plot and how well the audience follows it is time. Namely, it’s imperative to remember that THIRTY years have passed between the events of Captain Marvel and The Marvels. If one forgets that the former took place in 1995, it might be very confusing to hear references to a multi-decade conflict that has otherwise not been brought up.
Putting all that aside, Zawe Ashton absolutely nails the role of Dar-Benn, the main antagonist of the film. From the moment she first appears on screen, you can feel the menace radiating off her, and possibly a touch of insanity based on her actions later in the film. What really draws me to her is that she’s very much a gray character in that: she wants to do what is technically the right thing but she’s picked the most horrendous way possible to do it. On that note, it’s interesting the way Marvel detailed the consequences of Carol’s actions post-Captain Marvel. I don’t know that anyone expected that particular outcome but I like that Marvel has revisited the situation to remind us that sometimes actions, even if they seem like the right one, can have unexpected and horrifying consequences.
One last thing I want to mention is The Marvels mid-credits scene. Without giving anything away, I think fans are going to love this scene because it’s promising something that fans have waited years to see. It was teased in an earlier MCU film that I won’t name because it would give it away, but I’m excited to see how Marvel follows up on it.
The Marvels is absolutely worth checking out as it’s easily one of the best entries in the MCU in the post-Avengers: Endgame story. Seeing Captain Marvel, Ms. Marvel and Monica Rambeau on screen together was a dream come true and hopefully just the start of a continuing partnership in the MCU.
