Short, playful but ultimately turgid MCU superhero feature as Captain Marvel finds her powers entangled with two others. Together they must work together to save the universe.
In an average teenage girl’s bedroom in Jersey City, super-fan Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) is surrounded by Captain Marvel paraphernalia. But she also has a heavily-carved amulet. It’s the twin to the one recovered by Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton), leader of the tyrannical Kree. To have both would provide her the power to rebuild their planet, the very planet unintentionally destroyed by Captain Marvel (Brie Larson). Dispatched by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) to deal with the threat, Marvel finds herself entangled with Kamala and the amulet as well as her estranged niece, Captain Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris). Together they must destroy the Kree threat to the stability of the universe.
With zippy dialogue, the three gel well together on screen as directed by Nia DaCosta. But even the short 105 minute running time feels too long as the narrative unconvincingly regurgitates seen-it-all-before scenarios with its ‘B-Team’ feel.
Rating: 35%
Director: Nia DaCosta (Candyman, Little Woods)
Writer: Nia DaCosta (Candyman, Little Woods), Megan McDonnell (TV’s WandaVision), Elissa Karasik (TV’s Loki, Lessons in Chemistry)
Main cast: Brie Larson (Room, Captain Marvel), Teyonah Parris (If Beale St Could Talk, Candyman), Iman Vellani (TV’s Ms. Marvel)
An Opinion or Two 