Whenever you hear a lot of chatter and bad word of mouth about something on the internet, it’s almost always an extremely small but incredibly vocal group trying to pass as the majority. Nowhere else was this more true than those who decried Captain Marvel as a bad movie and Brie Larsen a horrible casting choice. While there are valid criticisms to be had about that film, they were just upset that the movie dared to have a strong female lead who had the gall to not bow to the whims of horny teenage boys. These same people are out there trying to review bomb The Marvels, and once again, they are completely wrong as this is some of the most fun I’ve had at the theater all year.
The Kree have torn their home world, Hala, apart in a civil war ever since Captain Marvel (Brie Larsen) destroyed the Supreme Intelligence. In an effort to save her people, their new leader, Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton), searches out a Quantum Band (the sister half of Ms. Marvel’s) and plans to utilize it to steal resources to resuscitate her dying planet. Due to complications from this, Captian Marvel, Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani) and Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) end up quantumly entangled, changing places with each other whenever using their powers simultaneously. As the trio try to unravel this, they team up with Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and our favorite Flerken, Goose, to stop Dar-Benn before she enacts her ultimate vengeance against the people she blames for her society’s downfall.
Sometimes you want to walk out of the theater with a goofy smile on your face, and that’s exactly what The Marvels gives us. Sure there are moments of tension and despair, but there is a lightheartedness that runs through it largely in part to Iman Vellani’s portrayal of Ms. Marvel. You can tell just how much fun she is having being able to play a superhero and fangirl over being able to work with her idol, and this enthusiasm spills over into her performance as well as all of her costars. Even crusty old Nick Fury (in a complete turn from Secret Invasion) shows off his comical side with jokes that had us literally laughing out loud.
Comic book stories also like to make it seem powers are a curse more than a gift, but Ms. Marvel legitimately enjoys hers even if she is in grave danger because of them. Few movies manage to balance this sense of joy and danger as well as The Marvels with only the recent Guardians of the Galaxy 3 doing it slightly better.
Subpar visual effects and the one-note villain are really my only complaints. Considering how much money is spent on these tentpole films, one would think they would invest more into special effects, but there are many times when they seem distorted or “cheap” looking. Maybe they should crowdsource this with the team behind The Creator since that looked phenomenal and had one third of the budget.
We also get a villain that is about as bland as could be. This isn’t to say her motivations aren’t worthwhile, and I can’t say I wouldn’t do the same if I was in her circumstance, but the best ones have their own arcs and develop throughout the story. Dar-Benn doesn’t do this, and it is a shame since she could be a deep and unique character in her own right.
The Marvels doesn’t hesitate to lean into its comic book goofiness and is all the better for it. It brings the wonder of the MCU movies of the past (I feel old saying that) and has a freshness not seen since The Infinity Saga. Maybe best of all, it wraps everything up in a nice bow with a runtime under two hours which is rarely seen anywhere let alone in the MCU. Ignore any backlash you’re seeing online from neckbeards and have fun at one of the most joyful movies of the year. Oh, and stay through the (only) mid credit scene as it’s a doozy!