'Captain Marvel' Review: Three Reasons To See It |

It’s taken eleven long years for Marvel to get around to it, but finally, we have our first female-led movie in the MCU. Captain Marvel flies (literally and quite figuratively) onto screens this weekend – but she won’t be doing it alone.

Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) is a Kree soldier, one of the elite special forces of the emotionless, warrior alien race. But unlike the rest of her cold-hearted comrades, Vers (as she’s named by the Kree) struggles with her temper and control, aided by her mentor and leader, Yon-Rogg (Jude Law). When a seemingly normal mission to infiltrate the shapeshifting Skrulls goes awry, Carol runs into the manipulative Skrull leader, Talos (Ben Mendelsohn), and it starts a chain of events that lead her to the world-changing realization she might have had a life on Earth.

Carol sets off to track down the mystery of her origin, aided by a shockingly de-aged Sam Jackson as Nick Fury. As the movie is set in the ’90s, he’s only a desk jockey at this point and not yet the hardened Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. we know today. With help from Fury, her rediscovered best friend, Maria Rambeau (Lashana Lynch), and Goose the Cat (played by a handful of adorable orange furballs), Carol pieces together the mystery of her existence and grows into her extraordinary powers.

The movie is far from perfect, being somewhat of a throwback to the earlier days of the MCU when formulaic origin stories were the norm. The pacing is off in the first few acts while Carol attempts to piece together her fractured memories of her life on Earth and the reality of her time with the Kree. But the good far outweighs the bad and the movie comes together in a glorious crescendo as Carol Danvers taps into her full powers.

Here are three reasons to see Captain Marvel in theaters.

1. It’s Surprisingly Funny

There was buzz from some corners of the internet that Brie Larson came across as expressionless in the trailers (apparently not realizing that’s all initially a part of her Kree character). But the movie is anything but expressionless. It’s not quite on the level of Thor: Ragnarok or a Guardians of the Galaxy movie, but there are some surprisingly funny moments, thanks in large part to Ben Mendelsohn’s Talos. Mendelsohn infuses his Skrull leader with a deadpan, exasperated delivery that, at times, is the embodiment of every manager surrounded by incompetent subordinates. His ability to deliver laugh-aloud lines without breaking the tone of a scene is a testament to Mendelsohn and just serves to underscore the fact he’s one of our most talented working character actors today.

Along with Mendelsohn, it’s hugely entertaining to see a younger, softer Nick Fury interact with Goose the Cat (who is himself a scene stealer at times). If Disney were to announced they were launching a Nick & Goose spinoff buddy series for Disney+, I can’t say I’d be mad. Sam Jackson is usually known for playing a hardass, so watching him fawn over (and often be bested by) an orange tabby is a side we don’t often get to see from the veteran actor.

2. The Killer ’90s Soundtrack

One of the great things about Marvel movies is how, thanks to the original GotG, they made the movie soundtrack cool again. Since then, we’ve been blessed with a number of movies in which the music matters, from Black Panther to Into the Spider-Verse. Now, we can add Captain Marvel to the mix. The soundtrack will make any ’90s kid reminisce, especially for those of you (like me) who grew up on a steady auditory diet of riot grrrl, alternative, and grunge. It was a time in which Kurt Cobain was still very much in living memory, Lilith Fair and Lollapalooza were the music festivals to attend, Trent Reznor had not yet scored his first film, and Gwen Stefani was still running around in crop tops instead of judging reality competitions. The entire movie is a loving homage to the ’90s, from Carol’s stolen NIN t-shirt to the Blockbuster she crashes into (and display she accidentally destroys). But it’s the music that is the real standout and brings you back to what is perhaps the last great decade when you could still hear distinct (and non-autotuned) genres on any Top 40 radio station (or, fine, the alternative radio station – no self-respecting ’90s grunge kid would be caught dead listening to Top 40).

3. The Bonds Of Female Friendship

Quick! Think of a close female friendship in the MCU (TV doesn’t count). Possibly Okoye and Shuri and…and, uh… Yeah, you’re drawing a blank, aren’t you? That’s because there are none. The MCU has been built around strong male friendships for an entire decade, most notably Steve and Bucky, but also Steve and Tony, Tony and Rhodey, Sam and Steve, Rocket and Groot, Thor and Hulk – the list goes on. As for women? Not so much.

But women and girls need and deserve to see strong, complex female friendships depicted on the big screen and Captain Marvel delivers. As Carol’s best friend and former fellow Air Force pilot, Maria Rambeau is the steady support that Carol needs when all is chaos around her. Lashana Lynch infuses her performance with a no-nonsense brand of compassion that grounds a story full of space battles and alien races and conspiracies. There are moments between them as close and vulnerable as any moment between Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes – perhaps because, like Captain Rogers and Sergeant Barnes, Carol Danvers and Maria Rambeau came up as soldiers together, fighter pilots. Except, unlike Steve and Bucky, they had the added element of being the only two women in their squadron fighting to be on equal footing with the men. As Maria’s best friend, Carol became the de facto aunt and godmother to Maria’s little girl, Monica, and Maria provided Carol with the family she lost. Maria is the steady river to Carol’s flame and fire, and they balance each other out.

All of it – complex female friendship, single motherhood, women fighting to be accepted in a job dominated by men – is rendered honestly and lovingly in Captain Marvel, giving us glimpses of life we have never gotten to explore in the MCU. It makes for a far stronger and more interesting cinematic universe because of it.

Again, if you’re looking for perfection, you won’t find it in Captain Marvel – but then, you’ll rarely find that in any movie. But it introduces so many new elements to the MCU (while cleverly explaining the origin of others) and gives us one breathtakingly badass new hero that the flaws simply don’t matter much in the end. You’re having too much fun watching Carol light it up on her way to being the most powerful character the Marvel Cinematic Universe has ever seen. Thanos better start running.

Captain Marvel is in theaters on Thursday, March 7. Get your tickets here!