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While exciting, ‘Captain Marvel’ fails to leave a lasting impression

This image released by Disney-Marvel Studios shows Brie Larson in a scene from "Captain Marvel." (Disney-Marvel Studios via AP)

Although it’s rare to say “DC did it better,” Marvel’s latest film showcasing an empowering female lead falls a little flat despite the heavy anticipation. “Captain Marvel” shows that the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) formula can only do so much when so little is introduced to the table.

Carol Danvers (Brie Larson), a warrior of the extraterrestrial Kree race, crash lands on Earth to continue her fight against the deceptive Skrulls. As she learns more about the planet, she discovers that she has a past that she cannot remember. With the help of Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), along with a few others, Danvers begins to become the powerful Captain Marvel.

As said earlier, DC’s hit from two years ago, “Wonder Woman,” is the better film. It had plenty of charm and was engaging, while “Captain Marvel” felt too familiar to other Marvel movies. A jumble of different subgenres all clashed together made for a very confused film. It is part fish-out-of-water, part amnesia-filled-mystery, and part buddy-cop film al rolled in one. Each of these have been seen before, but simply done better in other Marvel films. The pacing wasn’t steady, which resulted in quite a few boring moments. It is also difficult to keep the audience engaged when the film is very predictable. Other than the well-written plot twist, it was easy to see what was coming. Nothing kept me on edge.

The averageness can also be seen in the characters. None of them (except the beloved Nick Fury) felt interesting to me. Sure, Danvers had some charisma, but it seemed like there was something restraining her the entire time. The film’s villain was just plain stupid. I just saw the movie and I don’t even remember his name. In fact, the only names that come to mind are the two main characters. Luckily, the acting helped keep the characters alive. Larson showed that she has plenty of talent to give for the MCU, while Jackson was his classic self.

There were plenty of enjoyable qualities of the film, too. The action was exciting and filled with well-choreographed fight scenes. The effects were exceptional with smooth digital editing to make Jackson appear 30 years younger. There was also plenty of humor thanks to a little kitten named Goose. Perhaps the best moment, was thanks to Stan Lee’s cameo, that was ever so implicitly hilarious.

Marvel Studios has had such a large number of high caliber of films that this average one appears to be more disappointing than it really is. “Captain Marvel” is a good movie, just not great. However, this is just the necessary precursor to “Avengers: Endgame,” a film that Captain Marvel has a huge role in. This may be near the bottom of the 21 MCU movies, but that still says quite a bit.

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