*Sigh* I really wanted to like this one even though I did not care for the first Captain Marvel.
One of the major problems with The Marvels is the fact the Disney+ TV show storylines are now seeping into the movies. For those of us who don’t have a Disney+ subscription, we’re going to end up lost in story and character threads that are being brought into the movies. It’s one thing to bring in movie threads into a TV series, but to do it the other way around is an incredibly dumb idea. As a result, I have no real idea on Kamala’s story other than, yes, she had a show and saved Jersey City. The specifics, though, are not there; and I have no intention of getting a Disney+ subscription to find out those details. My time is too limited and valuable to spend it on attempting to find out more about mediocre characters in a cinematic universe that has gotten worse in recent years. The tease of attempting to get the new Hawkeye recruited at the end of the movie by Ms. Marvel is another example of bringing the shows into the movies that does not work for those of us not watching the shows. The result is, not only a movie in which I was lost on character stories and plot threads, but a cinematic universe that is quickly becoming a gigantic mess. I was lost for much of the film as a result.
Considering I watched Captain Marvel for the first time last summer, I remember next to nothing about that movie other than Cree and Skrulls were fighting one another. This war between the two races was dull and poorly realized in Captain Marvel and continues to be here. As a result, I never felt anything for the stakes, or lack there of, in Captain Marvel and even The Marvels. I never thought our characters were in any real danger, either, and was bored much of the time–a lot of that boredom, as stated earlier, is from being lost in character stories from shows I haven’t watched nor have any desire to.
I find it amazing Marvel believed they could hitch their wagon to Captain Marvel after the Thanos storyline concluded. That first movie was incredibly dull and people only went to see it because it was sandwiched between Infinity War and Endgame and gave an end credit sequence involving those two films. That’s what people were wanting. Captain Marvel is a hollow character that has no real dimension to her. If someone asked you to describe Tony Stark or Steve Rogers, you could string together at least a few sentences. I guarantee you that you couldn’t do the same with Carol Danvers. There is simply nothing to her character.
Speaking of character, Kamala is incredibly annoying in The Marvels. She spend much of the movie screaming and yelling, “Oh my god!!” Monica is in no better shape.
The exceptionally poor MCU villain trend continues here, as well. Dar-Benn is ill-defined and abesent for much of the movie…just like virtually every MCU villain since the first Iron Man. With over thirty movies in their oeuvre, you’d think Marvel would’ve addressed this years ago. Instead, it’s an epidemic that has never been cured and the MCU continues to suffer for it.
The only real things I can say I enjoy about The Marvels were Goose and the kittens. Hell, I thought we were going to get a lot more of them considering the trailers showed them so prominently. Instead, they barely make an appearance.
The Marvels is a movie where I can really see why it failed at the cinemas last summer. It’s absorbing of Marvel TV show story threads, another poorly written villain, extremely low-stake story, and uninteresting plot of the Cree and Skrull conflict makes it a movie with high ambition, but poor execution and bad judgments. A word of advice to Marvel: If anything, quit bringing in plot threads from the shows into the movies. Those of us who cannot watch the shows are lost and will continue to find many of your films, moving forward, to be awful. It’s up to you to bring us up to speed even if it’s simply exposition. Fix that! Sadly, I cannot recommend The Marvels; a movie I so desperately hoped I would enjoy.
Entertain My Imagination 