By Deanna Bergers
For those who are superhero fanatics, the release of Marvel Studios’ latest film, “Captain Marvel,” isn’t news to you. For those who aren’t exactly involved with the Marvel scene and don’t follow the Avengers and such, this film was released on March 8 and it’s kind of a big deal.
“Captain Marvel” is the first film within the franchise to have a solo female lead. It tells the origin story of Carol Danvers and her addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Captain Marvel. This has been widely accepted by fans, although some seem to think her character and story deserved more. If you’re a viewer who hasn’t seen every single Marvel movie, like me, don’t fret–you’ll still be able to understand this film with little background knowledge.
The plot begins by introducing Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) as a Kree warrior in a unit called Starforce on the planet of Hala. Danvers, who is referred to as “Vers,” is being trained to use her powers while keeping her emotions in check. During this training, Vers has recurring memories of a life of which she has no recollection. After an intense battle, she lands on Earth in hopes of saving the planet from the infiltration of the Skrulls.
It is the year 1995 on planet Earth when Vers crash lands through the roof of a Blockbuster video store. This is where we’re introduced to Samuel L. Jackson’s ongoing Marvel character, S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Nick Fury. After Fury sees that Vers isn’t lying about the infiltration of shape-shifting aliens on Earth, the pair embark on a mission to find information at a U.S. Air Force base.
The information that is discovered reveals the true identity of Vers, and we find out who the real antagonists of the film are. Vers figures out who the people from her memories are and is reunited with her supposed best friend Maria Rambeau (Lashana Lynch), who helps her and Fury suppress the enemy and save the Skrulls.
The story of Carol Danvers is almost told as a “coming-of-age” tale, where she discovers who she really is and breaks away from her oppressors. Throughout the film, Vers is told that she must control her emotions and that her inability to hold herself back is what makes her weak, but she fights against her enemies and becomes stronger than she ever was.
The film contains the perfect amount of humor, emotion and grit as we get to see Danvers turn into a true superhero by the name of Captain Marvel, making the film easily deserve 8.5 stars out of 10. There’s the element of girl-power and proof that emotions are not a weakness. The pairing of Brie Larson and Samuel L. Jackson works well and we get to watch a bond form between their two characters. In Marvel Studios’ traditional extra scenes at the end of the film, we see a possible link between “Captain Marvel” and the ending of “Avengers: Infinity War” making us wonder where Captain Marvel’s story fits in the much anticipated “Avengers: Endgame” film that will be in theaters April 26.
