In The Marvels, Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) teams up with Kamala Khan aka Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani), and Carol’s estranged niece, astronaut Captain Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), to save the universe.
Their film tries to move beyond the haunting issues of good and evil to consider themes of interplanetary dependence and female camaraderie.
The latest Marvel Cinematic Universe title is getting rather mediocre notices with Rotten Tomatoes score in the mid-50s, one of the weakest MCU titles ever.
Many critics (including me) find the movie turgid, mindless, and a new low for Marvel.
Grade: C+ (** out of *****)
The Marvels picks up where Captain Marvel left off: Flashbacks in the first half hour try to provide a framework.
DaCosta, Elissa Karasik and Megan McDonnell (who cowrote The Marvels’ screenplay) shape a simpler story with the geopolitical and familial concepts of Captain Marvel.
The Marvels takes on more than it can handle in its runtime, which is rather short (only 105 minutes).
There are abrupt transitions, discarded threads, and an unsatisfying ending.
The superhero franchise sinks to a new low. T
he shortest of the MCU films yet is also the most boring, a knot of nightmares that groans with the series’ now-trademark VFX sloppiness.
The plot is ultimately silly and makes little sense.
If you thought Eternals and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania were low points for the limping Marvel Cinematic Universe, strap in for the ride to abject misery that is The Marvels
This is an MCU film that’s littered with insider technobabble and is impossible to follow.
The film is scattered, choppy, and often incoherent, a stinging reminder of what could have been a better film.
The production tracks a modest $60 million weekend opening, which would make it one of the lowest MCU openings ever out of 33 installments (thus far).
The lowest is 2008’s The Incredible Hulk with a $55.4 million domestic opening.
The predecessor of The Marvels, 2019’s Captain Marvel, inspired Rotten Tomatoes to overhaul its audience score to make it less susceptible to review bombing.
RT since eliminated pre-release audience reviews, and no longer displayed percentage showing how many readers “want to see” a film.
Hollywood Reporter: “Larson, Parris and Vellani have a natural and infectious rapport. Their undeniable chemistry anchors one of the stronger threads of The Marvels, which wrestles with Carol’s isolation and ego.
The Wrap: “Vellani is magical and the film captures the pure essence of why superheroes are so beloved. Parris and Larson are also good, but they really just back up for Kamala Khan to shine. Take the kids, have fun and don’t think too hard about it.”
USA Today: “The Marvels is that rare superhero adventure seemingly tailor-made for cat lovers, people really into body-swapping shenanigans and those who live for jubilant song-and-dance numbers.”
IndieWire: “… charming stars (like the full-force charisma of Iman Vellani and the appealing vulnerability of Teyonah Parris), sprightly action, and zippy humor”
