After starting my journey of reviewing the MCU a few weeks ago with Captain America: The First Avenger, the time has come to continue with the second movie in timeline order: Captain Marvel.

I had high hopes as I dove into the origin story of Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) and her role as a female superhero at the movie’s center. 

However, the movie quickly became a faux-feminist film in my eyes, playing too much into trying to defy explicit gender roles, which ultimately led to an exposed political agenda.  

As a movie, it was adequate. There was a great cast, forgettable dialogue, and unexpected plot twists. However, as an origin story, it fell incredibly flat.

Danvers, known as Vers, is presented as an amnesiac through most of the movie and spends the majority of the film piecing together her identity and past. This concept transfers to the viewer, as we only get flashbacks of her former self. 

I spent the first third of the movie not knowing the background of the hero the movie revolves around. 

Is it an origin story if we don’t really know her past? 

The first third of the movie takes place on a futuristic planet named Hala, where Vers lives and fights among a warrior race named the Kree. 

Their mission is to eliminate a race of shapeshifting aliens known as the Skrulls who can imitate any form of life that they see. These abilities leave room for an eerie paranoia as I was accusing the most innocent characters of being a Skrull. 

Was the cashier at the grocery store secretly a Skrull? 

This first part leans in a very sci-fi direction, but I was not mad about it…just a little bored. 

Luckily for me, after Vers is captured she is transported to the 1990s on the planet C-53. Or more commonly known as Earth. 

The 1990s references throughout the movie were strong from the song choices to the outfits the overall feel was very 90s-esque. It highlights Blockbuster video stores and dial-up internet. Both concepts that I know little about, but still managed to catch my attention. 

Don’t get me wrong: I thought seeing Vers as the main superhero in a genre that is lacking female representation was a breath of fresh air. However, Marvel did not wow me with its attempts.

In other words, it tried way too hard to seem “politically correct” and “inclusive.” This was clearly evident in the fight scene with “Just a Girl” by No Doubt playing in the background. 

Come on Marvel, could you be any more obvious?

After a quick google search the pieces started making sense, as around the same time Captain Marvel was released, MCU was facing scrutiny over its dozens of male leads but obvious lack of female superheroes.  

Translation: Its PR manager was working overtime to stop the negative publicity. 

That being said, I did really like Vers’ character. I just wish the writers had given her some of the more witty and snappy lines of the film to represent her character more. 

Along with Captain Marvel’s origin story, we also get S.H.I.E.L.D agent Nick Fury’s background. 

Fury and Vers work so well together. Their chemistry is the perfect addition to the restricted aspect of Vers’ dialogue. 

Regardless of the restrictive dialogue at some points, I did find myself liking it more than Captain America: The First Avengers. This one included a little more sarcasm and overall had some playful lines sprinkled in. 

Speaking of characters, I think one of my favorites is probably the cat, Goose. I’m not a big fan of cats in the real world, but I guess I’ll just have to get a Skrull cat because he was so cute.

At one point, Goose gets thrown in the middle of a fight and I have to admit I was more worried for his well-being than any of the other characters. 

The last third of the movie is when the classic Marvel plot twist is revealed, and the Kree turn out to be the ones causing the Skrull harm.

I don’t have proof, but I have to say I called that twist from the beginning. I loved the Skrulls, especially the leader Talos. His character was serious but also had some light-hearted and sarcastic lines. 

Overall, I had high expectations for the film and it just wasn’t the blockbuster that I think Marvel can release. The story and concept had a lot of potential but not the execution I was looking for. 

An overall score? 

6/10