Captain Marvel (2019)

[Spartan Girl]

2 hours ago, Cobalt Stargazer said:

Except I don't think you mean "everybody". You mean the "whiny, fragile fanboys who are totally different than a certain portion of shippers who shamefully dogpiled Emily VanCamp just because she decided to take an acting job. Because men."
 

IMO I don't think those shippers you mentioned are any different than those trolls. They all need to grow up and stop dogpiling people to get their way.

[scrb]

Piece of art?

I think the other actors have a more realistic approach to superhero and action movies in general.  It's a way for them to make a lot of money, so that they don't have to take on projects they don't believe in.

Or do a lot of commercials.

Or worse, go to waiting tables.

The money also lets them take passion projects later on in their careers, if they really want to boost their critical credit.

Will Smith once said he was proud of an early role in Six Degrees of Separation, where he played a role which is a far cry from the action hero roles that he's best known for.  But he said he couldn't do those kinds of roles any more.  Why not?  He's got gobs of money elsewhere so in between the blockbusters, he can work in those small projects.  But why should he?  If he's not working, he might as well take his family on luxury vacations and find other ways to spend his money.

Brie Larson has gotten acclaim for her roles but realistically, she either has to try to strike it big or find her roles even in smaller projects dwindle over time, as other fresh-faced ingenues come up and take such roles.

[Sakura12]

Just got back from it, I liked it. It's not my favorite that title still belongs to Winter Solider. But it was good and I love Carol and can't wait to see her interact with the rest of the Avengers. 

[Stenbeck]

Liked it.

Fun, entertaining, the soundtrack and the throwback to the 90's was awesome (landing in a Blockbuster video, everyone waiting for the CD to load, Carol's internet going out), the only thing missing was the sound of a dial-up modem!

Is Thanos Talo's little boy? 

[AimingforYoko]

Was it me or was Fury pretty zen about Goose taking his eye? (Best part was when Carol asked if his eye was OK and Fury said, "Sure, it's just a scratch." And Talos slowly shaking his head and saying, "No, it's not.")

MCU has been pretty consistent about portraying the Kree as dicks, so them being the baddies did not surprise me. But having the Skrulls be the Rebels against the (Kree) Empire did. That was a nice twist. And it let Ben Mendelsohn be very entertaining.

This was not a perfect movie by any means ("I'm Just a Girl" for when Carol goes Binary? No, thank you) but it was enjoyable, funny and had a good heart. I'm very interested to see how Carol plays with others.

Edited March 9, 2019 by AimingforYoko

[Spartan Girl]

Just saw it and fuck the critics that are calling this mediocre or average, this was so much fun! Maybe it's not Wonder Woman but I still loved it. Though I do agree binary deserved a better theme song.

The Stan tribute in the opening got me verklempt. Sniff! I will miss the cameos.

So Fury lost his eye to Goose and just lied about it for years? LOL. Hope Goose returns in another movie.

Was NOT expecting Skrulls to be good guys (though I had a feeling Jude Law would be the villain). I guess that dashes the theory that Fuckstick Ross is one. Ah, well, they were fun.

BRING ON ENDGAME!

[Jazzy24]

7 hours ago, Cobalt Stargazer said:

Except I don't think you mean "everybody". You mean the "whiny, fragile fanboys who are totally different than a certain portion of shippers who shamefully dogpiled Emily VanCamp just because she decided to take an acting job. Because men."

I think perhaps Larson was naive in the way she approached this, and on top of that I think she wasn't prepared for how loud this fandom can get. Let's face it, we want it the way we want it, and God help you if you don't give it to us. (Hi, Joss.) But I don't think she had bad intentions or hates men or is going to destroy the franchise. That we're all so focused on blaming "whiny, fragile fanboys" sort of is political, but that's not even about Brie since the same thing happened over The Last Jedi. I just don't think she had enough experience with literally millions of fans paying attention to her, since aside from her Oscar turn in Room she's only had a couple of movies where she's prominent.

More later once I've let the movie settle, I just wanted to offer some food for thought. 🙂

I think the Captain Marvel[b/] backlash started because of The Last Jedi. You can see the people who hated The Last Jedi are avid Star Wars fans. They have a million videos on why The Last Jedi is a bad movie and now they have gone after Brie from the very first trailer to her interviews(that they purposely misinterpreted)to literally anything and everything that she says. 

[Dee]

Captain Marvel 2 better end with Carol & Maria getting married!

[Jazzy24]

I loved this movie!! It was so good and I’m truly surprised by that. 

I understand some of the criticism because I don’t think Carol’s character was flushed out as much as it could have been and the first 20 minutes were slow. I wanted to get to know more about Carol like her family and insecurities. I hope the Directors, Feige, and Brie take the criticism in stride and learn from this so that the sequels will do better at her character. 

But I really liked the story. The performances were freaking awesome!!! Brie had amazing chemistry with Sam, Lashana, Ben, the little girl who played Monica and Law. The 90s aesthetics in the movie was everything and I loved the soundtrack. I thought that despite not showing Carol as really relatable that though she was a cosmic hero the movie was still grounded. I liked the action scenes and this movie had great heart. I also thought it was such a pretty movie to look at(Infinity War, Doctor Strange, and the Guardian movies are the most beautiful MCU movies)And I thought Brie gave a really great performance as Carol and because of that I love this movie. 

This is my favorite orgin story and very high on my Marvel list. I’m okay with the critics reviewing this harshly. I was hoping it didn’t get a pass because it was the first female led MCU movie. But I hope the Marvel team hear the criticism and take it in stride and fix it for the next movie. I also liked how it felt like a standalone MCU movie, it felt different in all the right places. 

Speaking of the sequel I keep hearing people say that they want it in the past again and I hope not. Yes she had like almost two decades in space helping others and you Luke do lots with that material. But Carol’s next story should be set present and since the X-men are coming home I want Rogue to steal her powers and Carol to deal with that. Brie is a good dramatic actress and with the right script and better direction I think the story would be amazing. 

Anyways I’m definitely seeing this a few more times before Endgame and that credit scene had me bursting inside. I hope people give this movie a shot and just enjoy it. 

[phalange]

I loved it. The 90s aesthetic was great, from Carol crashing into the Blockbuster and using technology from Radio Shack, to Alta Vista and Carol and Talos waiting for the file on Maria's computer to load. The 90s soundtrack made it even better, and I may be in the minority, but Carol kicking Kree ass while Just a Girl played was my favorite scene. Well, that and the sequence of Carol standing up every time she fell.

Even knowing how the Kree are, I was still surprised that the Skrull weren't equally as terrible but were just defending themselves from being destroyed by the Kree. I was worried something would happen to Talos just after he reunited with his family, so I'm glad that wasn't the case and it was sweet watching them bond with Maria and Monica. I cracked up when Fury offered Talos fifty bucks if he'd change into a Venus Flytrap.

Fun seeing 90s Fury and Coulson. Fury bonding with Goose was perfect. I, too, will always stop whatever I'm doing to pet cats, so I get it. Everyone thinking Fury lost his eye in some dramatic fashion when he really lost it thanks to Goose/a Flerkin is too funny. I hope Goose makes an appearance in Endgame. I know as a cat he'd be very old by the present day, but since he's not really a cat, he should still be around. I would lose it if all it took to stop Thanos would be for Goose to eat him or the Infinity Gauntlet. He did throw up the Tesseract though...

So it was Carol who updated Fury's pager. I like how she just pops up out of nowhere in the pre-credits scene. And the Avengers Initiative is named for her. Nice touch. 

Edited March 9, 2019 by phalange

[angora]

OMG, I love Carol so much.  I adore the swagger and genuine relish she displays when she uses her powers.  From how intensely she can focus on a mission, you can tell she's not taking this stuff lightly (although she does find time to be a smartass during the lulls,) but at the same time, she also knows what a badass she is and loves that about herself.  I like the way she's totally out of her element on Earth but still gets immediately down to business - way more resourceful than Thor walking into a pet shop and demanding a horse (hee!)  Love, love, love her facing off against the Supreme Intelligence, remembering everyone else who's told her she's too rash/stubborn/weak/emotional/"human" and getting up every time - chills.

I had a blast at this movie.  The banter between Carol and Fury is everything, Goose steals all his scenes, and I found Ben Mendohlson really engaging as Talos - he brings an interesting energy and humor to the role that I definitely wasn't expecting.  The '90s setting is a lot of fun, and I thoroughly enjoyed the soundtrack.

During the credits, the guy sitting next to me asked me if I liked it.  I told him I loved it, and he kind of offhandedly replied, "Yeah, it was good."  Then he started talking about his daughter, saying how she'd made her own Captain Marvel costume to wear that night and had been super excited since she first heard about it.  I caught a peek of her in her costume after the lights came back up, and I think my heart grew three sizes.  These movies matter.

[Lantern7]

Fun movie. Maybe not the best, but it's basically a solid Marvel movie. And Captain Marvel (well, this one; long story) is basically like the Guardians of the Galaxy, in the sense that few people who didn't read comics knew about her, but Brie Larson holds her own playing perhaps the leading character in the MCU. To be fair, Marvel doesn't have a Wonder Woman of their own. They have lots of great female characters (Sue Storm-Richards, Storm, Jean Grey, Wasp, Black Widow), but not that could match that level of recognition. It could be argued that giving Carol Danvers the "title" of Captain Marvel was done with movies in mind (just as most Guardians of the Galaxy stories had been set on thousand years in the future), but it works.

Yeah, there are dings here and there. Way too many obvious Nineties references. Ronan the Accuser looking like an impotent bitch. And the story is basically like Solo, in the sense that this movie has the origin of a lot of stuff.  How did Fury lose an eye? Goose the Flerkin. Why did Fury start looking for heroic types? Because of Carol. How did he come up with the term "Avengers"? That was Carol's callsign. It's a little annoying.

Interesting flip that the Skrulls were the sympathetic party here. I mean, I could have gone with both sides being assholes, especially since the Kree have been humongous dicks in GotG and Agents of SHIELD. Maybe it's because of the present political climate, leading to some parallels. Or maybe because the MCU doesn't have the Fantastic Four yet; they are the Skrulls' usual foils.

So . . . Goose ate the Tesseract. Was that the thing originally in The Avengers? Or was it Captain America? I thought it was supposed to be hidden, as opposed to being a Flerkin hairball. And if SHIELD was running in the Nineties, why did Coulson make like it was a work-in-progress in Iron Man?

Nice mid-credits scene. Carol loves surprising people. I'm betting the next Endgame trailer has her bonding with Rocket. "Wait, you were the one that killed Ronan?" "Nah, it was me and my friends. Quill challenged him to a 'dance-off' first. You know, if he comes back, I'm introduce you to him."

[Guest]

I loved it. Brie ended up being the perfect choice and managed to eliminate all of my concerns from her first scene. I think it’s my second favorite after Winter Soldier. A big part of the reason for that is the relationship between Fury and Carol.

Maria, Monica, Talos and Goose were all amazing. 

I was expecting a Stan Lee tribute but I was very surprised at the logo. It really was perfect. 

I kept waiting for Fury to lose his eye but did not see the way it happened coming at all. 

How appropriate that after all of the criticism of Brie that the movie included Carol being told to smile. Loved that she stole that guy’s motorcycle.

I enjoyed the Carol standing up but my favorite moment was “I don’t need to prove myself”.

I just realized that my local IMAX has a 2D showing and I think I have to see it again. 

On 3/7/2019 at 9:58 PM, Wishing Well said:

 But my beloved Captain Rogers may have been finally dethroned as my favorite Avenger.  That beautiful man held on for a solid 14 or so movies, but Carol 😍

I feel the same way. I can’t wait to see the two of them together in End Game. Loved seeing Steve in the credits. It was the perfect glimpse of End Game.

This movie makes me feel so much better about saying goodbye to the original Avengers. I was a little worried about the future of Marvel but now I am excited to see where they go from here. 

Edited March 9, 2019 by Guest

[scarynikki12]

I saw it again tonight.  Just a fun movie.  I was all in on the 90s references because I'm used to movies going all out with 80s references.  I recognize some of those but I grew up in the 90s so I have actual memories of those songs, places, clothes, etc. 

Goose was a hoot and not just because he looks like my departed Orange Kitty, Jesse, and Oscar (we were the orange cat family).  I hope he's still around somewhere.  He's a great judge of character.  Hey!  Are Fleurkins (or however it's spelled) like Kneazles?  In the Potterverse Kneazles are creature that look just like cats but can detect if someone is untrustworthy.  Goose seemed to have that ability.

Upbeat Fury was delightful.  No doubt that comes from only being a Level 3 agent rather than the man in charge.  He and Carol were great together so I hope he's in one of the sequels.  I bet the second Captain Marvel will be focused on her helping the Skrulls find their new home, stopping the Kree oppression (I wouldn't be surprised if she plays a role in that treaty between them and Xandar), or both. 

Annette was wonderful.  She was great in the role of mentor and as the sinister AI.  I hope she comes back too.

I love what they did with Yon-Rogg.  It was clear that he had genuine affection for Carol, and was letting his own heart dictate some of his actions.  He's still the bad guy who deserved that last blast she sent at him, but their relationship wasn't a lie which makes his betrayal that much worse.  Since he lived I could see him going the way of either Loki and ending up as an ally or going all in on his villainy.

Maria and Monica were fantastic.  I hope we get a lot more of each in the sequel. 

Brie was perfect.  She had everything she needed and delivered everything that Carol asked of her.  The MCU is in good hands going forward.

Oh, and Kevin Smith did see the Mallrats screenplay and wept.  Now he's wondering if he survived the Snap since this means he's a part of the MCU.

[Grumpymonkey]

I was pleasantly surprised by this movie! I'll be honest after seeing the first trailer I really had no desire to see it, but since I'm Marvel's bitch here I am on opening weekend and I couldn't be happier about it lol.

The Stan Lee tribute was a great way to open the movie. I didn't find it slow until the end when I thought some of the fight scenes dragged a bit, otherwise, I was good with the pacing. All the supporting players were on point (loved Samuel L Jackson given a substantial role and he was great) , I liked the humor, music was good and I *loved* the standing up montage at the end,

I was reading some of the press/reviews right before I went to see the movie and thought I was going to be disappointed but wasn't at all. I wouldn't mind seeing this one in the theater again. I think its a pretty typical MCU movie and I had a fun time watching.

[Sakura12]

Now I have time to leave a little longer of a review. 

I liked that the humor and the 90's references didn't take over the whole movie. What we got was enough. The best bit was them waiting for the CD to load, Carol wondering what was taking so long and Talos rolling his eyes.  I could see why she didn't want to stay on Earth with the tech she's used too. Lol. Talos was great, his shaking his head no every time when someone said it would be okay. To his reaction to Maria and Fury asking to turn into different things, "why would I turn into a filing cabinet?" and his reaction to Goose.  I'd love to think that they went off snarking and saving the galaxy together for a bit. 

I don't know why people have such issues with Brie Larson. I've never really seen in her anything else and from the interviews I've watched of her she seemed cool. I loved her and Sam Jackson's rendition of Shallow. As for her acting I thought she managed to pull of the most difficult thing about being the lead in a movie. She had chemistry with all the rest of the characters. She had great chemistry with Jude Law in the beginning when they were sparring. "I slipped", "You slipped because I punched you in the face". She had really great chemistry with Sam Jackson and Lashana Lynch.  I bought her being best friends with the later and becoming friends with the former. I loved that Fury named the team after her call sign. I know the rest of the Avengers have a relationship with Fury, but they work for him. I like that he has an actual friend that will be worried about him in Carol. This was really the origin story of Captain Marvel and Fury. Although I don't know if he'll want a person that knows the really story about how he lost his eye around. He probably enjoyed the mystery he created with that story. 😄

I really can't wait to see her in End Game. That little tease wasn't enough. I'm dog person through and through, but I hope we see Goose the Flerkin again. I'm going to see this again tomorrow with my mom and sister. 

Edited March 9, 2019 by Sakura12

[starri]

I got massively teary at the all-Stan logo and dedication.  I thought they might save it for Endgame, and I'm glad they didn't.  And the cameo, both for Carol looking at him, knowing she could trust him, and smiling, plus the fact that he could very well have been playing himself.

I don't know what the fanboys were complaining about with Brie Larson.  She was perfect.  I hope that she and Sam Jackson are friends in real life, because that was either an Oscar-worthy performance from both of them, or they REALLY like working together.

I could have squealed with delight when they revealed that Dr. Lawson, not Yan-Rogg, was actually Mar-Vell.  This probably went over most of the audiences heads, but in Kelly-Sue DeConnick's revamp, they changed the origin story so that Carol didn't get her powers directly from Mar-Vell, because why make her origin dependent on a man.  This way, they managed to pay homage to the original story AND the new one simultaneously.

"I have nothing to prove to you." 

[Dee]

Who Are the Aliens in Captain Marvel? Everything to Know About the Krees and Skrulls

Quote

Captain Marvel is first and foremost an origin story for Brie Larson’s hero. In the film, the part-alien, part-human warrior visits Earth to try to remember a past that she has forgotten as a full-human and fighter pilot.

But the movie also introduces an important subplot that runs throughout the Marvel Comic books and could play a major role in upcoming Marvel movies: The Kree-Skrull wars. It’s an ancient ongoing battle between two alien races, and earth often gets caught in the crosshairs.

[AimingforYoko]

48 minutes ago, starri said:

plus the fact that he could very well have been playing himself.

He was. He was rehearsing his lines for Mallrats. Kevin Smith has to be geeking out rather hard.

[Cranberry]

[starri]

1 minute ago, AimingforYoko said:

He was. He was rehearsing his lines for Mallrats. Kevin Smith has to be geeking out rather hard.

It's been so long since I've seen Mallrats, I wasn't sure if those were his lines or not.

It really was perfect.

[The Kings Foot]

Saw it. Thinks it deserves an 85% rating. I think a lot of of the Movie is set up not for Endgame but for Phase Four. 

My one non spoilery comment would be that I'd have switched around the placement of "Just a Girl"  , "Come as You Are " and "Celebrity Skin" 

Edited March 10, 2019 by The Kings Foot

[starri]

2 minutes ago, The Kings Foot said:

My one non spoilery comment would be that I'd have switched the placement of "Just a Girl" and "Come as You Are ". 

I think it needed a female vocalist.  I personally liked the use of "Just a Girl," but they could have switched it with "Celebrity Skin."  Although since the movie had to be set in 1995, that one is slightly anachronistic.

[The Kings Foot]

1 minute ago, starri said:

I think it needed a female vocalist.  I personally liked the use of "Just a Girl," but they could have switched it with "Celebrity Skin."  Although since the movie had to be set in 1995, that one is slightly anachronistic.

Ninja'd. I was just rethinking and edited my comment to add Celebrity Skin. 

[Silver Raven]

I was worried after the previews, because Brie Larson's voice seemed so thin and girlish, but she came through in the movie and my trepidations were excessive.

It was clear that Ben Mendolsohn was having a hell of a time.  Talos was so much fun.

Goose is the star of the movie.  I'm glad to see he's still alive and spitting up the Tesseract on Fury's desk.  I wonder if he's going to be spitting up Kree warriors any time soon.

I hope that Monica shows up in the Avengers movie.

Edited March 10, 2019 by Silver Raven

[MisterGlass]

Saw it today and thought it was entertaining.  Agree with others who put it in the middle tier for Marvel, but there's a lot to enjoy.  It reminded me a lot of the first appearances of Captain America and Doctor Strange.  It felt like it was concentrating very hard on getting to certain origin story moments, and at those times Carol felt a little bland to me.  In the more casual conversations and character moments I liked her.  Hopefully like Cap and Strange she'll improve in her second appearance without the origin story burden.

All the characters had fun moments, but Fury and Goose stole the movie.  Sam Jackson was so energetic and engaging as younger Fury.  Fury's cat love was delightful, and Goose's CGI shenanigans were just the right amount of over-the-top ridiculous.  And the last end credit scene of him was the perfect ending.  I liked the relationship between Carol and Maria.  And thank goodness, there were no tacked on romances in this movie.

Ben Mendelsohn was very good as Talos.  It does take the right person to stand out under full face make up, and he really did.  I loved the character once we got to know him.

I loved the final visual of her powers.  However, up to that point her powers have been about blasting things or boosting herself up, and she could be harmed.  I feel like the movie doesn't take enough time for her to understand the full extent of her powers.  I recognize that this would have slowed down the action a little, but I wanted another couple moments like when she was falling and it took a few seconds for her to see if she could fly.

I was okay with "I'm Just a Girl."

[Bruinsfan]

Personally I would have preferred them dipping back into the 80s for something like Pat Benatar's "Invincible" or Scandal's "The Warrior." But it didn't kill the big hero moment, just didn't suit it very well.

[dkb]

I loved it so much. It's up there as one of my favourites.  It was funny, and emotional and really heartfelt for me.  Maria and Carol are ❤️, Goose is the best and the Skrulls were not what I was expecting at all.

On 3/7/2019 at 10:15 PM, calliope1975 said:

I'm an easy, easy target because I willingly give the MCU all my money, and I've liked every single movie (even some of Thor 2) so I had a blast. I love Carol so much. I thought Brie was great. The montage of her getting up over and over again (similar to what's in the trailer) had me in tears. 

My sister and I loved the montage too! It was fantastic. Her finding strength in her humanity was great.

On 3/8/2019 at 12:58 AM, Wishing Well said:

I was very overwhelmed by this movie, so I’m not ready to write about it quite yet.  Everything is so beautiful right now that I want to take a moment and let it all sink in, and then write a real review.  But my beloved Captain Rogers may have been finally dethroned as my favorite Avenger.  That beautiful man held on for a solid 14 or so movies, but Carol 😍

Did anyone else think that Captain Rogers was looking extra beautiful in the mid credit scene? When he popped up on the screen I turned to my sisters and was like whoa! he looks so good. I think its the beard. It's missing in the Endgame trailers so seeing it again was like 😍 😍😍

I also loved main credit sequence before the mid credits. They were gorgeous.

Edited March 10, 2019 by dkb

[ZoqFotPik]

On 3/8/2019 at 5:57 PM, AimingforYoko said:

Was it me or was Fury pretty zen about Goose taking his eye? (Best part was when Carol asked if his eye was OK and Fury said, "Sure, it's just a scratch." And Talos slowly shaking his head and saying, "No, it's not.")

I took as he didn't quite grasp the seriousness at first. He was still saying it was feeling better later at dinner.

4 hours ago, starri said:

I think it needed a female vocalist.  I personally liked the use of "Just a Girl," but they could have switched it with "Celebrity Skin."

"Celebrity Skin" is a really dark song though. Read the lyrics. "Just a Girl" fit the scene better.

I thought the movie was okay to good. It had its moments of comedy and action, and was well made, but it was really nothing ground breaking. I was surprised that Ben Mendelsohn turned out to not be the bad guy. Having grown up in the 90s I loved all the little touches, with technology and especially the soundtrack. Things that bugged were what happened to the other three Starforce Kree? They were just sort of left on the ship and never mentioned again. We know from GotG that Djimon Hounsou's character survives. Also, weren't there four Skrull? Talos, the Science Guy, "Coulson", and one other? 

[VCRTracking]

[Cerulean]

I rather liked the train fight scene- in real life, people would not have stood by and watched.... and I was pleased to see that reflected in the movie. 

[Vermicious Knid]

I've owned cats and I knew as soon as Goose jumped on the desk he was going to hork up the Tesseract. Which got me thinking, Howard Stark recovered it in 1945, and then Mar-Vell somehow has it in 1989. Where's it been inbetween? Howard was still alive and  apparently he didn't turn it over to SHEILD, even though he helped found the agency. And now that I think about it, Goose was just hanging around for 6 years after Mar-Vell's death?

I did like it, although Brie's little girl voice came through too much. It seemed they were setting up Fury as the only one to be aware of  the aliens but then Coulson asked about it at the end. Which doesn't jive with Thor being the first time SHIELD is aware of the potential of alien invaders. I happened to catch the end of Avengers again this week and it does cast Fury's comment at the end about this being a sign to all planets (paraphrasing) in a new light.

Marvel has a serious problem with names, as demonstrated by the confusion over the Marias a few pages ago. Multiple James, Peters, Marias and there are probably more.

[Sakura12]

I don't think the names are an issue those are common names. Its realistic that you will meet multiple people with the same name. 

I think the lyrics to Just a Girl fit better in that scene. 

[Cerulean]

6 hours ago, Vermicious Knid said:

I've owned cats and I knew as soon as Goose jumped on the desk he was going to hork up the Tesseract.

And yes, that’s exactly what a real cat sounds like... except somehow worse!  

Is Fury still crazy about something that literally took his eye out? (And can eat people?)

[anna0852]

I think Thor is going to love having another battle buddy around. Rocket will love her sarcastic side and total irreverence as will Tony. Cap is going to hate that same irreverence as well as Carol's inevitable "doing things my way" approach and non deference to Cap as leader. Bruce is going to be very envious that she got powers in a freak accident the way he did but has total control over hers. 

[blackwing]

On 3/8/2019 at 11:25 AM, Spartan Girl said:

Is it too much to ask that everybody treat a female superhero movie like they'd treat a white male superhero movie: with zero accusations of "politicizing" things or "pushing an agenda"?  JFC.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie.  I went into it with zero expectations other than I hated Brie Larson’s voice in the trailers.  I didn’t have any of these “oh it’s a female superhero movie” and a preconceived desire to “treat” it differently notions that you are suggesting that “everybody” has.

However, I don’t understand why a guy can’t make observations about this movie without being accused of being a “whiny male privilege fanboy” or whatever similar term was used upthread.  In my opinion, this movie certainly had a very feminist agenda.  

1.  The relationship between Maria and Carol.  I thought it was great.  I enjoyed seeing how strong their friendship and how much they cared about each other.  It was just like any other male friendship in Marvel movies, like Cap and a de-brainwashed Bucky, Tony and Rhodey, Peter Parker and his roommate.  But then I see suggestions in media articles (and even in this thread) that the two of them are perhaps lovers and I don’t understand why people are looking for something that might not be there just to push an agenda.

2.  The whole “sisters are doing it for themselves” angle.  I would not have thought anything at all about the fact that Carol has no boyfriend or potential love interest in this movie, had I not read at least one media article that was gushing about the fact that it was so refreshing and liberating that “she doesn’t need a man to prove her worth”.  Well, neither did Black Widow, Scarlet Witch, Okoye or Shuri.  

3.  They took one of Marvel’s most revered characters, Mar-Vell, and gender flipped him into an older woman played by Annette Bening.  Turns out she is the noble and benevolent one that is trying to save a race of people that her people traditionally fought against.  Meanwhile, the pretty boy commander played by Jude Law, who some had suspected of being Mar-Vell, turns out to be the primary antagonist who is hell bent on destroying said people.  Coupled with other observations, I think it is hard to ignore the feminist angle to this plot and casting decision.

4.  “I’m Just a Girl”.  I hated this sequence.  She’s obviously very powerful and competent.  Why the need to hit people over the head with it with the not subtle statement that she is a “girl” who is kicking everyone’s butts?

So I guess to me it might be more the media that is casting her as some sort of feminist superhero icon.  Meanwhile, I can’t help but notice that there was nothing like this of the sort written about Scarlet Witch, who was one of the more powerful Avengers.  That scene of the airport battle where she was using her telekinesis (or whatever the movies have turned her powers into) and easily manipulating the opposing heroes around, she was powerful, without anyone cheering the fact that she had no boyfriend.

I also don’t feel like the “Wonder Woman” movie was this blatantly feminist.  Although again, perhaps the media has set higher expectations for this one in part based on the positive reception to “Wonder Woman”.

Overall I am not complaining about this strong female superhero... I just think there is nothing wrong in pointing out that I do feel like there was an agenda pushed here.   I actually am curious about when Captain Marvel exactly became the female face of Marvel comics... in the 70s and 80s back when she was known as Ms. Marvel she had the exact same powers she has in the comics today, and yet she was never thought of the way she is today   Somewhere along the line she was transformed into “perhaps THE most powerful superhero in Marvel Comics” and I’m not sure why she wasn’t considered so powerful back in the 80s when she was just simply another member of the Avengers.

My open questions after this movie:

1.  How come Carol didn’t age in 20+ years?  She looks exactly the same answering the beacon that she did in 1995.  Does space or the Kree powers keep her from aging?

2.  I hunger for the appearance of an adult Monica Rambeau.  Monica has always been one of my favourite comic book characters.  Love everything about her.  I really hope she shows up at some point in the future.  I’ve always wanted the character to show up in movies, TV and video games but I don’t think she ever has.  Loved the little girl version of Monica in this movie.  She even had the iconic hairstyle sported by Monica at the height of her Avengers career when she was their leader.

[PepSinger]

31 minutes ago, blackwing said:

2.  The whole “sisters are doing it for themselves” angle.  I would not have thought anything at all about the fact that Carol has no boyfriend or potential love interest in this movie, had I not read at least one media article that was gushing about the fact that it was so refreshing and liberating that “she doesn’t need a man to prove her worth”.  Well, neither did Black Widow, Scarlet Witch, Okoye or Shuri.  

I think is a disingenuous comparison. Black Widow, Scarlet Witch, Okoye, and Shuri do not have their own movies. Captain Marvel does, and I don't blame people for pointing out it was nice that she didn't need a man to prove her worth.

33 minutes ago, blackwing said:

3.  They took one of Marvel’s most revered characters, Mar-Vell, and gender flipped him into an older woman played by Annette Bening.  Turns out she is the noble and benevolent one that is trying to save a race of people that her people traditionally fought against.  Meanwhile, the pretty boy commander played by Jude Law, who some had suspected of being Mar-Vell, turns out to be the primary antagonist who is hell bent on destroying said people.  Coupled with other observations, I think it is hard to ignore the feminist angle to this plot and casting decision.

And what's wrong with any of this?

[revbfc]

I would have used a different song for that last fight. Perhaps L7’s “Fuel My Fire,” or “Fast & Frightening” would have worked better (and been less on the nose) than “Just A Girl.”

[starri]

33 minutes ago, blackwing said:

I actually am curious about when Captain Marvel exactly became the female face of Marvel comics... in the 70s and 80s back when she was known as Ms. Marvel she had the exact same powers she has in the comics today, and yet she was never thought of the way she is today   Somewhere along the line she was transformed into “perhaps THE most powerful superhero in Marvel Comics” and I’m not sure why she wasn’t considered so powerful back in the 80s when she was just simply another member of the Avengers.

2012, with Kelly Sue DeConnick and Dexter Soy's Captain Marvel series.  Which heavily influenced the plot of the movie, which lead to them getting a special shout-out in the credits.  I'm sure a large part of the push was a cynical attempt to give her a higher profile, given that they were at the time forbidden from using their other high name recognition female characters (I would argue the highest would be Storm) in the MCU.  But DeConnick and Soy took the mandate and made it into an excellent story, the initial issue being in large part about her reluctance to start calling herself Captain Marvel, because she felt it was Mar-Vell's name.  Steve convinces her to think about it, but the memory of her own person hero, a female test pilot named Helen Cobb, that makes her decide to do it.

[Spartan Girl]

38 minutes ago, PepSinger said:

And what's wrong with any of this?

Exactly! My problem is that people are acting like a feminist movie is a bad thing. It's not! 

And whether you like Brie or not, the fact that she's being vilified by know-nothing's just for stating her opinions about equality and diversity is just re-goddamn-diculous.

Edited March 10, 2019 by Spartan Girl

[starri]

1 hour ago, blackwing said:

Meanwhile, the pretty boy commander played by Jude Law, who some had suspected of being Mar-Vell, turns out to be the primary antagonist who is hell bent on destroying said people

Yon-Rogg is a character from the earliest days of Captain Marvel, and was an an antagonist for both Mar-Vell and Carol in her Ms. Marvel days.  He was also indirectly responsible for Carol gaining her powers.

[Morrigan2575]

Those trailers did not do this movie justice. I loved it

OK, back from the theater with a few more thoughts.

I loved how this answered all my questions. When the first trailer premiered I wondered (on this board) how/why Carol was so much more powerful than other Kree when she was half human...and I got my answers.

When I first saw the trailers I wondered how were they going to go from Skrulls = bad and Kree = Good to GotG with Kree Empire being the bad guys. Even if you allow for Roman possibly being a lone wolf/fanatic the other Kree weren't all that interested in stopping him. I felt this movie did a really good job with the twist.

I don't know if that twist worked so well because I knew Skrulls from X-Men Comics and the Invasion Crossover or because I really didn't know much about Captain Marvel to begin with but, it really worked for me

I didn't have a problem with Jude Law/Yon Rogg as the villain because the movie wasn't about him and, really didn't need him (as the villain). The emotional punch came from Talos who "played" the villain for most of the movie.

I loved Carol with Maria and Monica, that relationship worked so well not only in Flashbacks but, in the present scenes as well.

The de-aging FX worked really well on Fury, less so on Caulson but, it was still fun to see them.

I loved Goose, he really stole every scene he was in. Loved Fury and Samuel L. Jackson was having a blast playing light/fun Fury.

All in All I really enjoyed the movie it. It was fun and had some really good action scenes. I loved how it tied in nicely to the MCU. I think the only obvious goof was the fact that they went by S.H.I.E.L.D. when it was a running gag in Iron Man.

ETA: Holy Crap it really did have a $150 Million opening weekend.

https://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=4493&p=.htm

$153M Domestic, $455M world wide. Impressive

More thoughts.

I cried from the minute the opening Stan Lee credits rolled. I don't know if they're going to run for every movie this year or just for Captain Marvel (since it's the first) but, it's very emotional.

MCU cannot get rid of Chris Evans...seriously Steve Rogers shows up in the mid-credits scene abs everyone pays attention. 😁 Steve/Chris is my favorite song I demand her sticks around in Cameos in every movie forever!

Edited March 10, 2019 by Morrigan2575

[WritinMan]

3 hours ago, blackwing said:

3.  They took one of Marvel’s most revered characters, Mar-Vell,

Mar-Vell is one of Marvel's most revered characters?

[starri]

1 hour ago, Morrigan2575 said:

$153M Domestic, $455M world wide. Impressive

Higher, further, faster.

[LilWharveyGal]

2 hours ago, Morrigan2575 said:

Steve Rogers shows up in the mid-credits scene abs everyone pays attention. 😁 

Best typo ever.

Nitpicky question from an ignorant northerner: Does every home in rural Louisiana look the same? When the action got to Marie's house I thought they'd stumbled into the Queen Sugar set.

[Cranberry]

Scarlet Witch and Vision are together in Infinity War. Black Widow and Bruce Banner have a romance. Carol is the first MCU Avenger, male or female, to not have a romantic storyline, and I see nothing wrong with pointing out any unique aspects of a film.

$455 mil (which may be adjusted upwards after tonight) is better than expected! I'm pleased. Guess the sad dudes who boycotted this movie don't make up as much of the audience as they thought they did...

[starri]

I'm honestly conflicted about where I would rank this in terms of the overall MCU movies, but I do think it's one of the better origin stories.

[Guest]

12 hours ago, blackwing said:

I also don’t feel like the “Wonder Woman” movie was this blatantly feminist.  Although again, perhaps the media has set higher expectations for this one in part based on the positive reception to “Wonder Woman”.

I actually thought Wonder Woman was very feminist. That big difference is that because of the time period Diana faced more overt sexism while Carol faced a more modern and insidious form of sexism. The sexism is Wonder Woman is easy to condemn but the sexism in Captain Marvel is easy to justify.

I like Wonder Woman but it is telling a very different story than Captain Marvel. Diana’s story was a woman who already knew her own power and who had to keep asserting herself when dismissed because of her gender. It was a story of a god becoming disillusioned with humans. 

Carol’s story is a woman who was continually held back and controlled who had to embrace her full power. It is the story of a human who realizes she is a god. The media is focusing more on “girl power” because Carol’s story resonates with many woman. 

Diana is a woman that girls can look up to with awe but Carol is a woman that girls can look at and see themselves. 

12 hours ago, blackwing said:

However, I don’t understand why a guy can’t make observations about this movie without being accused of being a “whiny male privilege fanboy” or whatever similar term was used upthread.  In my opinion, this movie certainly had a very feminist agenda.  

I want to be clear that in the next paragraph I am not addressing anyone specifically. It is in response to the overall tone of much of the criticism.

I do agree that it is unfair to dismiss any critical voice as a “whiny male privilege fanboy”. The thing I don’t understand is why a feminist agenda is often dismissed as a bad thing. Why is there a problem with a female driven movie? It is hard not to look at the backlash and wonder what is wrong with my experience as a woman being the agenda. 

Edited March 11, 2019 by Guest

[SnoGirl]

I loved it. Joyful, sarcastic bad ass who did what was right even if its the hard, impossible choice. I cannot get over how joyful Carol was. She loved her powers. I also loved that Carol never apologized-for anything. She never said “sorry” and I loved it. Gah. The smile line killed me. As did “I dont have to prove myself to you.” I cant wait for the giphys for this movie.

Higher Further Faster baby!

I loved all the relationships. I loved all the secondary characters. I loved that the movie let us decide about Carol’s flashbacks, we never saw a whole one other than the plane crash, and I really liked that. It was enough to see how much of a fighter Carol had always been. I cried seeing her standing up over and over again, along with making the choice to not give up over and over again.

I have two minor complaints. The movie was so dang dark. Space does not mean darkness. Lighten up those fight scenes. Secondly-would it have killed Marvel to have more women in this movie? I had the same complaint of Wonder Woman. Both were part of teams made of mostly men. Secondary characters were mostly men. Tell me why Melinda May or Maria Hill couldnt have been some of the Shield Agents running around? It would be nice if someday the number of men/women in action movies would ever have more women than men.

That said-I can NOT wait for Carol to destroy Thanos. The “Where’s Fury” line had quite the punch to it. Thanos is so screwed I can’t wait. They better not dampen Carol’s powers in End Game.

Edit to say I LOVE that Fury named the Avengers after Carol. I better see Carol say something to Fury in End Game about that. Really, I loved all the prequel Easter Eggs, but that one the most!

Edited March 10, 2019 by SnoGirl

[starri]

1 minute ago, SnoGirl said:

Tell me why Melinda May or Maria Hill couldnt have been some of the Shield Agents running around?

Assuming Hill is the same age as Cobie Smulders, she would have been 13 in 1995.  And I haven't watched AoS in years,but I don't think May joined SHIELD until a bit later.  I wouldn't have minded Fury getting a phone call from Director Carter, though.

I guess for me, I would take the quality over quantity.  Maria, Monica, and Mar-Vell were all so great.  And they pulled off the tricky challenge of determinedly passing the Bechdel Test without drawing attention to the fact that they were attempting to do so.