Rating: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆
The Marvel comics have gone beyond just panels in a comic and into movies we can enjoy. The adaptations of these comics began in 2008 with the release of “Iron Man” and its tale of billionaire Tony Stark’s journey to becoming a hero.
The success of this movie led to an expansion of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) that now includes beloved heroes, such as Spider-Man and Captain Marvel.
Despite its disappointing trailer and the bad reception it recieved, “The Marvels” was thought to become another expansion of the well-developed MCU.
Most of the movies released have been praised for their plots and exciting action scenes, along with impressive CGI and humor. But despite the MCU’s past with quality movies, they have begun to face several criticisms to their newest releases for things they were once heavily praised for.
Even through these complications, “The Marvels” was a movie many MCU fans were excited to watch, especially as it dealt with a new and unseen combination of heroes.
In the 2019 “Captain Marvel”, Carol Danvers (played by Brie Larsen) was seen dealing with a past she didn’t remember while using her powers to fight in a war against a shape-shifting species called Skrulls. Meanwhile, the 2022 “Ms. Marvel” showed Kamala Khan (played by Iman Vellani) awaken her powers and begin her own journey as a hero while embracing her culture. Monica Rambeau (played by Teyonah Parris) made an appearance in “Wandavision” (2021), as she crossed Wanda Maximoff’s energy field, giving her energy-based powers.
Expectations were high as Captain Marvel (also known as Carol Danvers) would interact and fight alongside Ms. Marvel (aka Kamala Khan) and Monica Rambeau. Fans were excited to see how their powers would tie into each other.
Unfortunately, the movie didn’t meet those expectations.
The biggest problem was in the development of the antagonist, Dar-Been (Zawe Ashton), an individual from a planet who contained and depended on the Supreme Intelligence. Her motivation to restore her home planet and going to extreme lengths to do this through stealing the natural supplies of other planets was interesting to see. But her defeat happened out of nowhere and it was disappointing not being able to see a big fight with the heroes after a long awaited power up.
Conversations meant to be deep and emotional felt rushed too: the moment after defeating the antagonist was the biggest example of this. The conversation between Monica Rambeau and Captain Marvel would’ve been heartfelt if the scenes before it gave a proper transition.
There were certainly scenes that showed the close relationship Monica had with her Aunt Carol, yet the placement of their conversation after years of not seeing each other was awkward.
While the movie did have faults, there were still aspects I enjoyed. The link between their powers was fascinating and their exploration of that connection to then maneuver their way around its negative impacts was satisfying to see. Carol, Kamala, and Monica’s teamwork turned a liability into a strength that gave them the advantage of unpredictability when fighting the enemy.
Out of the three heroines, Kamala was the most relatable. Kamala Khan’s freak-out when meeting Carol Danvers is a reaction we all would have to meeting a hero. She showed the way most fans can glorify a person they look up to, in real life and in movies. Although her own progress shows it’s important to recognize heroes as people with flaws because no one is perfect.
