Higher. Further. Faster; Captain Marvel’s motto in Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck’s “Captain Marvel” in 2019. Yet, Nia DaCosta’s sequel, “The Marvels” can only deliver on being faster with a runtime under the two-hour mark.
“The Marvels” takes place immediately after the 2022 “Ms. Marvel” post-credit scene on Disney+. Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani), Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) and Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) swap bodies with each other whenever they use their powers because of a mysterious entanglement. The three are forced to form an unlikely team, “The Marvels”, to stop Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton) the new leader of the alien Kree empire from destroying planets across the galaxy.
One of the film’s highlights is the team chemistry between the three female co-stars. Brie Larson makes Captain Marvel more likable on screen compared to her previous performances in “Captain Marvel” and “Avengers: Endgame,” Larson’s performance flowed great alongside Vellani’s portrayal of the extreme Captain Marvel fan girl. To balance off the energetic Ms Marvel, Parris gives a fun but more serious performance of Monica Rambeau. In all, the main cast has great chemistry on screen which leads to fun scenes sprinkled throughout the movie.
After looking past the main cast, it becomes a basic plot and villain that destroys the rest of the film. Dar-Benn, the film’s main antagonist had interesting motivations, but I was left feeling disappointed due to a bland and forgettable performance. I was forced to look up the character’s name immediately after watching the movie because the character was so forgettable. We have seen this plot before, the film feels just as generic as every other action story in the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe). It appears as if “The Marvels” will be swept under the rug with other recent MCU failures such as “Thor: Love and Thunder” and “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.”
The film was on the goofier side compared to most MCU projects, but the three co-stars made it work on screen. The film had some fun new ideas, even if they were not executed to their fullest potential. Even though the film was supposed to be a fun time, bad CGI distracted from a fun experience. This was another film that had poor and potentially rushed CGI throughout the film that pulled me out of the action.
One area that worked well was the side plot at the S.A.B.E.R. space station as I was pleasantly surprised at how entertaining the Khan family would be interacting with Nick Fury (Samuel Jackson) and Goose the Flerken. One of the best scenes in the entire movie comes from the space station as Goose the Flerken gets her time to shine. If Captain Marvel does not receive a third movie, Goose the Flerken deserves a mini-series on Disney+ like Groot.
Overall “The Marvels” is a fun time for family and friends, with an emphasis on fun and not good. If you are an MCU follower, I would recommend watching this movie because it has major implications for the future of the multiverse saga, and if not I would say that you are safe to skip this film. I would recommend watching “Captain Marvel”, “Ms. Marvel” and “Wandavision” before you see “The Marvels” to understand the whole story.
With a generic plot, boring villain and poor visuals, “The Marvels” three lead characters carry the film to an overall score of 2.5/5.
