PG Score: 7.5/10
The Marvels was released in theaters on 11/10/23
The Marvels had a tough act to follow on the heels of the second season of Loki. Coming out on the same night as the season and possibly the series finale, numbers were down. I'm not here to talk about numbers, though. Brie Larson (Skull Island), Teyonah Parris (Wandavision), and Iman Vellani (Ms. Marvel) worked great as a team. Each brought something different to the table and we were left with a very fun MCU film.
The Marvels Trio
Brie Larson for some reason gets a bad rap. She's beautiful, talented, and willing to speak her mind. She brings that to the role of Carol Danvers and in this film, we get to see why she never returned to Earth until Thanos and the blip. She brings a vulnerability to such a powerful character; the only shame is that we didn't get to see more of that side of her. Building off of her relationship with Monica Rambeau (Parris) who, when she last saw her, was a young girl, the once familial relationship has been strained by her absence. The film does an okay job of showing Monica and Carol reconnecting, but one of its biggest flaws is its lack of time spent on the issue between the two. It feels slightly rushed and the emotional payoff isn't quite there.
The star of the film is Vellani (Kamala Khan). Her enthusiasm for the role and for the character come across bright and loud. The family dynamic she has is always good for a laugh and her being a fan of superheroes, especially Captain Marvel, leads to some of the film's better moments. It's easy to like this character and she has a bright future in the MCU. Again, one of the downsides is the character facing failure and its teaching moments. There is a distinct lack of emotional payoff in that regard when sacrifices have to be made. The character moves on pretty quickly from something that should affect her.
Villain Issues
Another big weakness in the film is the lack of a strong villain. Zawe Ashton (Blitz) does an adequate job but isn't given enough time to make her one of the standout villains in the MCU. We see her reasons, but we never get to delve too deep into what led her to who she became, making the big boss fight at the end a bit disappointing.
Buy Some Popcorn
Storywise this was a very quick film. It's fun and has some amazing fight scenes (particularly the first one involving all three) that keeps things fresh in regards to action and a franchise that has been around since 2008. Excellent visuals cap off what turns out to be a fun film. The Marvels is a popcorn film for sure, and while it may fall in the middle of the pack in terms of MCU films, it is definitely worth seeing on the big screen.