Captain Marvel (2019) review

Since 2008, Marvel Studios has been the most dominant force behind the current state of the superhero genre as their bold plan to unite their various superheroes within one single franchise has more than proven to be a huge success with both critics and audiences. And yet, it legitimately could be argued that they’ve been a bit behind the times when it comes to having a diverse representation of characters in their film output. To be clear, the MCU has managed to give us a wide collection of excellent characters, especially when it comes to their female protagonists like Black Widow, Scarlet Witch, Gamora, Daisy Johnson, and Peggy Carter, just to name a few. However, in the case of their latest outing, Captain Marvel, it is the first female-led entry of a franchise that is currently 21 films in. And for those who are wondering why it took so long for this to happen, it’s been noted that this was mainly due to the studio’s former CEO, Ike Perlmutter, who played a huge role in some of the franchise’s most controversial bits of ‘executive meddling’. This included everything from the lack of Black Widow merchandise for Avengers: Age of Ultron to all the creative conflicts that led to Edgar Wright backing out of Ant-Man. And if that wasn’t enough, he also reportedly wasn’t keen on doing a film adaptation of Black Panther. But, of course, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige managed to break away from Perlmutter and the Creative Committee in 2015. And because of this, one of Marvel’s most popular superheroines has finally been given the chance to grace her own solo film, with Oscar-winner Brie Larson taking on the role of Carol Danvers, arguably the most famous incarnation of the one that they call Captain Marvel (disclaimer: not to be confused with DC’s Captain Marvel, who will be making his own live-action debut next month in Shazam). For this installment, directorial duties go to the husband and wife duo of Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, whose previous works include critically-acclaimed outings like 2006’s Half Nelson and 2015’s Mississippi Grind. And despite what certain parts of the internet may tell you, Captain Marvel is, what a surprise, yet another phenomenal installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe that more than establishes its title character as the franchise’s newest badass heroine.

The year is 1995. On a seemingly average night, a mysterious woman crash-lands into a Blockbuster store in Los Angeles. The woman, who goes by the name of Vers (Brie Larson), claims to be a member of an elite intergalactic unit known as Starforce made up of members of an alien race known as the Kree. During their most recent mission, Starforce found themselves dealing with their longest-standing adversaries, Skrulls, who can shapeshift into any being that they come across. Vers ends up getting captured by a faction of Skrulls led by their commander, Talos (Ben Mendelsohn), who she learns is searching for a woman on Earth named Dr. Wendy Lawson (Annette Benning), who supposedly developed plans for a light-speed engine. After arriving on Earth, she ends up meeting Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), an agent of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division AKA SHIELD, and the two end up going on a journey together to try and prevent the Skrulls from acquiring Dr. Lawson’s plans. Along the way, Vers also starts to uncover more about her past life that she has long struggled to remember. Most specifically, she discovers that she was a former U.S. Air Force pilot named Carol Danvers who had supposedly died during a test run of Dr. Lawson’s engine in 1989. And as she soon finds out, the ramifications of what happened during this event end up providing her with a radically different outlook on the war between the Kree and the Skrulls.  

As alluded to in the plot synopsis, Captain Marvel goes the route of Captain America: The First Avenger by being a prequel that takes place before most of the other MCU films. In this instance, it’s set in the ’90s, and the film doesn’t disappoint when it comes to having a historically accurate representation of the era thanks to its rocking soundtrack and plenty of references to 90’s culture (e.g. the limitations of the technology of the time). As for the story, though, it’s admittedly one of the simpler affairs of the MCU. The best way to describe it is that it parallels the execution of the first Thor film by spending more time on Earth than in space. And while many have felt that the Thor films worked better when they weren’t on Earth, it’s ironically the opposite case with this film as it doesn’t really get going until after Carol arrives on Earth. Despite this, however, the film does manage to craft a solid mystery around Carol slowly but surely discovering her identity and how it ultimately factors into the long-standing conflict between the Kree and the Skrulls. This, along with the various lore-related references that the film makes (e.g. appearances of familiar objects, characters, etc.), creates an outcome that manages to keep in line with what we’ve seen in the other MCU films. And just like those other MCU films, Captain Marvel continues to feature everything that audiences have come to expect from this franchise, from its solid comedic dialogue to its excellent action sequences.    

Most importantly, though, Captain Marvel continues to maintain the MCU’s strong sense of emotional depth, which is well-exemplified by Brie Larson’s excellent performance in the title role. Larson perfectly conveys Carol’s tenacity and her rebellious attitude, which helps to make her transition into a full-blown superhero one of the most satisfying arcs to come from the MCU. The film also benefits greatly from her phenomenal camaraderie with Samuel L. Jackson, who gets what is easily his largest role in an MCU film to date as Nick Fury. And because of this film’s 90’s setting, it gives us a radically different take on the man who will end up becoming the leader of SHIELD, which Jackson (along with the aid of Marvel Studios’ continually impressive de-aging visual effects technology) handles brilliantly. Aside from them, you also have your reliable MCU supporting players, which notably include a few returnees from other installments of the franchise. Clark Gregg makes his first appearance as Agent Coulson in an MCU film since transitioning over to Agents of SHIELD while both Lee Pace and Djimon Hounsou reprise their roles of Ronan the Accuser and Korath, respectively, from Guardians of the Galaxy. However, it should be noted that their roles in the film are incredibly minor. Thankfully, there are also some great supporting players in here that have much larger roles in the plot, like newcomer Lashana Lynch as Carol’s best friend Maria Rambeau, Annette Benning as Dr. Lawson, and Jude Law as Starforce’s leader (and Carol’s mentor) Yon-Rogg. And as for the main antagonist, Skrull commander Talos, admittedly I can’t say much about his role in the film just yet as that would be delving into spoiler territory. It’s a well-layered role, though, and Ben Mendelsohn gets to be one of the rare instances of a more comedic Marvel Cinematic Universe villain.  

What’s this, another great MCU film to add to the collection? Yes, folks, the MCU continues to be one of the top film franchises in the industry as their 21^st installment is another well-rounded solo flick with all the usual fixings. I mean, at this point, it’s crazy to doubt the fact that Marvel Studios knows what they’re doing, but admittedly, this one did attract some skepticism prior to its release. If that wasn't enough, it also attracted some unwarranted backlash following a comment made by Brie Larson where she wished for better diversity in the media during this film’s press tour. And while it’s a reasonable desire backed by undisputable fact, this got misinterpreted as ‘sexist SJW BS’ by the same morons who considered Star Wars: The Last Jedi an utter offense to humanity. Modern era trolling in a nutshell, ladies and gentlemen. Thankfully, though, those ‘fans’ (and yes, the term ‘fans’ is used loosely in this case) were proven very much wrong. Now, to be clear, I’m not saying that this is ‘the best’ MCU film ever made. It does have an admittedly slow start and its plot is simpler in execution when compared to other installments of the franchise. But even with that in mind, this ‘back to basics’ approach isn’t necessarily a bad thing as it is still just as entertaining as any other MCU film. As a prequel to most of the other MCU films, the ways in which it sets up future events are generally handled quite well. And thanks in large part to Brie Larson’s excellent performance in the title role, Carol Danvers’ transformation into the franchise’s newest badass heroine, Captain Marvel, gives this film the same great emotional poignancy that the MCU is known for. Thus, while it might get a bit overshadowed by the upcoming epic that is Avengers: Endgame, Captain Marvel continues Marvel Studios’ stellar cinematic hot streak that has now been going on for a full decade.

Rating: 4.5/5

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018) review

In 2001, the first installment of the Harry Potter film series, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Philosopher’s Stone overseas), officially kickstarted a great new franchise adapted from the beloved, best-selling book series by author J.K. Rowling. One full decade later, the series officially concluded with the second part of the adaptation of the final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and for fans of the franchise, it seemed as if this was the end of the adventures within the Wizarding World… or so we thought. Just a few years later, it was announced that Rowling would be writing a new series of films inspired by the in-universe textbook Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, a guide to the various creatures of the Wizarding World that was published for real in 2001. And while it’s safe to say that some may have initially questioned the idea of a film series based around a textbook, Rowling would soon go on to reveal more details about the new franchise. Specifically, it would be a prequel that took place 70 years prior to the events of Harry Potter and would focus on the adventures of the textbook’s author, Newt Scamander. The first installment of this series, which shared the name of its source material, hit theaters in November 2016. It served as Rowling’s first screenplay and saw director David Yates return to the franchise after previously helming the final four installments of Harry Potter. Upon its release, the film proved to be yet another success for the franchise, garnering solid reviews from both critics and audiences and grossing over $800 million worldwide, thus paving the way for this year’s sequel, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, which delves further into the Wizarding World of the 1920’s. And while it does end up suffering a bit from a case of ‘middle chapter syndrome’, there’s still just enough of the things that have made this franchise a staple of pop culture to satisfy its devoted fandom. 

Three months after aiding the Magical Congress of the United States of America (MACUSA) in capturing the notorious dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp), zoologist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) returns home to England to continue what he does best by looking after all the unique magical creatures that he comes across. However, Newt is soon placed on watch by the Ministry of Magic for his ‘unauthorized’ field trip to America and is pressured into assisting their Aurors (one of them being his older brother Theseus (Callum Turner)) in their efforts to hunt Grindelwald again when he ends up escaping from custody. Newt also learns that Grindelwald is specifically looking for Credence Barebone (Ezra Miller), the disturbed young man who, in the previous film, was revealed to be possessed by a parasite known as an Obscurus. And although he was supposedly killed by MACUSA, it is revealed that he survived and has traveled to Paris in the hopes of discovering his heritage. While he initially refuses to help the Aurors, Newt is ultimately convinced to go on his own accord by his old professor from Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law), whose unique relationship with Grindelwald prevents him from joining in on the action. Thus, Newt, with the aid of sisters Tina (Katherine Waterston) and Queenie (Alison Sudol) Goldstein and Muggle Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler), who’s revealed to have kept most of the memories that he had prior to his alleged memory wipe, embark on a journey to ensure that Credence isn’t swayed by Grindelwald’s dark cause. For as they find out, Credence’s supposedly pure-blood heritage potentially makes him the only one who can possibly equal Grindelwald and his greatest adversary, Albus Dumbledore.

Now admittedly, Crimes of Grindelwald doesn’t always maintain the exact same quality of writing when compared to previous entries in the franchise. While some have criticized it for having a ‘minimal’ plot, I’d say that this film’s biggest issue lies more with its ending. For the most part, this film is clearly meant to be the entry in the series that is primarily intended to set up plotlines that will play a far bigger role in future films, and while I don’t mind the ways in which it sets up those films, it ends up resulting in its own finale being a bit too anti-climactic. Simply put, the big confrontation with Grindelwald that the marketing campaign has been alluding to doesn’t really happen, and what is ultimately there is taken care of rather quickly, which also means that not every plotline and bit of character development is given as much attention as it should be. But even with that in mind, that doesn’t completely take anything away from all the other great things that are in this film. While it does stumble a bit by the end, the rest of the film is very well-paced even if the plot is admittedly a lot simpler compared to some of the other films. And yet, even with that said, this film still manages to maintain what is easily J.K. Rowling’s greatest strength as a writer, her knack for world-building. Once again, this film does a phenomenal job when it comes to creating all the new locations and magical creatures that it brings to the Wizarding World thanks in large part to the always terrific production design and stunning visual effects that only manage to get better with each new film.

But as I’ve noted in the past, easily my favorite aspect of this new franchise is its main protagonists AKA the main quartet of Newt, Jacob, Tina, and Queenie. Even with the expectations spurred from the iconic trio of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, these four proved to be just as endearing as the series’ original leads. Plus, despite where some of the plotlines in this film end up taking them, their chemistry is still just as strong as it was in the first film. Most notably, Newt and Jacob continue to be a wonderful lead duo, with Eddie Redmayne continuing to maintain Newt’s incredibly sympathetic nature and Dan Fogler once again providing the film with many of its best humorous moments. Redmayne and Fogler also continue to have wonderful chemistry with Katherine Waterston and Alison Sudol as sisters Tina and Queenie, respectively, resulting in some of the film’s best emotional moments. As for the new additions to the franchise’s ensemble, easily the most prominent is Jude Law taking on the role of a young Albus Dumbledore. And while it should be noted that Dumbledore doesn’t factor into the plot as much as one would expect, Law still very much shines in the role, nobly following in the footsteps of Richard Harris and Michael Gambon. Other new additions like Callum Turner as Newt’s brother Theseus, Zoe Kravitz as Newt’s former classmate (and Theseus’ fiancé) Leta Lestrange, and Claudia Kim as the transforming Maledictus known as Nagini (who, of course, ends up becoming Voldemort’s snake companion in the Potter books/films) are solid as well.

And then there’s easily the film’s biggest question mark, Johnny Depp as Grindelwald. Ever since he was cast in the role, there has been a ton of controversy because of it. For starters, some fans weren’t too thrilled with the first film’s reveal that Grindelwald had been impersonating Colin Farrell’s Percival Graves, with many arguing that Farrell would’ve been a much better fit in the role. And while Depp’s role in the first film was ultimately quite minor, some predicted that this would eventually lead to yet another instance of his increasingly controversial over-the-top style of acting. But, of course, the biggest controversy to come from Depp’s casting was due to his infamous domestic abuse case in 2016, with many condemning the decision for him to be cast in a franchise that was developed by a woman who’s clearly been known to disapprove of this kind of behavior. And yet, at the risk of attracting some negative attention from those who were against his casting… Depp surprisingly manages to impress in the role of Grindelwald. Contrary to what some may have feared, he never really delves into the same over-the-top acting that he’s been known for these past few years. Instead, he establishes a suitably reserved but incredibly intimidating antagonist who can recruit others to his cause without much issue, and while he does suffer from the story seemingly saving his biggest moments for future films, Depp does make the most out of the material that he’s given. In short, while I want to make it perfectly clear that I’m not ‘defending’ any of Depp’s recent actions, it should be noted that, despite what some may ultimately claim, none of this film’s shortcomings are primarily because of him.

At the time that I’m writing this, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is the only entry in the Wizarding World saga to attract a mixed-to-negative reception from critics… and yet, it’s seriously not as bad as some of those critics have been claiming. To be clear, though, I’m not saying that it’s perfect because, in the opposite scenario of what happened with Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, this film does fall victim to the dreaded ‘middle chapter syndrome’. While I don’t dislike any of the ways in which the film sets up future installments of the franchise, along with how it often ties itself back to Harry Potter, there are a few plot threads and bits of character development that would’ve benefitted from having more attention given to them. But despite all this, everything else that’s great about the Wizarding World franchise is still on display here. J.K. Rowling’s world-building is still second-to-none and the main characters are just as endearing as ever while being joined by some solid newcomers. And yes, as controversial of a claim as it’ll undoubtedly be, Johnny Depp doesn’t phone it in whilst portraying the title role of Grindelwald. I understand why some have been hesitant about this film because of his involvement, but I hope that it doesn’t completely turn people away from seeing it given those who were involved that obviously weren’t tied to Depp’s incidents. In other words, Depp’s involvement has clearly cast an incredibly dark shadow over this new series that, unfortunately, it might not be able to overcome. But as for me, I’m still very much a staunch defender of the Fantastic Beasts franchise and I look forward to seeing it continue.  

Rating: 4.5/5

Spy (2015) review

2015 is shaping up to be quite a big year for the spy film genre. Earlier this year, we had the insanely over-the-top and incredibly entertaining ‘Kingsmen: The Secret Service’. Later this year, we’re also going to get ‘Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation’, ‘The Man from UNCLE’, and the next James Bond film ‘Spectre’. But before all of that, we also have ‘Spy’, the latest film from director Paul Feig, who’s coming off of two big comedy hits in 2011’s ‘Bridesmaids’ and 2013’s ‘The Heat’. But Feig is also coming into this film with a bit of a chip on his shoulder having attracted a lot of backlash online recently for being involved in the upcoming reboot of the ‘Ghostbusters’ series that will star an all-female cast of leads. One of the leads will be Feig’s regular collaborator Melissa McCarthy, who previously starred in both ‘Bridesmaids’ and ‘The Heat’ and of course stars in this film as well. Like Feig, she too is sort of coming in with a chip on her shoulder as she seemingly is currently running the risk of falling victim to ‘over-exposure’, namely after last year’s ‘Tammy’, which she co-wrote with her husband Ben Falcone (who directed the film), received a lot of negative reviews from critics. But, if anything, ‘Spy’ proves that McCarthy and Feig are at their best when they work together. Not only is ‘Spy’ a pretty darn hilarious spy comedy, thanks in no small part to its excellent cast, but it actually also manages to be a pretty well-crafted spy film as well. If anything, it shows that this upcoming ‘Ghostbusters’ film may not be a ‘disaster’ like many on the internet fear it will be.

McCarthy plays Susan Cooper, a desk analyst at the CIA who, despite finding success as the partner of field agent Bradley Fine (Jude Law), is frustrated by the fact that she hasn’t been given a chance to go out into the field herself and, as a result, is still the ‘same old boring’ person that she’s always been. But that changes when, on a mission to infiltrate the home of Rayna Boyanov (Rose Byrne), the daughter of an arms dealer that Fine had accidentally killed while searching for a mini-nuke, Fine is taken down by Rayna herself, who reveals that she knows the identities of all of the C.I.A.’s top agents. With no other agents, including Rick Ford (Jason Statham), being able to probably take part in the case due to the leak, Susan volunteers to be the field agent on the grounds that none of the targets would know who she is. So, with the approval of her boss Elaine (Alison Janney), Susan heads out, under various unassuming identities (including, among others, a ‘cat lady’), to track and report any developments of an impending sale of the mini-nuke between Boyanov and playboy Sergio De Luca (Bobby Cannavale). While she is told not to get close to any of the contacts for risk of blowing her cover, Susan ends up doing just that, pretending to be Rayna’s body-guard when the two end up crossing paths.

Something that impressed me about this film was that, as far as spy films are concerned, this one was pretty well-constructed in terms of action and the overall look and feel of the film. It even has an intro credits sequence just like the Bond films. The action sequences are shot really well and, like ‘Kingsmen’, are more violent in execution, definitely warranting an R-rating along with the usual raunchy humor you can expect from an R-rated comedy. Having now seen this film, I must say that I would love to see Paul Feig do a Bond film in the future because, based on this film alone, he handles action pretty well. I’m finding that this has kind of been a trend recently as there have been cases of directors who have been primarily known for their work in comedy proving to do a pretty solid job when it comes to directing action, with some other recent examples being the Russo brothers and James Gunn with their work on their respective Marvel Cinematic Universe films. But of course, this is also a comedy and the film does a great job of blending these two genres together, with neither overshadowing the other too much. Admittedly I think that the humor was a little bit stale early on but it definitely improved as the film went on. The film also gives us a really solid female lead in Susan Cooper, who may seem unassuming as far as spies are concerned but ends up being quite a badass when it comes to some of the stuff that she does in this film.

This was the first major film that I saw in which Melissa McCarthy starred in the lead role so ultimately I guess you can say that I’m not amongst those people who have gotten tired of her ‘schtick’ yet. And as far as this film goes, she does a solid job, excelling in both her comedic ability and her overall likability and empathetic nature, which definitely fits the character. Though it could be argued that the biggest standouts of the film are actually some of McCarthy’s co-stars, two in particular. First there’s Jason Statham, in a rare comedic turn. Statham gets plenty of the film’s best lines, which are mostly him gloating about how awesome of an agent he is, being immune to over 170 different kinds of toxic substances and for doing crazy stunts like jumping off a high-rise with only a raincoat as a parachute and driving a car off a train while on fire (“Not the car, I was on fire.”). The other big standout is Rose Byrne, who once again shows that she’s clearly found her calling in comedic roles after being one of the big standouts of last year’s ‘Neighbors’. Her comedic timing is strong and her back-and-forth camaraderie with McCarthy is excellent. But then there’s some other noteworthy members of the cast as well, like Miranda Hart in a breakout role as Susan’s friend Nancy, who also ends up getting involved with the mission as well when she too heads out in the field, and Peter Serafinowicz as Aldo, an informant who constantly tries to flirt with Susan.  

‘Spy’ was the first major film that I have seen from director Paul Feig since he broke out big time in 2011 with ‘Bridesmaids’. And although I haven’t seen either that or ‘The Heat’, I think he’s going to be a great choice to helm the new ‘Ghostbusters’ film. Because ‘Spy’ is sort of two films in one. Not only is it a pretty darn funny comedy, but it’s also a pretty darn well-made spy film as well, once again showing that comedy directors can do action sequences just as well as action directors. While most spy films nowadays tend to be more serious compared to the more crazy and over-the-top films of the past (unlike ‘Kingsmen’, which of course was a tribute to that chaotic style), ‘Spy’ is a nice little comedic alternative and, as a result, definitely one of the better comedies of the summer movie season. Of course that is thanks to the solid writing and direction from Feig and the solid ensemble cast led by Melissa McCarthy and featuring standout turns by the likes of Jason Statham, Rose Byrne, and Miranda Hart. While both McCarthy and Feig have come under fire recently by the internet for recent developments in both of their careers, including the upcoming ‘Ghostbusters’ reboot of course, ‘Spy’ shows that these two are at their best when they work together. The way I see it, this new ‘Ghostbusters’ couldn’t be in greater hands.       

      

Rating: 4/5