The Marvels

When I first heard the title of this movie, I thought it was about a 1960s girls' singing group. And, frankly, that would have probably made for a better movie. Writer-director Nia DaCosta's third feature outing and the latest in the Marvel Universe paradigm is a wildly inconsistent superhero movie that tries too hard to do too much and doesn't have a script to support it. Too many of its plot elements aren't adequately explained until well into the story, while others aren't explained at all, leaving viewers who aren't comic book laureates wondering what's going on (particularly at film's end). Meanwhile, other narrative aspects frequently appear gimmicky and grow old quickly, such as the introduction of the primary superpower that its three protagonists share, one that almost becomes slapstickish after an all-too-brief while. On top of that, the CGI effects vacillate from one end of the quality spectrum to the other, creating a mix of images that are either startling to look at or stunningly cheesy at best. Add to that a villain that isn't particularly menacing, along with attempts at humor that either succeed brilliantly (cat lovers take note) or fall flat and look incredibly lame (as aficionados of musical theater will undoubtedly attest), all of which further add to the picture's pervasive inconsistency. The inclusion of ample clues for advancing the overarching Marvel Universe storyline continues here, too, furthering a trend that's growing tiresome in the studio's releases, a development akin to the "Paul is dead" legacy come to life with every passing picture. Then there's the trio of heroes themselves, who often appear more like they've been plucked from a giddy slumber party flick or a Cyndi Lauper video than taking center stage as seriously empowered champions in an action-adventure offering. All of these failings combine to make this production more of a forgettable placeholder in the Marvel mythology than a standalone feature (not to mention a pale substitute for a sequel to the far-superior film that launched the Captain Marvel franchise in 2019). In short, "The Marvels" is as much of a mess as it is a movie, and that's troubling for several reasons. It lends credence to the growing criticism that films like this aren't to be taken seriously. It reinforces the notion that they're cookie-cutter in nature, easily interchangeable with one another. And it raises questions about the career choices of lead actress Brie Larson, who, though quite capable of playing roles like these, is running the risk of becoming type-cast, a troubling prospect for an Academy Award-winning actress who possesses a depth of talent and is handily adept at taking on better and more serious material than this. In the wake of this release, Marvel Studios should take a step back and seriously assess where its future is headed, especially if movies like this are any indication. As pictures like "Wakanda Forever" (2022) show, the studio is capable of better work - and it's time to show viewers that.

THE MARVELS is here and it's a mashed up film that is totally all over the place. It feels as if this film was edited and chopped into pieces during post and it shows.

Couple things I enjoyed, I did like seeing Carol Danvers and Monica Rambeau resolve and acknowledge their relationship, but due to the nature of their characters being straight arrows, it allows Iman Vellani's Kamala Khan to be the audience just as Tom Holland's Peter Parker was in CIVIL WAR. I did not particularly enjoy the MS. MARVEL series, but I can see her being the shoutout for many.

I think the script just touched on the surface of Brie Larson's Captain Marvel herself, so diving into her more is a plus, however the story did her no favors once again and I did feel like she was given like four or five pieces of direction to portray her character compared to the more one-note performance in the first film. Teyonah Parris is commendable. She was the more science-y of the trio.

Samuel L. Jackson just feels inconsistent especially after SECRET INVASION. Feels like this Nick Fury is a variant. He's simply passing through in this film.

Another thing I liked was the incursions (also briefly touched on in DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS). We all complained about the lack of planting seeds for the future leading into KANG DYNASTY and SECRET WARS. Finally, this film it at least preps and teases what's to come down the line.

The MCU's villain problem is a long known fact, but here it only cements their problem even further. Now I'm a fan of Lee Pace's over the top performance as Ronan, but Dar-Benn played by Zawe Ashton is literally a copy and paste of Ronan, but female. Nothing new about it. Definitely up there as one of the worst villains in the MCU.

The power swaps were kinda cool so I can give it that. Nia DaCosta does a good job executing the fight scenes, but again as one should expect, VFX is meh. Now if you cringed during the musical note duel between the two Doctor Strange, then wait till you see one segment of the film where it feels like a misplaced musical. Lots of quirky and annoying humor like one should expect in an MCU film.

The Skrulls are in the film and as a fan we always think we can write the better film after watching it, but I just DO NOT understand why this sequel couldn't have been SECRET INVASION(one of the worst MCU Disney+ shows). SECRET INVASION honestly should have been an Avengers film or at the very least a Captain Marvel sequel co-starring some Avengers, kinda like CIVIL WAR. I personally feel like that dilemma could have furthered Captain Marvel's development due to her involvement with them and how she's equally to blame for not helping them out when she and Fury promised to find them a home. But instead she's stuck with this material.

The mid-credit scene is arguably the best part. Once again teasing things to come. It's stuff that like that, that will maybe still garner interest in the MCU despite its current fall from grace. The end-credit scene is alright. Not particularly jazzed about that promise down the line.

On that note, the recent Variety article published about Marvel Studios talked about their behind the scenes trouble. It was said that Kevin Feige and his creative committee partook in their yearly Palm Springs retreat to regroup and refocus, so here's hoping to next year being more consistent with quality. Seemed like he was spread too thin with the mandate to have more quantity than quality.

THE MARVELS is a season 1.5 for MS. MARVEL and a CAPTAIN MARVEL sequel that we never saw due to the flashbacks and exposition to explain things. And let's be clear, at this point everything feels like homework. That was going to be inevitable moving forward after INFINITY WAR and ENDGAMGE, but especially when Disney+ was announced making Kevin Feige spread out too thin. But it only feels like homework because everything that has been released is below the standard of what Marvel set up for us.

So to sum it up, while I did find it slightly more appealing than the first CAPTAIN MARVEL and QUANTUMANIA, that isn't saying much. Low expectations definitely helped. Is THE MARVELS one of the worst? No, but it definitely belongs way down below the list.

5/10.

Went to see this movie with my 17- and 11-year-old granddaughters. One is a Ms. Marvel fan and the other is now. For me I was hoping for something that children and adults could enjoy. But, no only kids will enjoy this silly mess.

I enjoyed the Captain Marvel movie and thought the criticism was not warranted. I also loved Wanda Vision and the introduction of Monica Rambeau and I was hoping for at least a good continuation of her story. I didn't watch Ms. Marvel because I'm not a teen and I knew it wasn't for me; and after watching her parts in this movie I'm glad I stuck to that.

All three actresses are good and of course Samuel L in always a pleasure to see, but none of the other characters including the so-called villain were the least bit interesting. Most of the scenes were just downright silly. I hope they continue Monica's story with better writing and I wish Marvel would stop being silly and go back to making movies for adults and kids.

Carol Danvers is attempting to save the universe, but her incredible powers become entangled with those of Kamala Khan and Monica Rambeau, they must unite to save the world.

Ouch, what can you say, this is surely one of Marvel's lowest points, I honestly don't know who the target audience is, or who this is going to appeal to, young teens only maybe? Anyhow, this was an absolute mess.

The writing was clearly problematic, it doesn't gel, it is genuinely all over the place. I do very much wonder if huge sections of this film cut? It can be the only answer, it just doesn't flow at all, and that short run time...

Special effects, some were pretty good, some were poor, I just wish there was a greater focus on plot, it just seemed like 100 minutes of CGI, noise and random events.

Brie Larson, I'm not sure about you, but to me she looked totally disinterested and bored by the whole thing, what I didn't see, was someone committed to the role. I thought Samuel Jackson was rather good, but again poorly served by the script.

It didn't look great from the trailers, and in reality, it's another clunker from Marvel Studios.

4/10.

By far the worst Marvel movie so far, I am extremely disappointed. After the mess that Thor 4 was, I was hoping that Marvel learned its lesson, but it seems not. I am honestly happy this movie did bad at the box office, that's what you get for ruining such a great character (I loved Cpt. Marvel from the comics).

What makes it bad:

• Action moves way too fast from one scene to another
• No character improvement or growth by the end of the movie
• Things just happen with no storytelling
• Not serious enough, too childish for my taste
• Too many goofy moments (singing, really? We've come this low, Marvel?)
• End scenes that try to set the context for next movies seem forced and unnecessary

I also found two good things eventually:

• I liked the villain and her story, sympathized with her a bit
• At least the movie was not long.

These writers should never be hired again.