The Stream: A bit rushed storytelling and random at times

The Big Screen: Nice switch action sequences and some good laughs

The Final Bill: A typical recent MCU movie trying to do a lot in a short period of time

– S2S: Movie Review and Trip Fontaine
Director: Nia DaCosta
Writers: Nia DaCosta, Megan McDonnell, Elissa Karasik
Stars: Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, Iman Vellani, Samuel L. Jackson, Zawe Ashton
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 1 hour 33 minutes (one mid credit scene to stay for)
Production Companies: Marvel Studios
Platform: Released in theaters November 10, 2023 (eventually to Disney+ in probably 30-45 days)
Notable Trailers: Hunger Games the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Migration, The Color Purple, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Wish

Hey, Streamers! It feels like only months ago that the last MCU movie was in theaters. Apparently, it was just earlier this year that we caught up with Ant-Man and the Wasp as well as the Guardians of the Galaxy and whatever was going on in their respective universes. This weekend, Captain Marvel returned to the big screen in The Marvels for the latest entry in Phase “Whatever”. Here how it all shook out.

In The Marvels, Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel has reclaimed her identity from the tyrannical Kree and taken revenge on the Supreme Intelligence, but unintended consequences see Carol shouldering the burden of a destabilized universe. When her duties send her to an anomalous wormhole linked to a Kree revolutionary, her powers become entangled with that of Jersey City super-fan Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel, and Carol’s estranged niece, now S.A.B.E.R. astronaut Captain Monica Rambeau. High octane, wormhole-jumping hijinks ensue.

To me, this movie just had too much going on that was completely random. This movie at times just felt like randomness. This is definitely a byproduct of the MCU just putting out too much content too fast, too furious. There seems to be a clear loss of some significant thought behind things throughout these installments. I think they’ve left certain things out to show in different places, or to leave room for expansion or reduction. It just makes a movie like this that’s already blending three storylines into one that much harder to follow. With the mid-credits scene, we see what this movie/the MCU is really trying to further. Quite frankly, they could have done this in a different fashion to give everything a bit more thought. But that’s it for the MCU review. MCU fans will probably feel this film is rushed, but it was nice to not have a 2-hour movie to slog through. Nevertheless, it does feel like the movie rushed from why-are-the-villains-doing-what-they-are-doing to how-do-they-even-know-what-they-are-doing-is-right

The Marvels is pretty much like every other iteration of an MCU movie, except the Black Panther series. It’s just not a special movie and it doesn’t feel essential to the MCU franchise. Yes, the movie has its moments of levity especially with Kamala Khan and her family. Kamala can be cute, but she’s also pretty annoying throughout. Same thing goes for Captain Marvel. We see her in this human light and levity but strangely she’s balancing the strength of her character. I don’t think any hero in this movie did a poor job, but the director definitely could have made some better cuts. Nevertheless, there are some good fight sequences which give the movie a much needed boost. The visual effects are typical MCU fare, so if you’ve seen one of these movies, then you’ve seen this one.

Ultimately, The Marvels is just another entry in the MCU cannon. If you’ve been following this particular Phase, then maybe it won’t seem as random and full as plot holes as I thought. The rest of the movie fits squarely in the MCU formula, too much too fast. There’s some humor, fighting and visual effects to fill up the time. For the MCU fans, it’s only worth a handful of popcorn, but for the more casual moviegoers, it good enough for a bowl of popcorn.