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The world's most popular movie franchise at long last released its first female-led movie; one beyond words. 'Captain Marvel', the MCU's 21st movie, takes us on an intergalactic adventure, similar in the vein of some of the franchise's best, such as 'Guardians of the Galaxy' and 'Thor: Ragnarok', yet it keeps the premise entirely original.
Featuring Oscar-level talent such as Brie Larson (Captain Marvel) and Jude Law, 'Captain Marvel' continues the anticipated path set by 'Avengers: Infinity War', creating its own lore and corner within the MCU, all while leading us to the final destination that is 'Avengers: Endgame', next April. The movie depicts the never-before-told story of the Kree-Skrull War, as well as how "Fury" lost his eye...
Being set in the past, 'Captain Marvel' has a great deal of freedom, which it fully exploits, referencing popular culture movies such as 'Top Gun' and 'Pulp Fiction'. This makes the movie the "blast-from-the-past" we never even knew we wanted. The history of the MCU is greatly broadened, while somehow managing to greatly set up the franchise's future. The movie proves that there are great stories to tell by taking a step back. 'Captain Marvel' greatly succeeds with one thing that comes with any Marvel movie: the humour. The mid-90s setting allows the movie to create humour from infamous elements set in this period, recognisable to anyone who lived in the 90s. There are no cliche jokes; all the humour is enacted through the behaviour of individual characters, which are developed extremely well.
There are many minor titbits that many fans of the MCU or those who have recently watched particular instalments in the franchise may spot. This is mainly accomplished through shared characters - these characters do have large roles in the movie, but in no way does the plot rely on their previous appearances. One thing millions of fans have been clamoring for ever since 'Marvel's The Avengers' was achieved by 'Captain Marvel': Agent Philip J. Coulson. Coulson was given a large role in this movie, all while not contradicting the 110 episodes of his own show. This is a must-see for fans of the show!
The make-up, costumes, set designs and visual effects are all the best in the game. There are very few movies I would rank higher than 'Captain Marvel' on this basis, especially as much of the movie is a "space epic". The action is much better than the majority of blockbuster movies; Marvel has started to use longer takes for their fight scenes, and I think this feature is here to stay. Seeing the movie in IMAX 3D, I benefitted greatly from all of the above. The movie utilises its IMAX format to the maximum, having multiple IMAX scenes throughout the runtime (the majority is shot in IMAX). During these scenes, IMAX viewers are presented with an extra 26% of footage! There is no misuse of 3D, which many often complain about with other movies. While the movie was converted to 3D, the 3D conversion is honestly the best I've seen recently. I didn't even realise it was converted until I was informed later. IMAX should be your first port-of-call.
The movie always keeps you on the journey of Carol Danvers, never giving you the greater perspective of the movie until the title character herself discovers it. It is an interesting and lucrative concept - a way to diversify the general plots and shy away from any similarities to other movies. You are always kept guessing, while enticed into the story. Once the true nature of the movie is revealed, you are in for one hell of a ride. Just make sure you stay behind until the very end of the credits! There is no universe in which I do not highly, highly recommend you to see this movie - IMAX APPROVED.
★★★★☆