Superhero fatigue is currently a topic of hot debate in film circles. With each passing movie, there seem to be worse reviews and lower box office numbers. But before you let these statistics dictate whether you watch Marvel’s newest release, “The Marvels,” consider franchise fans’ historical disapproval of women-centered stories. Box office numbers have little to no relevance to the quality of a film, and “The Marvels” was released on the tail of a historic actors’ strike, meaning actors were not allowed to promote the film until a few days before its release. Don’t let the numbers scare you, and give “The Marvels” a try; it has a lot more going for it than the internet might lead you to believe.
“The Marvels” follows Carol Danvers (Brie Larson, “Room”), also known as Captain Marvel, as she deals with the ramifications of defeating the alien Kree society from the original “Captain Marvel” film. She is uncontrollably switching places with fellow superheroes Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris, “They Cloned Tyrone”), her late best friend’s daughter, and Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani, “Ms. Marvel”), her biggest fan. While this seems hard to follow — the Marvel Cinematic Universe has definitely expanded in recent years — the film covers everything audiences need to know with an early montage fitted into the narrative through a sci-fi style memory device that plays a few important moments from each character’s previous MCU appearances. If you’re not a Marvel regular, there’s no reason to avoid the film, though watching “Ms. Marvel” beforehand wouldn’t be a bad idea.
The film’s greatest strength is the charisma and chemistry between the three leads. The dynamic of Larson and Parris as established actresses and Vellani as the new kid on the block mimics the relationship between their characters. When all three share the screen, the film is at its best; the audience explores the different facets of their developing relationship through quips and emotional beats. The story’s heart beats within each of these small moments. The story also gives each character an arc and multiple moments to shine. While Carol struggles with the guilt of using excessive violence in the name of justice, Monica deals with resurfaced feelings of abandonment at Carol’s return and Kamala re-evaluates her blind faith in a woman she always called her hero. This film has three diverse female leads, which is monumental in its own right. Any little girl will walk away from this movie knowing that she can be a hero too.
Nia DaCosta’s (“Candyman”) direction is essential to this film’s quality. The first fight scene is one of the best in the MCU because the camera moves with the characters, immersing the audience in each choreographed step. The new and improved fight style has the characters working together in seamless synchrony and introduces a fluid fighting style, making the fight stand out from the standard superhero battles. The stylistic choices — incorporating a comic book style intro, split-screen fights and a musical twist — allow the movie to diverge from the Marvel formula and the artists to shine. The acting, direction, costume design and score stand out more when the artists are trusted to make unique creative decisions.
Although the film thrives in its individuality, it is constricted by Marvel staples and imperfect writing. When it comes to films that have a simple good-versus-evil set-up, it is essential to have an interesting villain — such a film is only as good as its villain. While Zawe Ashton (“Velvet Buzzsaw”) gives an adequate performance as Dar-Benn, there’s not much development or background, and the film fails to properly explore the idea that Captain Marvel is responsible for her people’s suffering. Letting the audience see this hero as a villain would have elevated the standard plot.
The film’s comedic aspects don’t always land. Jokes are thrown at the audience in the hopes that some will hit, and a lot of them won’t. This is not to detract from the jokes that do land — because when they do, they’re hilarious — but a lot of one-liners fall onto an unresponsive audience. Despite this, Vellani displays incredible comedic talent throughout, only rivaled by Samuel L. Jackson’s (“Pulp Fiction”) return as Nick Fury. The Khan family is another comedic source as, despite being in a super secret government building in space, all they can do is worry about Kamala. Outside of these characters, the jokes often feel out of place.
Marvel conventions also hold “The Marvels” back from being the best version of itself. Marvel continues to look backward to try and find a way to sustain its success when the way forward requires new ideas. Audiences aren’t demanding a bunch of callbacks to previous films, they want an entertaining story with a resonating heart. Superhero fatigue is the result of repetitive stories, and the future of Marvel depends on whether they are willing to take more creative risks. “The Marvels” works when its creativity is brought to the forefront, not when it follows a studio formula.
Despite its imperfections, the story is worth seeing for its quality and social relevance. Women-led stories, especially women-of-Color-led stories, are deserving of our attention and support to show studios their necessity. Women make good art when they are given the opportunity and resources to do so, and if this film is what prompts studios to continue doing that then so be it. The price of a ticket to this movie is far less than the value of girls seeing themselves represented with different facets of strength on the big screen. Maybe “The Marvels” isn’t for you, but it is certainly for little girls who need a reason to believe they can be heroes too.
Daily Arts Contributor Gaby Cummings can be reached at gabyc@umich.edu.