The Marvels is a movie that could’ve gone really bad, if it hadn’t been for some genuinely amazing performances from the cast and some much-needed course correcting from Marvel studios.
Set up as a sequel to the 2019 Captain Marvel movie, The Marvels is the latest superhero offering from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, featuring Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers a.k.a Captain Marvel, Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan a.k.a Ms Marvel, and Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau.
Let’s get the bad stuff out of the way: The story and the villain. The lack of an engaging story has become a recurring problem with comic book movies these days, and that is the case for The Marvels too.
The movie attempts to take some of the storylines explored in the previous MCU titles and flesh them out, but it does not really work out.
The story seems too convenient and the solution for the main plot-point is so obvious that viewers are left wondering why the main characters just didn’t do that at the beginning of the movie.
The movie does not have an interesting antagonist either.
Zawe Ashton as the villainous Dar-Benn hardly makes an impact. The character, or the actor, doesn’t really seem committed to their task in the movie, despite the fact that her character’s motivations are actually well fleshed out.
Now on to the good parts ... and it all comes down to the performances of the three main leads in this movie.
The chemistry between Larson, Vellani and Parris makes this so enjoyable. And Vellani, as the teenage Kamala Khan, is the true standout performer.
The banter and interactions between these characters are so enjoyable and infectious to watch that viewers forget about the weak storyline. It seems like director Nia DaCosta was aware of the limitations too, because she has essentially made this into a movie that focuses on the three protagonists a lot more than it focuses on the end goal.
It also seems like Marvel has been listening to the critiques that people have made about their earlier releases. Bad VFC and CGI has plagued Marvel for a number of years now, but they seemed to have fixed that issue with The Marvels.
They seem on point and are amazing to look at. The action scenes in the movie have improved compared to the earlier Marvel offerings, with DaCosta proving to be adept at composing enjoyable and exhilarating fight sequences.
The Marvels also has several scenes that aims to establish it in larger Marvel Cinematic Universe and the references and characters do not feel forced.
The inclusion of Kamala Khan’s family into the storyline seems apt and Nick Fury being a part of the movie makes sense.
Overall, The Marvels is fun to watch and makes for a perfect weekend outing. And, stick around for an explosive and mind-bending mid-credit scene after the movie ends. Trust me, you will not want to miss it.
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