Based upon the Marvel Comics
Screenplay Written by Nia DaCosta and Megan McDonnell and Elissa Karasik
Directed by Nia DaCosta
** (two stars)
RATED PG 13
And the wax and wane of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's quality control goes on...
By the time you have become acquainted with this posting, the latest chapter in the MCU has been in the world for two full weeks and has suffered a painful trouncing at the box office, thus inspiring much post-game debate about what the reasons could have possibly been for this rare Marvel stumble, possibly its worst to date. Was it the then ongoing Actor's Strike, which prevented the film's stars from promoting it before the release? Was it superhero fatigue? Was it the sexist, racist internet trolls who are just determined to see the film fail regardless of its actual quality? One will never know with absolute certainty but there is a quality that is running against the narrative that the MCU is hearing its own death knell: the word of mouth is actually pretty good. From the reviews to word of mouth, response to the film has been one of fair to strong enjoyment, fully acknowledging that while not being one of the best entries in the MCU, it is a most entertaining diversion.
And that, is indeed where I have my own issues.
On this blogsite, I have long professed my own sense of superhero fatigue and the ultimate danger to our movie culture they present many times, so I will indeed spare you the diatribe again. I will also again profess to my overall enjoyment of the MCU and the fact that for so much of their existence since the 2008 inception with Jon Favreau's "Iron Man," there was a strong sense of quality control that ensured that I would happily keep purchasing tickets. Yet since, the end of The Infinity Saga which concluded with the fall of Thanos and tragic hero losses, the MCU has widened its scope grandly through narrative and commercial means but inarguably with more uneven results.
For me, each time I have been lifted, as with Jon Watts' "Spider-Man: No Way Home" (2021), Ryan Coogler's "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" (2022) and nearly all of their television series with "WandaVision" (2021) and "Loki" (2021-2023) being the strongest, I have been severely disappointed, as with Sam Raimi's "Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness" (2022), Taika Waititi's' "Thor: Love And Thunder" (2022) and do not get me started on the disaster that is James Guinn's "Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3" (2023).
Essentially, the assembly line nature of the MCU production schedule, which is farming out feature films and television mini-series with frightening alacrity, release dates announced before scripts are written, and an ongoing Multiverse Saga that feels to have no true anchor to its still growing narrative, the MCU is indeed in trouble, as far as I am concerned because all of those issues speak directly to quality control.
For my own cinematic sensibilities, I strongly feel that if Marvel has the ability to present and reach greatness, then that is what they should aspire to every chance they get. Placeholder films just cannot earn a piece of the Marvel pie if they wish audiences to remain devoted. A tighter over-arching narrative is essential if they wish for audiences to continue giving a damn about this entire enterprise. All of that being said, Nia DaCosta's "The Marvels," the 33rd MCU feature film, while not a failure, is not a success either...which is more than unfortunate as it has so much going for it, from its high flying energy, delightful chemistry of its three leads and more than enough backstory to propel one terrific narrative. But, as it stands, "The Marvels" really just gives more than enough ammunition to Martin Scorsese's criticisms and warnings, as this is no more than a theme park ride when it could have been so much more..
Continuing the events as set up in Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck's "Captain Marvel" (2019) plus television's "Ms. Marvel" (2022), "Secret Invasion" (2023), and the aforementioned "WandaVision," Nia DaCosta's "The Marvels" is the official team up of Carol Danvers a.k.a. the interstellar Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) with her long estranged "niece," Monica Rambeau (Teyonnah Paris), an astronaut now armed with the power to manipulate electromagnetic waves in the electromagnetic spectrum and 16 year old Kamala Khan (a wonderful Iman Vellani), a Captain Marvel superfan and human-mutant who wears am ancient bangle that helps her harness hard light and cosmic energy.
The trio are brought together after the seismic arrival of Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton), a Kree revolutionary warrior on the hunt for Captain Marvel whom she blames for the civil war of her race leading to a decimated planet with dwindling air, water and a dying sun. After discovering a Quantum Band, one that is identical to the one Kamala Khan wears, Dar-Benn utilizes its power to rip open a portal in space, which then further entangles the powers of Danvers, Rambeau and Khan forcing them to inadvertently transport themselves when their powers are active.
With the aid of Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), The Marvels join forces to stop Dar-Benn's wrath from saving her own planet at the expense of Earth's survival.
Nia DaCosta's "The Marvels" is filled end to end with candyfloss colors, a quicksilver pace, terrific fight choreography and wisely anchored by the clear chemistry and bond between our three leading heroines, with the MVP easily going to Iman Vellani, whose crackerjack comic timing and fangirl exuberance makes for a star making performance, whether inside or outside of the MCU. Much like the recent television mini-series "Star Wars: Ahsoka" (2023), I thoroughly enjoyed the defining shift to a more female centric narrative with all of the primary heroes and main villain being women and to that end, having much of the creative team behind the scenes, from Screenwriters and the Director being women makes for a terrific new perspective to shine the Marvel lens through.
That being sad and celebrated, it just isn't enough and frankly, our trio of heroes and singular villain all deserved much better than what they were given. We can explore and even debate whether issues occurred on set or within post-production, ultimately, the only thing that matters is what has ended up upon the screen and in the case of "The Marvels," DaCosta has delivered a inexcusably messy film with a sloppily constructed narrative which too often propels itself with an "and then this happened" raison d'etre that feels as if they just threw more then enough at the screen, the entire proceedings would be good enough. Trust me, it isn't.
From a presentation that possesses an over-reliance on CGI technology oddly merged with a surprisingly cheap looking aesthetic design with otherworldly locations that indeed look like rapidly constructed sets, to humor that never really lands (a little of the ravenous feline Flerken goes a long way and here, we just have too much oft), to two dreadful musically driven sequences, Nia DaCosta's "The Marvels" keep shooting itself in the foot right when it could be reaching narratively and emotionally higher and further. Yes, there is something to be said for having a superhero film that is just fun and not overly filled with dark passages and ponderous tone, which has now become more of the norm within the genre. But even still, with all of the existing elements and inherent drama within these three characters and their respective stories, would it have been too much to ask if DaCosta gave any of them the time, patience, and purpose to ensure that "The Marvels" had a beating heart to go alongside its own enthusiasm?
I am not saying that we necessarily needed another three hour epic but what I am saying is that with a film that arrived immediately after the superlative journey of "Loki," which found the MCU operating at its absolute peak, what DaCosta delivered is a sharp decline, to say the least, especially as it possesses conceptual and emotional stakes that could equal anything we saw in "Loki."
With the unresolved emotional/familial issues between Carol Danvers and Monica Rambeau, for instance, they deserved exceedingly more than the few lines that are just tossed off in this film. As for Monica Rambeau, who really has not been seen since the transformative events of "WandaVision," where is she emotionally at this juncture? For that matter, what of Nick Fury and truthfully, I was more than unsure if "The Marvels" took place before or after the events in "Secret Invasion"? And most egregiously, what of the inner and outer world of Captain Marvel herself, who really hasn't been seen since Joe and Anthony Russo's "Avengers: Endgame" (2019)? Compared to the breadth and depth given to say, Tony Stark and Steve Rogers, Carol Danvers's trajectory is sorely and unforgivably lacking. And from the looks of things, it seems that the powers that be at Marvel either didn't know or care themselves.
And that in and of itself present a larger problem for the MCU moving forwards, especially with this continuing Multiverse Saga, which hasn't really made much sense as far as an advancing narrative is concerned. If I had my magic wand, I would force Marvel overlord Kevin Feige and his core team t just sit and map out what they want this saga to actually be and then, instead of creating whatever Marvel property they have purchased the rights for, they build this section of the MCU house to solely serve the overarching narrative. The MCU has always been terrific in presenting the set up, and they continue to do so within "The Marvels" as the film's conclusion and post-credits sequence opens some really exciting doors. But, there has to be as much care with the story in totality not just the stinger to get us ready for the next, and now, underwhelming installment.
Believe me, dear readers, I am more than rooting for female driven superhero films to succeed and I am definitely, urgently more than rooting for Black female Directors to have a strong, creative seat at the big budget filmmaking table. But, very sadly, and despite the well meaning effort, Nia DaCosta's "The Marvels," while intermittedly entertaining falls far too short of its goals.
