Despite what many fans would lead you to believe, Marvel Studios is very consistent. The company has had a few bumps over the last few years, primarily due to Disney’s corporate leadership (which has now changed), but overall you generally know what you’re going to get out of a Marvel Studios film. The Marvels, the latest theatrical release from Marvel Studios, falls right in line with its titular heroes, taking the Captain Marvel movie, and combining it with the Ms. Marvel Disney Plus series in almost every way.
If you’ve seen the trailers for The Marvels, you should already have a good idea of what to expect. The trailers do a very good job of representing what full movie is all about. The Beastie Boys soundtrack makes the trailers seem a little more fun than the movie itself, but otherwise the trailers are a very good indication of the movie as a whole.
Iman Vellani is the heart and soul of The Marvels. Without her inclusion as Ms. Marvel, this movie would be in contention for one of Marvel’s worst films. She isn’t able to elevate the movie to be one of the better Marvel films (that’s a tall hill to climb), but it’s definitely right in the middle. It’s an average film that plays it very safe.
With a runtime of only 1 hour, 45 minutes, The Marvels doesn’t take the necessary time to really establish the relationship between Ms. Marvel, Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), and Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) that the film presents by the time the credits roll. There are some fun team moments for sure, but the emotional connection isn’t built up in the way the movie wants you to buy in on.
Most Marvel films appeal to a very wide audience. The Marvels feels as though it caters to a slightly younger audience, and skews a bit more toward women. That’s not to say the film won’t appeal to men or adults, simply that the difference between The Marvels and something like a Guardians of the Galaxy movie is that this has a lot more girl bonding, and skips over much of the emotional depth you might expect from other Marvel films, similar to how a children’s movie would play out.
While there are a number of action sequences in the movie, the camera work felt a bit lackluster. In a movie where three super powered individuals are constantly swapping places between one another, you could have done some really fun camera movements. Coming off of the final hallway battle in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3, the difference is very noticeable. James Gunn puts audiences right in the center of the action, while Nia DaCosta just seems to play it safe.
As you might expect, there are a number of Easter eggs, as well as multiple teases of what’s to come in the future of the MCU. We won’t spoil any of that here, but these teases were easily the most exciting part of the movie. Marvel has set the bar very high, but it’s had some difficulty reaching those heights in recent years. The Marvels falls quite a bit short, but it’s not a bad film. It’s just very middle of the road, and doesn’t take too many risks. If you catch it in theaters, great, but you should at least watch it on Disney Plus to get the teases for what’s next.
About The Marvels
Synopsis: Carol Danvers gets her powers entangled with those of Kamala Khan and Monica Rambeau, forcing them to work together to save the universe.
Director: Nia DaCosta
Writers: Nia DaCosta, Megan McDonnell, Elissa Karasik
Stars: Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, Iman Vellani
Runtime: 1 Hour, 45 Minutes
Rated: PG-13
Bryan Dawson has been writing professionally since the age of 13. He started his career as a video game writer and has since worked for Random House, Prima Games, DirecTV, IGN, AOL, the British Government, and various other organizations. For GNN, Bryan taps into his passion for movies.
