The Marvels Review: Imperfect, but pleasantly surprising MCU entry

The chemistry between Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris and Iman Vellani allows The Marvels to soar above a weak villain and a shallow story.

Every scene between the three leading women pops with humor and a surprising amount of heart. Vellani cements her status as the future of the MCU following her breakout performance in the Ms. Marvel series as Kamala Khan. Her adoration for Captain Marvel resembles Kate Bishop’s belief in Clint Barton in Hawkeye.

Larson is much better in The Marvels as Carol Danvers than in her first solo entry. A sense of loneliness mixed with regret over her actions gives the character some pathos. Carol’s reunion with Monica Rambeau and the flashbacks pack the most significant emotional punches. Director Nia DaCosta does a great job allowing the three women to shine. The charm these women possess while sharing the screen is incredible. Unfortunately, when The Marvels shifts focus, it feels like a distraction from the main attraction, this marvelous trio of powerful women.

The Khan family’s consistent presence throughout the film is another pleasant surprise.

Adding to the positives are the creative action sequences, which see the three women switching places with one another any time they use their powers simultaneously. These sequences pop with color and feature some pretty competent visual effects.

The story and villain keep the film from rising to high up the MCU pantheon of cinema. Dar-Benn is a Kree warrior who wants revenge against Carol for harming her planet. Zawe Ashton adds little to a villain archetype we’ve seen before. She finds a bangle similar to Kamala’s that allows her to absorb Carol’s energy. Meanwhile, Monica sets up the chain reaction that inextricably links the trio. There are opportunities to dive deeper into Carol’s actions, but the film doesn’t spend enough time letting Monica and Kamala process the ramifications of Carol’s past. There’s an excellent resolution between Monica and Carol, but there needs to be some more conflict.

The film takes some wild swings across the brisk runtime. Cats once again play a weird role. There’s also a planet where everyone communicates by singing that I wish we could have spent an entire movie or episode of television exploring.

Overall, The Marvels is a fitting, imperfect addition to the MCU.

The Marvels Review Score: 7.5

Very Good

With the overview out of the way, let’s dive into standout moments from the latest MCU film. You can catch up on Kamala’s origin story in Ms. Marvel on Disney Plus

A Young Avenger emerges in The Marvels

There isn’t a false note in Vellani’s performance as Kamala. The Marvels begins with Kamala’s regular life of drawing Captain Marvel fan fiction instead of homework. However, after Monica and Carol trigger a quantum entanglement with the help of Dar-Benn, she gets an opportunity to meet her idol.

Vellani infuses intoxicating charm into Kamala that’s impossible to resist. Her adoration could come off as annoying, but with Vellani’s approach, it’s simply endearing. Furthermore, once the action picks up, Kamala proves she’s more than just a hero worship teenager with powers. She’s every bit the hero as Carol or Monica.

Kamala, Carol and Monica end up on a planet that Dar-Benn is destroying. It’s a dangerous situation. Carol tells Kamala to hang back. Kamala can’t sit and watch people die. She saves as many as she can. When Carol tries to get her to stop, she resists until Carol has to remove her forcibly. Later, Kamala learns from the experience. Carol is the one who can’t let go and Kamala makes the decision to abort and save the lives of Monica and Carol.

Carol and Monica are the guiding hands for Kamala. However, Kamala gives The Marvels an energy boost every time she’s on screen.

Monica and Carol

Parris and Larson are also excellent opposite one another. Both of them are hurt but are also yearning to reconnect.

Early in the film, Carol and Monica reconnect via remote communication. Carol and Monica are surprised by the connection. Carol jumps in, wanting to know about Monica’s life. For Monica, this is a monumental deal. She doesn’t want their first conversation to be over a com link.

Monica is confused about why Carol never returned. Like Kamala, Monica wanted to be like her Aunt Carol. Eventually, Carol reveals that her actions involving Dar-Benn’s planet made her stay away. She didn’t want Monica to see her as a monster. Monica points out that they’re family and it wasn’t Captain Marvel who inspired her; it was Aunt Carol who she loved.

Adding to the high emotions are some outstanding flashback scenes involving Lashana Lynch as Monica’s mother, Maria Rambeau. This scene makes The Marvels an emotional experience, bringing out Larson’s best performance.

Team up

The Marvels is a well-intentioned, sloppy mess outside the women’s chemistry.

After meeting on Earth, the trio heads to a planet to save a group of Skrulls. Dar-Benn’s plan is similar to Mel Brook’s villain plot in Spaceballs. Carol’s decision to eliminate the Supreme Intelligence destroyed the planet’s natural resources. Dar-Benn wants to steal natural resources and redistribute them to her world.

Carol, Monica and Kamala hop from planet to planet, trying to stop the destruction. The highlight in this portion of the story is a planet in which the primary language is a song. Like Monica and Kamala, I was utterly enthralled by this planet and wish the film spent more time in this setting than on S.A.B.O.R. station with Fury.

A weird subplot also involves large eggs appearing all over the station. Once again, the alien cats are crucial in the film’s 3rd act.

The Marvels story only works due to the chemistry between the actresses.

The Marvels final thoughts

Overall, The Marvels is a worthwhile experience thanks to its strong performance and creative action sequences. It’s just too bad that the same creativity wasn’t used to improve the villain’s motivation and the film’s plot. With Vellani being positioned as a mainstay, the future is bright.