Summary
Pinging from spacey adventure to full-blown musical, the MCU is getting Flerken all over the place.
“So,” remarks Captain Marvel (Brie Larson). “We’re literally herding cats.” It’s probably a thought that’s crossed the mind of many Marvel faithful as they tried to cram in all of the Disney+ series, feature films and mixed media spin-offs required to keep up with the MCU. Indeed, to fully step into the world of THE MARVELS, you need to be at least a little au fait with Captain Marvel along with TV’s WandaVision and Ms. Marvel.
It’s the latter that serves as the immediate entry point for this feature, picking up not long after New Jersey’s teen hero Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) – aka Ms. Marvel – unexpectedly swaps places with her hero Captain Marvel. It’s not just the two of them either, with the now adult Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) completing the triptych.
The malady is being caused by Kree warrior Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton), whose attempts to restore her homeworld, find Kamala’s magic wrist band and get revenge on Captain Marvel drives the narrative. Together with a spacebound Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), presumably fresh off his adventures in Secret Invasion, they attempt to figure out how to fix all the things.
THE MARVELS was reportedly subject to some judicious cutting while in post-production hell, and it’s evident in the final product. Filled with messy flashbacks that attempt to recap multiple series and films, and at least one odd cameo who disappears moments after they arrive, the film spends the first half of the film chaotically cutting between characters. It’s here we also spot evidence of the strain the FX companies are under as well, especially during some of those daytime flight sequences.
Director Nia DaCosta had previously conquered the unenviable task of reworking horror classic Candyman, but here she has to wrangle characters from three separate entities. Ms. Marvel’s distinctive style, with animated cutaways and overlays, gives the film energy from the start. Indeed, the scenes that work the best in THE MARVELS are with Kamala’s family. Yet all of these competing styles never quite gel, ostensibly imploding in on themselves during a full-blown musical sequence that feels like it has stepped out of Thor: Love and Thunder. This is not a film we ever hoped to invoke again.
In this melange of Marvels, there is one consistent element: the ill-defined villain. While Ashton’s Kree warrior does have a clear motivation, there’s little to no hope of her character ever stepping beyond the surface level. So, we inevitably come down to two (or more) similarly powered characters digitally rag-dolling their way across the cosmos. Yes, it manages to stick the landing by the skin of its teeth, but only just.
By the time we get to the pre- and mid-credits sequences, we have more fuel to the theory that MCU films are now just extended trailers for the film that comes next. (Remember that time they made a movie around a Harry Styles tease?). THE MARVELS certainly opens the door for more adventures, but the cracks aren’t just showing in the MCU but getting wider.
2023 | USA | DIRECTOR: Nia DaCosta | WRITERS: Nia DaCosta, Megan McDonnell, Elissa Karasik | CAST: Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, Iman Vellani, Zawe Ashton, Gary Lewis, Park Seo-joon, Zenobia Shroff, Mohan Kapur, Saagar Shaikh, Samuel L. Jackson | DISTRIBUTOR: Disney | RUNNING TIME: 105 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 9 November 2023 (AUS), 10 November 2023 (USA)
