In which I am the problem, not the film.
I know what they were aiming for. Female nerd, of the generation that are now coming into money and power, aged somewhere between 30 and 45, finally gets to see themselves on film. Girl power etc.
And this is where I become the problem.
Teenage girl me, who would have been hitting her comic book years when the film is set, was an X-Men fan. I've already had my comic on screen.
If I want an accurate presentation of who I am on screen, it's Beast (or Bruce Banner - when Avengers Assemble came out, people kept saying Mark Ruffalo gave an excellent performance of me on a bad day). It's not someone who joined the US airforce in the 1980s. Given the lengths the first Captain America film went to when explaining that Steve Rogers was a good guy despite joining the US military, when he did it to go and fight in the Second World War, I could have done with them doing the same for Carol Danvers. Because I'm sorry, "I really want to fly awesome fighter jets so I will join the US military, despite what they were doing then" really does distance me from a character. (Literally, one line going "it was the only way I could afford college", and I would have given them a pass).
I've seen myself on screen, I was either blue furry or green angry. They've tried to create a relatable everywoman, but I can't relate to her.
For me, Captain Marvel herself is the least interesting good guy in her film. (May I repeat, I am aware that I am the problem, not the film)
This film has some similarities to the bad, outsourced Marvel films there were a few of from the early 2000s onwards, most noticeably:
- The bad guy has a squad of henchpeople whose presence or absence wouldn't affect the film.
- The bad guy is defeated easily, too easily to be satisfying (yes I know Yon-Rog is supposed to be the "Debate Me" guys, but one punch is a lousy way to end a climactic battle).
One of the big difference between the "Bad Marvel Films" and this is that it has excellent SFX and much better lighting.
The SFX were really good, and you could hear Fox execs kicking themselves that this film came out first because a lot of the SFX when Carol Danvers gains or uses her superpowers are exactly what you'd imagine and want for the Phoenix Force.
I was amused that evil continues to sound British, and that you could guess that there was something wrong with the theory that "Skrulls: all evil" the minute Ben Mendelsohn's accent wandered into 'Strine. I understand why they went with that twist, even if it wasn't a twist to anyone who reads comics (Skrulls, much like most of the X-Men, have been bad guys and good guys at different times). Ben Mendelsohn is the best thing about the film, and I'm not sure why all the reviews didn't rave about him.
Going back to my theme of "I know what they were going for but it didn't work for me", another example was the soundtrack. It was all the expected female-led hits of my teens (and Elastica. I mean, I am a-glee over Elastica), and it was supposed to be a nostalgia-rush for people like me. And it was, to an extent, see the previous comment about Elastica, but it kept being the wrong song for that moment. For example, "Celebrity Skin" over the end credits. I love that song. It takes me back to probably 1998, and German classes in high school, and a time and a place and a mood. But the younger me who screamed her throat raw singing along to those lyrics knows that that's not the soundtrack to Captain Marvel saving the Skrull, it's the soundtrack to Vers going back to kick Kree ass. The song is someone at the end of their tether, not someone bringing hope. It's rage, not kindness. It's all the wrong song for that moment.
I think that's my overall review, the filmmakers were aiming for nostalgia and resonance with a particular segment of the audience. As a member of that audience segment, for me, it didn't resonate the way they wanted it to, in fact some of the ways they used to try to get that feeling across caused major dissonance.
It didn't work for me, but I suspect I am the problem, not the film.
