Flying into UK and US cinemas today is The Marvels – the latest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film – directed and co-written by Nia DaCosta – is the 33rd movie in the MCU, and acts as a sequel to 2019’s Captain Marvel, with links to TV shows WandaVision and Ms. Marvel.
Starring Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, Iman Vellani, Samuel L. Jackson, Zawe Ashton, and Park Seo-joon, The Marvels is a crossover adventure movie featuring Carol Danvers, Monica Rambeau and Kamala Khan. In the story, the three heroes join forces after they find themselves inexplicably linked.
In the movie, Carol Danvers is on a mission in space, as is Monica Rambeau, while Kamala Khan is at home in New Jersey. But when all three activate their powers, they find themselves switching locations.
Carol transports to the Khan residence in New Jersey, Monica finds herself in the midst of a fight with the Kree, and Kamala is sent drifting in space. Another activation of their powers switches them once again.
As the trio attempt to get to the bottom of their predicament, a new problem arises. Dar-Benn, a mighty warrior of the Kree has acquired a powerful bangle (an identical one to Kamala’s), which she hopes will restore life to her withered homeland, no matter the cost.
When Captain Marvel made its debut back in 2019, I was underwhelmed. I liked the film, but I didn’t love it, and it fell short in comparison to other Marvel Studios movies.
In my review I said Captain Marvel was “one of my least favourite Marvel Studios movies so far.” I added: “I wanted to walk out of the cinema feeling excited and enthused by what I had just watched. Instead, I walked out, shrugged my shoulders and thought, ‘yeah, it was alright’.”
But hey, no biggie. Not every film hits the spot, and this one didn’t quite work for me in the way it worked for others.
And it did work for others. Captain Marvel made over $1 billion at the worldwide box-office, making it one of Marvel Studios’ biggest successes.
So, with Captain Marvel being such a hit, it was no surprise a sequel would follow. However, while The Marvels is a sequel, it is more of a puzzle piece which slots into the wider MCU, than a direct follow-up to Captain Marvel.
This film pulls characters and threads from WandaVision, Ms. Marvel, Secret Invasion, Hawkeye, and the aforementioned Captain Marvel, and it does help if you have some familiarity with these shows and the original film before you dive in. You don’t necessarily need to have seen them all, but without a vague idea of who certain characters are you may become either a.) confused or b.) a bit disinterested.
Confused, because there are quite a few characters to pay attention to. Disinterested, because the film struggles to make audiences emotionally connected to the central trio, and this hurts the movie.
I’m going to say this now: The Marvels is fine in places, and it has the bones of a good film, but it’s not great. The story feels rushed, parts of it are disjointed, and the over abundance of Marvel connections becomes a tad exhausting after a while.
If you plan to watch The Marvels, but you haven’t checked out some of the MCU shows before (specifically WandaVision or Ms. Marvel), you may spend a chunk of the movie scratching your head. You’ll certainly find yourself with a bit of whiplash during the opening act of the movie, which is frankly a bit all over the place, and this could put you off before things even get going.
The opening scene of the film sets up all of the time/space jumping between the three central characters, with Carol, Monica, and Kamala trading places. This sequence runs on for quite some time, with characters zipping in and out of the screen, and while it is designed as a big comedic set-piece, it is mostly a bit annoying.
The scene takes place too soon into the movie, and doesn’t allow the audience enough time to become acclimatised to the characters. It then runs on a bit too long, creating a hectic story beat, which is more frustrating than anything else.
Once this part of the movie subsides, The Marvels does begin to work much better, but it still doesn’t quite feel quite fully formed. All the way through this picture there is a sense the film is working from the first draft of the script, rather than the final copy, and this is something it never shakes.
The reason the movie doesn’t feel fully formed is because nothing is quite fleshed out. Even the lead villain, who should be the emotional heart of the story, is a throwaway character and nothing more.
On a more positive note, there are some fun ideas in the film, including a planet populated by a race who communicate through song. This is a highlight in The Marvels and it’s not the only one.
The interactions between Carol, Monica, and Kamala are also quite fun, and there is a solid rapport between Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, and Iman Vellani. The film may struggle to balance all of its ideas, but the casting and the combination of this trio is excellent.
It’s also nice to see Kamala’s family brought into the mix, as they were easily one of the best aspects of the Ms. Marvel show. Marvel Studios often deliver great side characters, and the Kahns are no exception.
Throw in the usual praise for make-up, costuming, music, and comedy, and there are plenty of things to like about The Marvels. It’s just a shame this film is a bit too hollow for its own good, and has to pull together too many properties when really it should just be focusing on one.
Not awful by any stretch of the imagination, but not Marvel Studios at its best, The Marvels works in places, but it lacks substance. The film suffers from trying to knit together too many threads, which is becoming somewhat of a general problem for the ever-expanding MCU.
I hate to say it, but too many characters are being introduced too often, and The Marvels is an example of what happens when you attempt to service them all at once. The desire to get everyone on screen overshadows the importance of a solid script, and the end result is of a lesser quality than it should be.
Fine at times, but it should be better. A mixed bag at best, and arguably less successful than its predecessor.
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Thank you for taking the time to read this review on It’s A Stampede!. For more reviews, check out the recommended reads below.
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