Marvel Studios’ fall from grace should be studied in history classes right alongside the fall of the Ottoman Empire. A few years ago the MCU was considered too big to fail with the iron grip it had on film and pop culture. Flash forward to today, and the signs of decay are apparent. Overworked GFX teams, middling box office numbers and reviews, multiple re-shoots and rewrites, and an overall unsureness towards the franchise’s future directions are just some of the issues that have plagued Marvel’s post-Endgame world. Despite a few bright spots such as Spider-Man: No Way Home and Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3, Marvel has been struggling to instill confidence in both fans and casual viewers alike, which has led to some all-time lows for the mega-company. The Marvels is their latest attempt to keep the train rolling, and if you’ve been looking at the film’s opening numbers and reviews, you’re probably thinking the train has fully left the tracks and leveled a whole town. The film’s predecessor, Captain Marvel, received a mixed consensus upon release yet still managed to rake in over a billion dollars. Probably thanks to this guy. It was a character that really seemed to cause a divide in the fanbase, so it was safe to assume that this film would have the odds stacked against it regardless of quality.

My interest in the MCU is at an all time low, but I still sat my dumb ass down in what I must legally refer to as a theater of a sort and gave it a watch to see if it’s really as bad as a lot of people have made it out to be.

Honestly, I didn’t think it was the worst thing the MCU has made. In fact, I almost liked this more than Captain Marvel. A decent cast with genuine chemistry and a creative gimmick definitely helps bolster the film, leading to a lighter, sillier offering that isn’t always terrible. That being said, I’m still hesitant to call this a good film. The conflict and villain are incredibly generic, the tone is all over the place, and it still contains the same aimless wheel spinning found in most Marvel films of the past few years. I hardly think it’s the worst MCU film, but this did next to nothing for me and my interest in the extended universe and its personalities Marvel are attempting to move to the forefront.

In The Marvels, Carol Danversl, Monica Rambeau and Kamala Khan all become entwined on a cosmic level, causing them to swap places whenever they use their powers at the same time. Together they must learn to control this connection in order to save the galaxy from Dar-Benn, a Kree leader with a vendetta against Captain Marvel, who is trying to steal the resources of other planets in order to save her homeworld.

The film is directed by Nia DaCosta, who you may remember as the director behind 2021’s Candyman, a film that I thought was a bit too overstuffed with ideas and themes but still had an interesting artistic vision. It’s a shame that vision doesn’t make it into here though, as this film, much like many other recent MCU films, feel as if they could have been directed by anybody. I don’t really think this is DaCosta’s fault, as Marvel really does seem to play a heavy hand in the look and presentation of each of their films. Sure, if you’re an MCU vet like James Gunn you can probably call more of the shots, but if you’re fairly new to the scene, it almost feels like the studio decides for you what the film should look and feel like. This causes most non-action scenes to appear very flat and uninteresting, and while it’s certainly been worse in other films, it’s still worth noting here. There’s no real creativity to how scenes flow together or the presentation as a whole, which I get is done to keep some level of uniformity between each and every film, but that also leads to a more often than not uninspired final product. You’ll see the same type of edits, shot compositions, musical cues and transitions as in past films, which become insanely noticeable after 33 films. This isn’t a unique issue to The Marvels, but damn if I’m not gonna keep pointing it out until something changes. The one caveat to this is the fight scenes, which at least have some level of interest to them thanks to the film’s switching gimmick, which does lead to some more engaging camera work and scene structure.

By far one of the worst aspects of modern Marvel movies has been the visuals, which are the product of overworked and undervalued VFX artists Disney keeps chained to radiators underneath Magic Kingdom. But truth be told these visuals aren’t entirely terrible. They can look a bit sound stagey at times, but I found the backgrounds and particle effects to be mostly passable. We do get a scene with a bunch of cats later down the line that does look a bit hokey, but I’ll be honest, it was probably the funniest part of the film, even if hearing Memories from Cats trigger my PTSD.

The lead cast is probably the best thing the film has going for it, as the interactions between Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris and Iman Vellani all feel fairly genuine and at times pretty charming. They all tend to bounce off one another pretty well, even though the script itself doesn’t give them much room to land impactful emotional moments or jokes that land. Still, the film gives Larson’s Captain Marvel way more of a character than her origin film, even if her arc isn’t as interesting as it could have been, at least it’s something. Iman Vellani’s Kamala definitely shows the most potential as the hero who could potentially direct the MCU into a new age, with her infectious fangirl nature and relatability making her perhaps my favorite of the trio. Parris’ Monica Rambeau is a solid continuation of Carol Danver’s history, though at times I did feel like she wasn’t given a ton to do until suddenly later in the movie. Speaking of not having anything to do, Sam Jackson’s Nick Fury is here!

And that about covers it!

Now we get to the villain, Dar-Benn played by Zawe Ahston, the newest member of the underdeveloped and uninteresting MCU villain club. Her connection to Captain Marvel makes sense and could have been somewhat engaging, but she’s given nothing unique to work with whether it be in terms of powerset, motivation, or character development. Her master plan is essentially the plot of Spaceballs, though without the giant Iron Maid. 

The villain isn’t the only weak spot for me, as I also found the tone and story to be pretty sloppy. The film’s melding of comedy and world-ending conflict don’t always mesh, effectively undermining the gravity of the situation. You never really feel like the terrible things that happen here hold any real lasting importance or emotional weight because our characters undermine it with their reactions. Captain Marvel’s whole arc centers around the ramifications of her past “shoot first, questions later” attitude, but this doesn’t lead to any real meaningful change for her. The same could really be said about all of the main characters. They may go through physical and emotional change somewhat, but none of it actually feels meaningful. The “reluctant team” schtick feels pretty forced and is quickly moved past, never really being resolved in an interesting way. Any type of inner conflict that rears its head between the teammates is quickly moved past in favor of the same old, by the numbers, saving the world story beats. There’s just no real payoff to almost anything. The whole “swapping” gimmick is just that, a gimmick. At times its rules feel fairly inconsistent, and its resolution kind of just happens not because it’s solved in any kind of meaningful or interesting way, but just because the story needs it to end. It’s funny because this is the shortest MCU film yet, and I kind of wish it had more time to properly utilize the film’s ideas. There’s a whole planet whose inhabitants speak only in song that’s just breezed past despite appearing at a significant spot in the plot. Granted, that could have been for the best, but it just feels like a weird thing to have and then not do anything with. 

At the end of the day, it’s just all half-baked. The script is in desperate need of a re-write, because it doesn’t service the characters nor the greater expanse of the MCU. Ideas are simply cobbled together with no satisfying payoff, which leaves most of the film feeling hollow and void of any semblance of structure. But like some half-baked things, there’s a bit of sweetness in there. The main cast’s interactions are enjoyable enough, and at times the silliness hits just right when not pressed up against the serious nature of worlds being destroyed. It’s not as ugly and grating as Quantumania or a huge step down from its predecessor like Love and Thunder, but I’m really stretching to think of many other MCU films better than this. The fact of the matter is that this is a filler movie if I’ve ever seen one. If it’s not working to elevate its characters or meaningfully build upon the shambled and fractured cinematic universe, then it’s simply just an hour and a half commercial for its post-credits scene.

Not gonna spoil it, but they’re really hoping you point and clap. Their lives may depend on it.

Rating

Quantum Entanglement

Quantum Entanglement is the phenomenon that afflicts our three heroes, causing them to bounce all around the galaxy whenever they use their powers in tandem. While this drink won’t take you that far, it does have a good amount of alcohol in it, along with some pleasant flavor pairings. You get a bit of sweetness and tartness from the grapefruit, lychee and lime, while also getting a nice, subdued herbaciousness. This striking layered cocktail is light and easy to drink, but still has enough power to supercharge your night!

Ingredients

• 2oz Empress gin
• 1/2oz lychee liqueur
• 1oz grapefruit juice
• 3/4oz lime juice
• 1/2oz simple syrup
• 3 dashes angostura bitters
• Top: soda water

Instructions

1. Add all ingredients (except the gin) to a shaker and shake with ice.
2. Strain over fresh ice into a glass over ice.
3. Add soda water until the glass is about 3/4 full.
4. Slowly layer the gin on top of the cocktail.
5. Stir to combine.