The Pitch: Teenage Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) has a vibrant imagination along with her light-based superpowers, but the MCU’s biggest fangirl when it comes to Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) never dreamed she’d meet her hero as a result of some intergalactic body-swapping. Yet that’s exactly what happens when Kree leader Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton) uncovers the pair to Kamala’s bangle and harnesses its powers to help save her dying planet — in the process, accidentally entangling the powers of Kamala, Carol, and S.A.B.E.R. agent Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris).
Between Kamala freaking out over getting to spend time with superheroes, and Monica nursing decades of hurt over the fact that her beloved Aunt Carol never came back to Earth as promised, things are initially awkward between the reluctant teammates. But the three women have to learn to coordinate their powers to stop Dar-Benn from breaking down the entire universe. Thank god Goose the cat flerken is there to help…
Higher: When The Marvels is cooking, it really cooks. The official follow-up to 2019’s Captain Marvel, which also loops in no shortage of other MCU properties along the way, is at its best when it’s having fun, and there’s plenty of that across its one hour and 45 minute runtime. (It’s the shortest MCU movie to date.)
Central to what works about this movie is Iman Vellani, as the MCU needed a breath of fresh air in the form of a character who’s actively excited about the world of superheroes, after so many farewells and endings in recent years. Vellani’s real-life superpower is her innate charm, which Ms. Marvel viewers were already familiar with, and watching her blast her way across the big screen gives this film such welcome joy and energy. There are no origin stories involved in this film, but there is a training montage that is one of its high points.
Not the highest point, though. To describe the film’s absolute peak moment is difficult, because to spoil it would be a shame. Let’s just say that this film delivers one of the MCU’s most demented, unexpected, and hilarious scenes to date — it’s honestly hard to think of something that tops it. It’s bizarre. It’s magnificent. It’s a reason to see this movie at least twice.
Further: The catch is, seeing this movie a second time will only confirm, if not enhance, its story problems; it’s best described as a poorly-knitted sweater — pull one loose end, and it all unravels. There are choices made that never come together, narratives that feel too easily dropped, and an ending that contains some satisfying beats but also some genuinely confusing plot holes. At this point, MCU fans are used to a few unresolved storylines at the end of a film, but there’s at least one big unexplained issue at the end of the film, perhaps explained in a scene cut for time, that is frustrating in the extreme.
The Marvels (Disney)
