The Marvels Review: Perfect General Tone and Very Engaging Action Sequences

Cast: Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, Iman Vellani, Zawe Ashton, Gary Lewis, Park Seo-joon, Zenobia Shroff, Mohan Kapur, Saagar Shaikh, Samuel L. Jackson, Lashana Lynch, Tessa Thompson

Director: Nia DaCosta

Where To Watch: In Theaters

Filmyhype.com Ratings: 3.5/5 (three and a half stars) [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

Mistreated by many fans of Marvel Comics even before its release, The Marvels concentrates all its potential on a story with light features, framed by a formal component that refreshes, citing and openly drawing on some structural ideas seen previously. The film will hit cinemas from 10 November 2023, we are talking about a cinecomic (superhero film) anticipated by a series of cinematographic gimmicks that did not enhance the presentation in the slightest, inspiring some preconceptions in fans which, during the viewing phase, could or not to be proven wrong. The work done so far with the new pieces of the MCU and the reactions to the work done, on and off the set, by Brie Larson, have contributed to fueling a general distrust towards this feature film, pushing it down a slope that will surely have to struggle to be understood, even beyond some of the production problems it brings with it.

Director Nia DaCosta, however, is committed to creating a film that alternates moments that are quite inspired and coherent with the characters in the play, with relatively sketchy and hasty turns, concentrating the entire potential of The Marvels in the most “cartoon” and playful dimension possible. , trying to work with what we have seen so far, to shape a narrative path that could also affect the future of the MCU and its all-round possibilities. A job of this kind, especially with the current moods and responses of the most loyal public, is not at all simple, even if the current era of cinematic and television superheroes could still have some interesting cartridges to fire. An exciting spiritual conflict, to which producer Kevin Feige, a few months later during the first announcements related to Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, promptly promised he wanted to return. And here we are, therefore, in the middle of Phase Five, after some postponements due to internal reworks (which are partly reflected in the content of the film itself), talking about Danvers’ return to the scene – and not only – in our review of The Marvels.

The Marvels Review: The Story Plot

At the center of The Marvels, we find the characters of Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers (Brie Larson), Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), and Ms. Marvel/Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani), and the main story picks up from one event, in particular, which he is seen in the finale of the Ms. Marvel TV series on Disney Plus. For some inexplicable reason, these three keep replacing each other in any situation they find themselves in as soon as they use their powers. The substitutions are invasive and appear to stem from a specific event in which both Captain Marvel and Monica Rambeau participate. The film continually plays on the fact that Monica, Carol, and Kamala seem to share some sort of connection stemming from their powers, and the fact that all three can control light, albeit in different ways.

In the context of all this, we find the main antagonist of the tale: Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton). His story is closely connected with the path that Captain Marvel has taken to date and with some choices that he made in the past, which still partly torment her today. Thus, a story of both a political and humanitarian nature develops, in a certain sense, in which the revenge of a population on a cruel fate becomes the main fuel of revenge linked to a legend and to the history of the universe itself. The erased past acts as a push for revenge that draws its power from an artifact still unknown in terms of possibility and power, forcing the formation of a team that will find itself dealing with its own decisions and with a mission with potentially huge narratives.

The Marvels Review and Analysis

Overall, The Marvels is a fairly interesting film, capable of entertaining from start to finish, thanks to both the fast pace and a series of formal gimmicks that inevitably recall James Gunn’s direction in their aspects. Going beyond the narrative for a moment, we find ourselves faced with an extremely colorful and fresh film overall, in which the aesthetic attention blends perfectly with the dynamism of the ongoing story, offering camera movements and a soundtrack that are always entertaining and clear in their ” joyful” intentions. Although the story proceeds fluidly, unfortunately, the general experiment tends to leave room for sometimes summary, hasty, and simplistic writing, in which the most interesting ideas are held back by a realization that does not allow the space necessary to fully expose one’s vision, foundering in moments and dialogues lacking complete credibility. The result is an engaging visual story from the first moments, which recalls some ideas previously seen in the Ms. Marvel TV series and constantly plays with the different existential perspectives of the three protagonists involved.

The long shots, the close-ups, the camera movements that reflect the initial chaos of the character substitutions, and the well-studied choreographies are fun, but they are not always able to fully justify some narrative moments that are disconnected and random from the rest of the plot. All this inevitably affects the general narrative credibility, in a context in which we also find other legendary faces of the MCU, such as Nick Fury played by Samuel L. Jackson, engaged in a story that constantly tries to lighten the material covered, even when it would have, I was able to take a few moments of seriousness. However, Kamala, Carol, and Monica are responsible for keeping the general attention and interest high, presenting themselves as the central, emotional, and human pivot of a plot capable of re-elaborating what they have been on a path in which they will have to learn to face the own personal limits, opening up to a future with very interesting features.

Even if considering its duration, The Marvels can be a relatively enjoyable film, unfortunately, it brings with it a huge cinematic project which, as happened in the past, could negatively impact people’s desire to see it at the cinema. The work done so far in the MCU, while revolutionary in a certain sense, still requires people to be at least minimally updated on what has happened previously, demanding fidelity to the project that goes beyond the big screen. The Marvels, having derived from a series of elements that the general public did not particularly appreciate, already start at a disadvantage in this sense, combined with a particular interpretation of Brie Larson’s previous work within this vast narrative universe. All this could easily represent the biggest obstacle to a fun and interesting film but still tied to a general perception that unfortunately does not inspire much confidence.

In parallel, however, we find some elements that make The Marvels unique and very entertaining. First of all, Iman Vellani’s interpretation is always impeccable and ready to convey the same sensations that an enthusiast in the same situation would feel. With her there is also the most unlikely team-up ever, in which the tormented and silent coldness of Carol Danvers must necessarily clash with her past (even intimate and familiar), trying to find a point of contact both with the wound of Monica Rambeau, who with Kamala’s dispassionate and childish love, all in service of a potentially deadly mission. From this emerges the more human side of the feature film, capable of overcoming the superhero clichés of the case in favor of some moments in which the vulnerability and imperfection of the protagonists make it easier to empathize with their reasons. In summary, The Marvels is neither a bad film nor a memorable film, but rather the light piece of a larger puzzle from which to continue drawing and in which it is easy to recognize some interesting finds. The superficiality of some of his ideas leaves room for a handful of protagonists who are nice to find again and again on the big screen, opening up the plot of the MCU to a potentially very important turning point.

The Marvels have certainly changed exponentially over time, as have all the MCU films of the last two years. Yet, in this specific case, the hand of Kevin Feige is very evident, now back at the forefront from a decision-making and creative point of view. In short, we could almost say that The Marvels is at the same time the last film of the old management and the first of the “new” one. Why? Very simple. From a storytelling point of view, everything possible has been done, but the traces of confusing and poorly focused management are impossible to miss. The story almost seems to try in vain to complicate life with very specious explanations and ideas, ending up forcing the viewer to accept everything without asking questions. There were certainly many ways for these characters to interact and develop both a horizontal and vertical plot. The most difficult and bizarre path was chosen, and an acceleration in the ending (from the point of view of the development, with explanations and various things that happen quickly) is the clear sign of a rewriting work on a production level that tried to save what can be saved.

How open parentheses were closed in the Disney+ series dedicated to The Marvels is also not particularly appreciable… in short, a general rescue at the last minute which, although it leaves obvious scars, overall brings home the result. This also has an outlet on the horizontal plot that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been developing since post-Endgame, i.e. the Multiverse. The Marvels has a post-credits scene that, we anticipate, is quite sensational. However, the question remains whether this was the way to introduce certain things, and it shouldn’t or couldn’t have been done in a more bombastic way. It almost seems like we can sense the urgency in the air to close certain subplots that were opened some time ago, to get to the point… while, however, others are opening up.

We don’t know when (and if!) The Kang Dynasty will be released, the first episode of the mega cross-over that will lead the Avengers to fight against Kang, but to date the general picture is confusing and the stakes are unclear. All elements that distance the viewer a little from an emotional point of view towards the story. We are all evidently less involved, and this is worrying for the studios. In the darkness of indecision and last-minute changes, however, a light can be glimpsed. In The Marvels we can perceive the “original” hand behind the Marvel Studios epic, which bodes well for the near future. Barring any changes, Deadpool 3 will be next, and from what is said in Hollywood living rooms, it will be a fundamental film for Marvel, not only at the box office level. We’ll see. It’s the phrase that Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie (who appeared in a cameo) says to Carol. The theme of loneliness and sisterhood, such as a sorority between Captain Marvel, Monica Rambeau, and Ms. Marvel, are key themes of The Marvels.

While Carol Danvers tries to battle the demons of her past and come to terms with her actions, she lives in eternal solitude with her alien cat. Even in Avengers: Endgame she showed this side of her character but with The Marvels there is a change. Carol finds herself with “sisters” on the ship: Monica, her niece-in-law who Marvel fans will remember from WandaVision. The character has acquired powers thanks to the Scarlet Witch’s magic, but she is still immature, and inexperienced. As is Kamala, the young Captain Marvel fan, whose dream of meeting her heroine finally comes true. The character of Kamala, too weak to support a stand-alone TV series, develops in this film, bringing to the film that breath of fresh air à la Tom Holland’s Spider-Man in Civil War. If Nia DaCosta manages to create harmony in terms of character characterization, on the plot side of The Marvels some things don’t work. There seems to be an evident cut and sew in terms of editing which does not appear very clean on the big screen.

There is a big difference between James Gunn’s previous Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. But DaCosta takes the character of Carol Danvers to another level on an emotional level, thanks to her strong female empowerment. The story of The Marvels therefore has a linear progression, which however is disrupted at the end by two key events that anticipate highly anticipated future developments of the franchise. There is an important task to manage, which will open the doors to new stories and characters. So far, the MCU has sent winks to the viewer who in this chapter can finally begin to see the realization of a little dream. The Marvels therefore introduces a future narrative of what will come in the MCU which in its way has already been anticipated in other films. However, all this now finds its first fulfillment with this new chapter. Having reached this point, the contamination between multiple universes was inevitable. While waiting to find out what that future will look like, however, Carol now has a new family, thanks to which she has understood that even together we can do wonderful things.

The Marvels Review: The Last Words

The Marvels is a film that has changed over time. Rewrites, additional editing, paradigm shifts… but it still manages to be fun. First of all, thanks to the character of Kamala Khan but also thanks to a perfect general tone and very engaging action sequences. Furthermore, the scene after the end credits adds another important piece to the horizontal plot of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, although the general picture still suffers a little from the general confusion sown in recent years. Something inexplicable brought together the stories of Captain Marvel, Ms. Marvel, and Monica Rambeau in one of the most unexpected team-ups ever. In The Marvels you will see them confront their own stories and limits, trying to find the solution to a threat with roots firmly anchored in some choices from the past. The future, however, seems to open up to a series of very interesting possibilities.

The Marvels Review: Perfect General Tone and Very Engaging Action Sequences - Filmyhype

Director: Nia DaCosta

Date Created: 2023-11-10 16:31

Editor's Rating:
3.5

Pros

• The direction and photography are fresh and dynamic
• The soundtrack
• The main cast once again convincing
• The ending and the importance of the post credit scene

Cons

• Some developments are rather sketchy and treated in a hasty and superficial manner; this affects the credibility of the protagonists themselves
• Even if the film tries to tell itself in an open way, it still remains a closed product and aimed at those who know the previous works of the MCU