Captain Marvel is an extraterrestrial warrior who finds herself caught in the middle of an intergalactic battle between her people and the Skrulls. With help from Nick Fury, Captain Marvel tries to uncover the secrets of her past as Carol Danvers while harnessing her special superpowers to end the war with the evil Skrulls. The movie is written and directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck.

As a big Marvel fan, I was very excited to watch ‘Captain Marvel’. The character had been teased at the very end of Avengers: Infinity War, the last movie in the Marvel franchise, and I was looking forward to watching another action-packed movie. For me, and millions of Marvel fans worldwide, this movie was highly anticipated. 

However, the movie did stir some online chatter, being the first female-led superhero movie produced by Marvel Studios. There was also some controversy regarding the movie, after trolls attempted to negatively impact the movie’s box office performance before it was even released. This resulted in the ‘audience score’ on the movie review site Rotten Tomatoes plummeting from 96% to 54%. In the end, Rotten Tomatoes decided to amend its policy on posting reviews before the release of movies. Others criticised Brie Larson’s stoic performance in the trailer and complained that her acting was substandard. One Twitter user commented on a still from the trailer; “Is Brie Larson capable of any other facial expression other than this one? That face – talk about a piece of wood. #FirstImpressions #CaptainMarvel.” Larson later confirmed that her acting choices were due to Captain Marvel’s character and story, which is shown during the movie. 

Overall, I really enjoyed 'Captain Marvel' - it had a light, entertaining narrative and genuine characters. I loved learning more about characters from other movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and thought the movie was executed with style. 

I felt that the movie took a while to get started; for me this was due to there being no introduction of the various creatures/species and no explanation of locations of the first few scenes. After a wobbly start, I felt that the rest of the movie was enthralling. 

I thought that the odd pairing of Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) was intriguing. The unconventional pair balanced and bounced well off each other as a sort of comedic duo. Their witty banter and sharp quips were fun to watch, and gained laughs from the audience. I also enjoyed the various other characters, such as Maria Rambeau (Lashana Lynch) and Talos (Ben Mendelsohn) and their interactions and relationships with Carol. One of my favorite scenes during the movie was a funny confrontation with Fury, Carol, Maria and Talos.

Another aspect I admired about Captain Marvel, was its approach to being one of the first large-scale, female-led superhero movies. It dealt with the pressure of having Marvel’s first leading female superhero by shifting the focus to the actual content of the movie. It did not rely on the ‘female’ aspect of the film to market the film and I found this quite refreshing. 

My favourite part of this movie was the final act. It delivered a solid ending that was satisfying, while remaining engaging. All of the themes and ideas portrayed were relevant; the importance of platonic and familial relationships, changing opinions and preconceived prejudices. Carol Danver’s final battle left the audience with a strong message; our true power is revealed when we stop looking for approval from others and let ourselves exist for ourselves.