Captain Marvel (2019)

Captain Marvel (2019) co-written and co-directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck

Vers (Brie Larson) is a Kree warrior in training who has very strong powers (in addition to super-strength and endurance, she can shoot power beams from her hands). She's about to go on her first mission, the rescue of a Kree spy from a world on the Kree-Skrull border. The Skrulls have been at war with the Kree for countless years. They are green shapeshifters who are nothing but trouble. The rescue goes south and Vers is captured by the Skrulls. The Skrulls try to get secrets out of her brain but all the mental regressions show them bizarre, non-Kree memories. Vers has no memories before six years prior; these memories show there's a lot more to her story. She manages to escape, only to wind up on Earth circa 1995. She teams up with Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), who helps her investigate her past and why both the Kree and the Skrulls are interested in a failed US Air Force/NASA project.

Marvel is brilliant at telling stories about people, inserting humor and drama in just the right amounts to make entertaining films. This one is no exception, though it's not as great as others. The movie flirts with a theme about reconnecting families and loved ones, though that's very secondary and underdeveloped (unlike the theme of importance of family in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 or Black Panther). Vers eventually transforms into Captain Marvel after she discovers her Earth life as Carol Danvers. Her character is a bit all over the place, though much could be chalked up to her amnesia. The non-romantic chemistry between her and Fury is strained at points. The big plot twist about the Kree-Skrull war is also not entirely convincing. Really, the script is to be blamed for most of the problems. Even with its flaws, the film is entertaining and a good warm up for the next Marvel film.

Recommended.