Movie Review: ‘The Marvels’
What happens when you stick three likable actresses together and ask them to save the universe from an alien villainess determined to destroy entire planets?
In the case of The Marvels, you get a good but not great movie that’s well-intended and oodles of fun but not the grand slam Disney needs it to be.
What Is The Marvels?
Image: Marvel
At its core, The Marvels is a kinetic superhero team-up featuring three current/future Avengers.
That’s the oddity of the project as well. It represents a de facto direct sequel to three previous Marvel Cinematic Universe projects.
Image: Marvel
In the MCU timeline, Carol Danvers rebelled against the Kree in 1995 after remembering her true identity as an American fighter pilot.
That 2019 film, Captain Marvel, holds a claim as one of the most successful standalone MCU movies ever.
Rather than creating an immediate sequel, Marvel finished the story in Avengers: Endgame by briefly bringing Danvers back to Earth.
In the interim, Monica Rambeau, a child who adored “Aunt Carol” in 1995, became superpowered during WandaVision.
Image: Marvel
However, Rambeau hasn’t interacted with Danvers since the Avenger left Earth in the 1990s.
Then, we have a character named Kamala Khan, who was introduced in Ms. Marvel.
Image: Marvel
Khan idolizes Captain Marvel, who appeared as the surprise twist at the end of the Ms. Marvel series.
Somehow, something happened to Kamala’s magical bangle that has caused her and her hero to switch places, which is wild since they’re galaxies apart.
Photo: Marvel
The Marvels explores the idea of “never meet your heroes” from a teen girl’s perspective as she teams with the equivalent of her personal Taylor Swift.
Meanwhile, Captain Rambeau reunites with someone who broke her heart by (unintentionally) abandoning her as a child.
Also, there’s like a Kree civil war that Danvers caused or something. I dunno. It’s pretty vague.
What’s the Story of The Marvels?
Photo: Entertainment Weekly
A long time ago, Carol Danvers traveled to outer space, lived a lie as part of the Kree, and developed superpowers.
Since then, Danvers has almost single-handedly bested Thanos, who had a completed Infinity Gauntlet at the time.
Image: Marvel
In video game terms, she’s the ultimate tank, but we haven’t learned much about her character other than that she’s nigh-invulnerable.
Until now, Danvers has thrived as a lone wolf, bouncing through life as a confused adult who has literally had her memories stripped away.
Image: Marvel
Her powers have made her ageless and borderline omnipotent. But Carol Danvers is lonely. And there’s actually a Marvel precedent for this.
A heartbreaking scene in Avengers: Endgame pairs Tony Stark and Nebula on a powerless ship.
Trapped in the depths of outer space, they only have each other to pass their final hours.
At the start of The Marvels, Carol Danvers has willingly accepted that fate as her lot in life.
Then, a bit of deus ex machina throws her into a new pairing with the two other superpowered women, Monica Rambeau and Kamala Khan.
None of the three has a choice. Their abilities suddenly link them in a way that causes the women to switch places anytime they activate their powers.
Image: Marvel
Since two of them are in outer space and the other is in suburban New Jersey, that’s a problem.
Also, the new leader of the Kree blames Danvers for that whole Kree civil war thing. And Kamala Khan has something Dar-Benn wants, a power bangle.
Image: Marvel
So, the story here involves three mismatched teammates working together to stop the Kree from, I dunno, constructing some sort of interstellar portal or something.
Some of the plot details aren’t particularly cohesive.
What Works in The Marvels?
Image: Marvel
Let me say this in all caps.
THE CAST WORKS! ALL THREE FEMALE AVENGERS ARE PHENOMENAL!!!
For many of you, that’s really all you need to know about the film right there.
Image: Marvel
Despite some of the comments I made, I liked this film and expect to rewatch it frequently.
That’s almost entirely due to the relationships between the three women.
Image: Marvel
Their interactions feel effortless and real, as if the trio formed a genuine camaraderie on set.
In the case of actress Iman Vellani, life imitates art here.
Image Credit: CBC
An unabashed Marvel fan, she earned a job as Kamala Khan which allowed her to meet and hang out with these actresses. Her real-life joy is palpable at times.
Similarly, director Nia DaCosta made a smart choice in leaning into Khan’s personal story. Her parents and her brother play key roles in the film.
Image Credit: Marvel
Why does that matter? We have the story structure of Danvers as a loner forced into an awkward reunion with Rambeau, someone who was once like family.
The close-knit Khans counterbalance the awkwardness of that relationship as well as Danvers’s isolationist tendencies.
Image: Marvel
I want to give particular credit to Zenobia Shroff, who plays Kamala’s mother. She’s an absolute revelation in this role.
Also, without spoiling anything, I’ll say that cat lovers will enjoy a recurring joke involving Goose the Flerken.
Image: Marvel
Finally, there’s a water world setting that I’m afraid to discuss at all, but that’s like eight minutes of pure cinematic magic right there.
I was happy while watching those scenes. Cinema rarely moves me emotionally like that these days.
What Doesn’t Work in The Marvels?
Image: Marvel
Zawe Ashton, who portrays the villain of this film, is the real-life partner of Loki himself, Tom Hiddleston.
I sincerely hope that Hiddleston warned her about the dangers of Marvel movies because she got jobbed here.
Image: Marvel
Most Marvel movies hinge on the villain, as demonstrated by the fact that Hiddleston’s character eventually got his own television series.
I didn’t time Dar-Benn’s screen time with a stopwatch or anything, but it felt like the Flerken were in the film as much as the villain was.
Image: Marvel
Marvel must have deleted several other scenes that explained Dar-Benn’s character better…or any at all, really.
I say this because awkward moments of exposition fill in Dar-Benn’s backstory more than almost anything we see on camera.
Marvel at least appears aware of the issue, as we do gain one brief flashback sequence about a previous encounter between Carol Danvers and Dar-Benn.
If you blink, you’ll miss it, though, and upon first blush, I suspect that was a stunt performer rather than Ashton.
Photo: Insider
That criticism applies to a lot of what doesn’t work here. Scenes feel haphazard and sloppily edited at times, presumably because they were.
This film’s plot is a bigger mess than a Real Housewife of some unnamed city.
Final Thoughts
Image: Marvel
History will remember The Marvels as a box office disappointment that proved to be the right choice of tone and entertainment at the wrong time.
Given everything that has happened to Marvel in calendar 2023, the studio needed an A+ release here.
Image: Marvel
Instead, The Marvels is closer in quality to Captain Marvel, which I would personally slot in the lower tier of MCU titles.
The Marvels features a fun cast that clearly likes one another and works hard to make every scene work. And they ARE magic together!
Image: Marvel
Alas, the story, the editing, and especially the villain aren’t on a par with typical Marvel expectations.
I’d grade this film as a B or maybe a B+, depending on my mood, but The Marvels really needed to be at least an A.
Image: Marvel
Sadly, we’ll spend the time from now through July 2024 hearing about how much of a slump Marvel is in.
Having said that, if Disney announced The Marvels 2 tomorrow, I’d be first in line for tickets.
These three actresses are incredible together, and I want them to work more as a superhero team.
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