Why Captain Marvel goes Higher, Further, Faster!

On March 8, 2019 the Marvel Cinematic Universe released its most controversial movie into theaters. I was there to watch it ready to accept the story for what it was, not what jaded “fanboys” wanted it to be. In the year since I hadn’t actually watched it again. Until now. And after rewatching the movie and taking a deep dive into a sad, dark, vile corner of fandom, I’m coming into this essay not attempting to tell you any deep cuts or hot takes but to do one thing. I’m here to prove that Captain Marvel and its star Brie Larson are a great. This movie is a great movie about a great character helmed by a great actress! So let’s get higher, further, faster baby!

This one may be long. It may take a while to fully explain, but I took copious notes as I watched the movie. I read and listened to far too many bad reviews and opinions on why the movie is “terrible”. And with all that criticism in mind I rewatched the movie and thought deeply about what it was and how it was presented and I can now say this. Many of the criticism are rooted in the following: Hating Brie Larson for her political comments and active public stance, A lack of understanding subtle acting choices, a purposeful hatred of the movie before even giving it a chance compared to the rest of the MCU, and sexism rooted in men feeling threatened by a strong powerful, confident female character. And So let’s start with Brie Larson.

The thing that offended many people was during the press tour for the movie when Larson called out how many entertainment journalists were white and male. She made statements that many took as “racist” and “sexist” against white men. So let’s start by saying, you can’t be racist and sexist against a majority power. The “ism” implies that the group in question is being unfairly persecuted while already being marginalized. Yes there can be a prejudicial bias but Larson wasn’t saying anything racist or sexist. White men, especially in the entertainment industry, are the majority, they hold most of the power, and when an actor uses her platform to call out this lack of diversity it’s going to make people unhappy because they don’t want the fact that they have benefited from suppression and false pretenses to be brought to light. So first I’ll say this, Larson’s right. She’s absolutely right that there needs to be more diversity both within the film industry and the journalists who cover movies. And while her comments may have come across as callous and harsh, that’s often what people need to hear to get to the root of change. People don’t change when they are comfortable, and Larson called them out enough to make them uncomfortable. And I applaud her for that.

And men said that she was “Too political” and started review bombing the movie before it was ever released and spreading rumors that Marvel was going to fire Larson, none of which are founded in fact. And Larson is hardly the first or most political member of the MCU cast. Chris Evans notably uses his platform to talk aggressively about his political beliefs, Mark Ruffalo uses his to talk about environmentalism and water conservation. Chris Pratt speaks openly about his religious beliefs and affiliations. So what is different between Larson and these other actors? Oh yeah, she’s a woman and a woman speaking out strongly threatens weak men who can’t come to terms with a woman that is not subjected to their will. And that leads me into the actual criticisms of the movie.

Problem 1: Brie Larson was miscast/bad in the movie. She’s got resting bitch face. She’s not sexy. She’s wooden, and she’s arrogant.

Larson is a brilliant actress. Watch Short Term 12. Watch Room. Watch 21 Jump Street, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Trainwreck. Watch Captain Marvel. Larson is so deep in this movie that she continued to impress me. She’s not playing the role big and expressive. It’s far more subtle and grounded as she processes from space soldier to superhero. The way she reacts when presented with information is riddled with internal processing that shows she’s thinking through the moments, as Carol. That’s so hard to do. And she’s far more effective at it than many of the other actors working today. Larson is a brilliant actress; she’s perfectly cast in this role and she uses every ounce of screen time to flesh out Carol and show her journey. As far as being arrogant goes, did we say this when we watched Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark? How about Benedict Cumberbatch as Stephen Strange? Chris Hemsworth as Thor? Tom Hiddleston as Loki? What about watching other movies? Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman? Miles Teller as Andrew Nieman? Harrison Ford as Han Solo? Do you get my point? We don’t have a problem with cocky male characters, but when a woman shows confidence we pen her as “arrogant” and say she’s gone too far. This is a straight up sexist double standard and Larson doesn’t even show arrogance in the movie as bad as half the other characters I mentioned. And may I say: Resting bitch face is a sexist term. Not all women (or men for that matter) have “Pleasant” expressions, and to place this expectation that anyone who has a stern look is automatically labeled a bitch is horribly sexist. As is saying she’s not “sexy enough” is just as sexist. Why does a woman have to be sexy? And why, if she doesn’t meet our standard of sexiness does that make her performance or portrayal bad? Sexism, that’s why.

Problem 2: Captain Marvel is an Overpowered Mary Sue. As a result she’s not an interesting character and the movie has no stakes.

Oh no! Was someone threatened by the strong powerful woman? The term Mary sue is bullshit. There is no male equivalent even when characters are overpowered. Superman is just as powerful as Captain Marvel if not more so but I’ve almost never seen anyone bitching about Christopher Reeve being uninteresting in Superman. Same with Christian Bale’s Batman. Same with Keanu Reeves both as Neo and John Wick (Which are actually examples of wooden acting). The double-standard we have for powerful women is absurd. Carol is incredibly interesting. She’s on a journey of self-discovery and self-empowerment. Her journey is not about overcoming the outward obstacles but overcoming her own beliefs of herself based on how the society around her conditioned her. Much like many modern women. And the movie has stakes. It’s not about Carol surviving and overcoming the odds. It’s about her inspiring those around her and protecting those who can’t protect themselves.

Problem 3: The movie is trying too hard to be political.

All stories are political! All stories are entrenched in politics! And this movie isn’t even preachy! It’s about a woman overcoming a lifetime of being told she’s not able to succeed solely based on her gender. You know how many of those are out there? Far too many for me to name! Hidden Figures, Little Women, Mad Max: Fury Road, Brave, and The Iron Lady, just to name a few. This movie is incredibly politically relevant. It’s about a devoted soldier learning she’s been fighting the wrong side of a war. It’s about refugees being oppressed and vilified while actually being victims of a war driven conquering enemy. It’s the first movie in the MCU that has this many strong female characters all working around each other. This movie pushes forward diversity and features the most major black characters of any MCU movie not set in Wakanda. It’s so political and it’s about time! Higher, further, faster baby!

Problem 4: Marvel could be a man and nothing would change.

I said the same thing about how Crazy Rich Asians could have been done with white people and been almost exactly the same. But that’s the point! The point is that we shouldn’t make every movie featuring minorities, women, LGBT+ characters about how they are minorities, women, or LGBT+. It should just be a story where they happen to live and work in the world and not be singled out for who they are. How about we tell more stories where the thing a person is born to be doesn’t define their story, it’s just another part of it.

Problem 5: Wonder Woman did it better.

First off: No, it fucking didn’t! Wonder Woman is a great movie, make no mistake; but this is the first female fronted superhero movie actually written by a woman. And you can see that just from the way the women in this movie and that movie are portrayed. Quick, name me a female character in Wonder Woman who isn’t an Amazon. Now name a woman in Captain Marvel who isn’t a Kree. Captain Marvel is a far more feminist movie than Wonder Woman. Diana spends so much of the movie being surrounded by men and constantly proving she’s better, faster stronger than men while being wholly dependent on them. Carol, by contrast, spends the journey in a much more mixed group and at the end she says the most important part of the story. She doesn’t rely on men and she has nothing to prove to the men in this movie. And in the end she’s the strongest damn thing in this universe and there is nothing anyone can do about it.

Captain Marvel is great! Brie Larson is a talented and remarkable actress. The movie’s criticism is entirely rooted in sexist reactions from hurt gatekeepers who cannot fathom a woman they cannot classify, contain, or control. And here is what I want to say to all those who continue to gatekeep the joy of this franchise. It’s not your place to “protect” the community for those who would “ruin” it with their political agenda. The community is outgrowing you and women want a place at the table. So, for you to attempt to destroy a movie because you can’t contain it makes you no better than the Kree are in this movie. It makes you this race of fearful “warriors” who are actually the oppressors and monsters. And it’s weak. So, I say, make it diverse! Let women, people of color, LBGT+, all come and have superheroes who tell their stories and make them powerful. If people have a problem with that then go ahead and watch the other 20 MCU movies, or the Nolan Batman films, or the Burton Batman films, or the Donner Superman movie, or… do you get the point? Men have had a place at the table. Let’s invite women there too. Because we can do so much more together and those who gatekeep fandom need to realize that the world doesn’t need their permission to change. The world is better with more diversity, more unique voices, and more stories featuring more people. So go see this movie! And in fact go see the other movies that have been kept down in spite of being great watches in themselves. Go see the 2016 Ghostbusters remake! Go see Oceans 8! Go see the Charlie’s Angels remake from last year! Go. See. Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)! Go see as whatever movies you want and don’t let anyone tell you they are bad and you are dumb for liking them! Higher! Further! Faster!

Just a quick refresher of my MCU ranking criteria.

Cast and Performances
Story and Plot
Best Fight/Action Scene
Rewatchability
Cleverness of the Stan Lee cameo

Each film will be judged solely by me and then placed against all the other films. And rated on a scale of 10 with a total possible score of 50.

So, here is the quick breakdown of Captain Marvel:

Cast and Performances: This cast is great, albeit a bit stuffed heavily. Larson is a beautiful and fully nuanced performance. Samuel L. Jackson gives a beautiful young Fury who has roots in what we’ve seen before but adds believable naiveté to it. Lashana Lynch is scene stealing as Maria Rambeau. And Ben Mendelson is both comical and menacing as lead Skrull Talos. The villains, especially Jude Law, Annette Benning, and Gemma Chan all create interesting variations of the villains who hold women back, either through control, gaslighting, or jealousy. Several other minor characters deserve more screen time but given how many good performances there are. I can understand how they got overlooked. (8/10)

Story and Plot: The plot is one of self-discovery and self-empowerment. Danvers goes on a journey that brings so much of what she knows to light in a way that makes her change her position in the world. It’s a tough place to be, to learn new information that shatters your worldview. And the reaction is both believable and inspiring. The story is a little simple but it’s in no way bad. (7/10)

Best Fight/Action Scene: The No Doubt scored escape from the Kree is the only option here. The who scene is fun and it’s the first time we’ve seen Carol really show off just how powerful she is. It’s absolutely bombastic and I wish there was more of it. (7/10)

Rewatchability: I have only watched this movie twice. But I can’t wait to watch it again. Marvel movies have either gotten better or worse on rewatch and this one definitely got better. Only further rewatches will show just how good it is. (7/10)

Cleverness of the Stan Lee Cameo: Stan the Man is Stan Lee circa 1995 reading a script from Mallrats, a Kevin Smith movie he actually had a supporting role in. In addition the opening Marvel Logo forgoes its usual imagery to show us a tribute to the man who made all these characters we’ve come to love a reality. Thank you, Stan, for the stories, the memories, the most wonderfully imaginative characters we continue to explore. Excelsior! (10/10)

Total: 39/50

Current Ranking:
The Avengers
Black Panther
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Spider-man: Homecoming
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Avengers: Infinity War
Guardians of the Galaxy
Captain America: The First Avenger
Iron Man
Captain Marvel
Thor: Ragnarok
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Captain America: Civil War
Ant-Man
Thor
Iron Man 3
The Incredible Hulk
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Doctor Strange
Thor: The Dark World
Iron Man 2

Captain Marvel is a fantastic movie and I recommend you all revisit it, or if you somehow haven’t seen it yet, check it out. It’s worth it. Moving forward we now have to come face to face with the biggest movie of all time. It’s gonna be a great one. So come back as we enter the Endgame.

And until next time, thanks for taking the time to Ploominated!