With the exceptions of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and Loki Season 2, you wouldn’t expect 2023 to be the most stressful year for Marvel Studios. Not all of their projects were home runs, whether on the big screen or streaming, causing fans to wonder what happened when it was spectacular compared to what we experienced a decade ago. And I’m at a point where resentment or fatigue is currently in place because of how annoying everybody on both sides has been. That could be why their latest project, The Marvels, directed/ co-written by Nia DaCosta (Candyman ’21), never led to much enthusiasm, especially from the guy who is usually excited about anything they release.

For a film where Captain Marvel, Ms. Marvel, and Monica Rambeau are linked through quantum entanglement and no cause of excitement? Why is that? Captain Marvel, released in 2019, received very lukewarm reactions from fans and critics alike. Despite my tepid emotions about the standalone film, which I had no interest in rewatching prior, it made over a billion dollars at the global box office (the first for a female-led superhero film). I enjoyed, however, Ms. Marvel, the last Disney+ series I saw in its entirety; it wasn’t too bad (though it could’ve used two more episodes), with Iman Vellani shining in her first prominent role. So, after seeing if it can make it out as a surprise, I think it’s a sequel that fans of the first will most likely like. For the rest of us, it’s nothing to write home about. 

What’s the Story: Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), has reclaimed her identity from the tyrannical Kree and taken revenge on the Supreme Intelligence. But unintended consequences see Carol shouldering the burden of a destabilized universe. When her duties send her to an anomalous wormhole linked to a Kree revolutionary warrior named Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton), her powers become entangled with that of Jersey City super-fan Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel (Vellani), and Carol’s estranged niece, now S.A.B.E.R. astronaut Captain Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), and now the three of them must work together to stop Dar-Benn from collecting resources from various planets to restore her home world of Hala.  

Being the third female director in the MCU and the youngest, DeCosta intended to make her third feature picture a lighter team-up team-up combined with the typical risks that come with this realm, adding more personality than the ’90s setting of the original. Based on how she left during post-production, I’m not sure if they realized her vision. To get caught up, you should be familiar with and involved in their previous distinct appearances in Captain Marvel, WandaVision, or Ms. Marvel. They did, however, show some of her early creativity with a fun action sequence to showcase the body-switching angle whenever one of them uses their light-based superpowers as Carol, Monica, and Kamala fight Kree emesis between a space station, an alien spaceship, and Kamala’s living room. Following that, the rest of the set pieces are what you’d expect from a stakes standpoint or hit-or-miss CGI.

However, if you go into The Marvels expecting that girl power energy, it succeeds immensely in every scene together, learning to become a team. Larson, Parris, and Iman brought that fantastic chemistry into play as a trio forced to use their powers in unison during their bonding moments. As Kamala finally meets her idol, we see Carol struggling to see Monica as an adult and the latter feeling abandoned after not returning to Earth when Monica was a little kid. You want more development between Carol and Monica instead of brushing it over, but their performances are enough to almost look past it.

Larson, in particular, outperforms herself as Carol Danvers in this sequel to her debut feature. We all know she’s a fantastic actress. She was fine in the first Captain Marvel, but the character’s demeanor never demonstrated why she’s talented. Everybody gave her crap for a lot of reasons, the dumbest being she doesn’t smile. And though those emotional moments didn’t come through as they should’ve, she looked more comfortable in this role and had fun, especially when collaborating with others or working with one director. Parris continues to impress me in whatever she’s in and performs strongly as Monica, who gets more to do, especially when using her powers. And Iman carried that same charisma from her series into here, to where I was worried she’d be sidelined or annoyed from obsessing over her hero. Still, she’s definitely not wasted. Iman’s delightful role is on point with Tom Holland in Captain America: Civil War. There’s also Samuel L. Jackson reprising his role as Nick Fury, which is always a treat to see after not seeing the character in a long time (I didn’t care to watch Secret Invasion), even if he’s better used in other projects.

On the other hand, the narrative offered nothing new and will have non-fans required to look back at past entries. It takes the easy road, with the trio’s strengths holding everything together. Between this and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, this seemed like a whole plot that wasn’t left hanging. Still, later on, when bits of why Carol didn’t return to Earth are swiftly touched on, or why they had to bring back the Skrulls for a quick subplot, it couldn’t help but make me pay attention when there’s barely any period of suspense. Part of me questioned if there had been a lot of material removed. And, in terms of humor, it doesn’t contain the greatest laughs in the franchise, but it didn’t leave me with anything more than a quick chuckle, and it did not feel forced. There was one moment that was far too long to be amusing. It concerned the adorable cat Goose, whose company I had previously enjoyed. But this almost overused Goose and eventually more cats to where the alien side of the species is in this strange montage set to a popular Broadway song that was just dumb. Even before that, it goes on a detour when the three of them must visit and defend the planet Aladna, which goes in a dumb direction in having its citizens only sing and dance as if it’s another language, resulting in a musical number of sorts and our introduction to Park Seo-joon’s Prince Yan. Something tells me it’ll be a polarizing moment for sure.

Another problem that couldn’t make the film a great time comes from the villain, played by Zawe Ashton. Some might recognize her from being engaged to Loki himself, Tom Hiddleston, but nobody will come out of The Marvels thinking her character, Dar-Benn, stole the spotlight from the heroes because she’s one of the weakest villains the franchise has seen in a while. You can understand her motivations and provide her people with survival needs. Still, she was never somebody to find threatening, and our heroes switch places when she discovers an artifact linked to Kamala and an identical bangle she wears. It wouldn’t be a surprise if anyone mistakes her for another Ronan the Accuser since he also wielded a hammer. Who knows if reshoots were the cause, but it wasn’t her fault, resulting in a rushed ending that didn’t give me the closure I wanted.

Here’s a question: Is there enough in The Marvels to bring fans back during Phase 5, solving its current waves of problems? It depends, but it’s impossible to know what we like nowadays. It’s a leap to call it one of Marvel’s best films, but it may divide audiences (when hasn’t it?). Thinking about it more the next day, I decided on a mixed bag. Now, it’ll have to be merely average. As for any post-credit stingers for what’s coming next, there’s one before the credits that gave me joy, but the mid-credit scene after is honestly random for them to do to where I didn’t enjoy it. Thankfully, it’s one of the shortest superhero movies in a while at only 105 minutes, yet this could’ve used about ten more minutes devoted to development on Dar-Benn. But I won’t complain about a short, sweet movie these days.

Despite low expectations, The Marvels slightly improves over its predecessor when it offers a more energetic and fun time and a nice teamwork dynamic between its three actresses. But it’s a sequel not up to the usual MCU standards when it follows a weak, unmemorable storyline and antagonist. Not the worst time to show up, depending on your feelings on the first, but I expected it to be higher, further, and faster in my mind.  

Grade: C+

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Release Date: November 9, 2023

Runtime: 105 Minutes

Rated PG-13 for action/violence and brief language

Distributions: Marvel Studios