theburkenation’s review published on Letterboxd:
"BLACK GIRL MAGIC, NOW!"
The trailers did this movie NO favors. For months I saw The Marvels trailers before every new film, and I was DREADING going to see this. I'm so sick of scripts written by AI, directors kept on a tight leash by Kevin Feige, actors who only show up for a paycheck, and the laziest schlockiest CGI ever devised. I guess I'm not the only one feeling that way, because I was the only person in my screening on an opening weekend for a MARVEL movie. That's not good. I could write PAGES about how the MCU has fucked itself, and how Marvel is nothing more than a soulless corporate entity now, but I'm not going to do that. I'm going to tell you guys about The Marvels.
Is this movie mid trash? Yes. BUT. It's more complicated than that. It's way better than the trailers made it out to be.
I think the "using powers causes you to swap places" plot device is really interesting! I think that would work better in a video game than in a movie, and it's not explored enough to keep my attention. I thought Iman Vellani was really good, actually. The bit in the trailers with the cat has made me want to throttle her for months, but she steals the show. Maybe I'll have to go back and watch Ms. Marvel at some point.
The writing is a mess. The AI definitely wrote a few clunky scenes. I can't imagine people ever speaking like the characters do in this film. I hate that I miss the Joss Whedon endless quip days. The story overall is very confusing, and the choice to IGNORE Secret Invasion is probably the correct one, but having all that setup and then just tossing it aside makes me wonder WHERE in the timeline this movie falls, and WHO the characters really are.
I liked when Nia DaCosta took moments and said, "This movie I'm directing is fucking stupid, so lets just have fun and make it campy!" I wanted MORE silliness. The villain is stupid. One of the worst in the MCU. Brie Larson looks tired, and Captain Marvel as a character is played out. I KNOW Larson keeps doing these movies because she's trying to get Nintendo's attention so she can play Samus in a Metroid movie, but Brie you can take way better roles than this. Teyonah Parris is okay. That's about all I have to say about her.
The MCU either needs to END, or completely start over. I can't imagine any of their recent films or shows being profitable (and judging by the leaks on Twitter/X, they AREN'T). Newbies to Marvel are too scared to watch the new stuff because there is such an INSANE barrier to entry to get caught up with the story, and when you do make the time investment, you're rewarded with garbage. Marvel diehards seem to universally despise almost everything after Endgame, and they are incredibly bitter over the decline in quality.
Personally, these movies have had their heyday. It's time for new ideas and new voices in mainstream entertainment. While The Marvels is not the Music directed by Sia of the superhero genre that I feared it would be, it's not great either, and I don't know who I would even recommend this to.
