Captain Marvel

The second blockbuster of the year and the first Marvel movie. This appetizer before the upcoming Avengers is a typical origin story that is good by default, but doesn't exactly bust your balls. On the plus side, Brie Larson is a great actress and a very strong hero, so she pulls the film off just fine, and when the excellent Samuel L. Jackson and Jude Law follow suit, things are more or less taken care of. Captain Marvel has a decent retro vibe, solid action (although the fights are shot a bit chaotically), working humour thanks to Samuel, and a rather interesting plot twist in the second half. At times the film feels like Star Wars in Marvel mode, but it's thankfully bearable. Enjoyable cinematic entertainment and a big plus for the cat, perhaps the biggest surprise of the film. 75% (08/03/2019)

Another fine Marvel picture that fills in the gaps. Danvers borrow from Wonder Woman and doesn't excessively shove women’s superiority down your throat. Brie Larson is fine and her playing the rascal and flirting with Fury was entertaining (Sam Jackson really enjoyed himself)… but space battles alone aren’t enough. I liked the villain and some of the unexpected twists that unsurprisingly closely follow today’s trends. Great music. And what a fox. (07/03/2019)

Carol Danvers may have lost her memory years ago, but the alien Kree race has made her the ultimate warrior, and now she's back on Earth, where her past is being recalled. And she must figure out where her home is and what she's willing to risk for it. Captain Marvel is a classic Marvel original with lots of action, a bit of humour, and a fine heroine in the lead role. Don't expect much new from this comic book adaptation, but if you want to enjoy spectacular space battles and classic Marvel stuff, you won't go wrong. (07/03/2019)

A Marvel film about a strong woman for strong women, though considerably less inventive than the similarly-themed Wonder Woman from DC. Brie Larson is fine, and the subtle winking at the nineties is of course nonchalantly elegant (including the rejuvenated Samuel L Jackson), but everything is devastated by the same tired song about mysterious aliens with the goal of destroying our planet, or conquering the universe. It’s just something you don't want to see for the 25th time, even with the best execution. (11/06/2019)

Captain Marvel is a nice chill-out movie without the great drama of The Avengers, which it doesn’t really need. The only character whose emotions are explored in depth is the protagonist; everyone else is either there to provide comic relief or a villain with a surprising plan. The setting in Los Angeles (and the surrounding desert) in the 1990s enables a lot of cool jokes and establishes the overall lighthearted mood of the movie (Samuel is immortal!). This was what I liked best about Captain Marvel. Plus Brie Larson. The movie benefits from casting her and not a sexpot like Amber Heard. Larson is more approachable, natural and cute. (10/03/2019)