Captain Marvel

[Tony Perkis]

Well that's the big mistake period IMO. It's like 'artificial scarcity' - If you set out to do something because your end-game is to force the impact its supposed to have.. it's not organic and it never will be as impactful as something that was.

At face value, I don’t disagree. In most instances, I think that’s a fair assessment.

That said, Hollywood has been lagging behind in regard to gender opportunity, especially behind the camera. Sometimes, an artificial boost is required to jump start things.

Strength of the lead character? "Someone killed my dad/uncle/mom/whatever?" "I was in some horrible accident.. and now I'm different" whatever formulas? The term "bubblegum comic" is not synomous with shallow by chance..

Those are not character traits. Those are plot devices.

Steve Rogers’s going through a scientific experiment to become a super soldier isn’t who Captain America is. His strict moral compass and leadership traits helps define him.

Peter Parker getting bit by a radioactive spider isn’t why people like Spider-Man. People like him because he’s a relatable, quick-witted high school student that struggles through a lot of the same struggles we did.

The super suit isn’t why Iron Man is cool. He’s cool because Tony Stark is a deeply flawed character. He’s funny, snarky, clever, and an incredibly self-absorbed narcissist.

The hammer isn’t why Thor is a fan favorite. His arc from a spoiled brat to a noble leader, and his relationship with a flawed villain like Loki help define him. His loyalty to those both help and spurn him keeps him interesting.

Carol Danvers is.....who? She absorbed a ton of power in an accident. Then what? She didn’t fight between two worlds because she didn’t know one of the worlds. She didn’t have lasting friendships worth grounding her because she didn’t know people from her past. She’s got decent banter with Fury, but that’s just chemistry. I still have no clue who she is as a person because she didn’t have a character arc. She’s being established as the weapon to solve the outcome of the Snappening, and little else.

Spoiler

We see plenty to establish how she was repeatedly told to hold back.. you are less.. and how she fights back against that notion and is driven to be more.

She then forgets everything and then doesn’t have the same hold back.

That resonates in her 'career choices' that lead her to Mar-Vell .. and in her resistance to her chains/bounds the kree put on her as they re-condition her.

That’s fair, but fairly simplistic in terms of character. Strong-willed isn’t a particularly unique character identifier.

The whole identity crisis stuff is pretty cliche.. but at least gives the story a twist the viewers have to weigh for a period as they try to decide who really is telling the truth... the kree or the skrulls.

This would have worked better if the script better connected her old self and her current self. The two are the same person technically, but having her old past told to her instead of her having a true emotional connection lessens any impact regarding the identify crisis. There is still a clear disconnect between the two parts of her life, and it fundamentally makes her two distinct characters instead of one complex character.

She is now given an opportunity advance an ideal a higher power exposed her to.. and help right some of the wrongs she sees the kree representing.

[/QUOTE]

Which is why that story works much better when told from the perspective of the Skrull, and not Danvers herself.

 

[Hakunamatata]

Go see it if you want to see it. We thought it was great. The want to be movie critics like drama. Makes them feel better about themselves I guess.

 

[Tony Perkis]

Go see it if you want to see it. We thought it was great. The want to be movie critics like drama. Makes them feel better about themselves I guess.

Yep, there’s no other reason for criticism.

 

[Mike S]

I can agree that remembering her past could’ve been done better only because of how amazingly it was done for Bucky in Winter Soldier. That movie really hits you in the gut with it. This movie it was kind of just there.

 

[Princess Leia]

I can agree that remembering her past could’ve been done better only because of how amazingly it was done for Bucky in Winter Soldier. That movie really hits you in the gut with it. This movie it was kind of just there.

It does make you wonder if it gets brought up at all in Endgame. Because no one in this team will know her (except maybe Rhodey, if they met once in the Air Force)

 

[tirian]

Yep, there’s no other reason for criticism.

—Except some movies are genuinely better written, shot, and directed than others, and have better actors with wider ranges.

Otherwise, there’s no difference between “Mary Poppins” and the latest episode of “CSI: Miami.”

 

[Mike S]

It does make you wonder if it gets brought up at all in Endgame. Because no one in this team will know her (except maybe Rhodey, if they met once in the Air Force)

We’ll probably have to wait for Captain Marvel 2.

 

[danlb_2000]

Saw it today and really enjoyed it. After hearing of the lukewarm reviews I wasn't expecting much, but I was pleasantly surprised.

 

[EricsBiscuit]

Decent movie but might as well rename it to “Mary Sue”

 

[flynnibus]

Decent movie but might as well rename it to “Mary Sue”

yawn it’s a superhero movie... every superhero is a Mary Sue if you want to use that tag

 

[Mike S]

yawn it’s a superhero movie... every superhero is a Mary Sue if you want to use that tag

Nah.

If it’s a man the term is Gary Stu.

And a Mary Sue isn’t just a powerful character. It’s someone that seems impossibly adept to any situation with almost no explanation shown through experience or training. Speaking of the MCU, no character really fits this description.

 

[sedati]

And a Mary Sue isn’t just a powerful character. It’s someone that seems impossibly adept to any situation with almost no explanation shown through experience or training.

Sort of like a Youtuber/Blogger deciding they're a professional reviewer solely because they have an opinion and lack any education in the history and craft of filmmaking or even storytelling in general. They just walk out of a movie and Poof they're as good as any other "professional" reviewer out there.
To me these social media uproars have more to do with so called influencers trying to prove they have influence.

 

[flynnibus]

And a Mary Sue isn’t just a powerful character. It’s someone that seems impossibly adept to any situation with almost no explanation shown through experience or training. Speaking of the MCU, no character really fits this description.

no? Just because you get some power like regeneration or strength... now you are a world class martial art fighter? Or can learn to swing or fly like a world class circus performer? Or the best marksman out there? Or somehow become these great detectives?

It’s synonymous with “comic book movie” or superhero flicks. One or two instigating things and somehow this person is able to be the world’s greatest villain or hero with skills in all kinds of things.

Don’t confuse giving something a shred of origin or credibility with justifying what they are doing as if it were practical or continuity.

Examples like Rey get the label because she isn’t even consistent to her own universe/canon. Carol d is consistent with the rest of the “how did she do that already” prevalent in the comic book flicks because they all do it.

 

[ABQ]

Went to see it yesterday, thought it was great. My GF liked it as well. No, it wasn't up there with the MCU films I think of as very good, like Civil War or such, but still a great movie. Cosidering the director's came from the independent movie world, I didn't expect Russo brothers like work. Thankfully I ignored all the political spin that came out due to Larson's interview comments, but I try my best to completely ignore anything Hollywood actor's say, as I rarely agree with them on anything. I watch the movies for the entertainment they bring, nothing more.

 

[Mike S]

Sort of like a Youtuber/Blogger deciding they're a professional reviewer solely because they have an opinion and lack any education in the history and craft of filmmaking or even storytelling in general. They just walk out of a movie and Poof they're as good as any other "professional" reviewer out there.
To me these social media uproars have more to do with so called influencers trying to prove they have influence.

Cant agree with that. If someone actually saw a movie they don’t need to know all of history and all the in’s and out’s of filmmaking to say if they liked the movie or not. Does all that knowledge help? Sure. But it’s not the be all end all otherwise almost no one could have an opinion on anything.

Now, if you were talking about people that hadn’t even seen the movie I’d be more inclined to agree.

no? Just because you get some power like regeneration or strength... now you are a world class martial art fighter? Or can learn to swing or fly like a world class circus performer? Or the best marksman out there? Or somehow become these great detectives?

It’s synonymous with “comic book movie” or superhero flicks. One or two instigating things and somehow this person is able to be the world’s greatest villain or hero with skills in all kinds of things.

Don’t confuse giving something a shred of origin or credibility with justifying what they are doing as if it were practical or continuity.

Examples like Rey get the label because she isn’t even consistent to her own universe/canon. Carol d is consistent with the rest of the “how did she do that already” prevalent in the comic book flicks because they all do it.

For martial arts Black Widow trained under the Russians to be a killer, Gamora was forced to fight her adopted sister under Thanos for the same reasons as BW, and while not MCU Nolan’s Batman trained with the League of Shadows. I don’t think Captain America was really an “expert” in his first appearance but in later movies it’s not unreasonable to think he trained a bit with Black Widow while at SHEILD considering how close they seem to be in WS. Spider-Man is always shown practicing his swinging except in the MCU to save on showing his origin once again. His enhanced senses likely help with that. Hawkeye, yeah. We don’t really get anything and it’s mostly assumed how he trained. His “power” being so unremarkable compared to the other Avengers likely helps us to look past it. Since Batman is the world’s greatest detective I assume you’re speaking of him. Like Tony Stark he’s shown to be both extremely rich and pretty smart (Tony’s smarter). It’s not hard to assume he can get whatever he needs through his company. Are all of these things practical for our world? No. Do they make a lot of sense for the context of the fantasy worlds that have been built? Yes.

And I never said Carol was a Mary Sue if you thought I did.

Went to see it yesterday, thought it was great. My GF liked it as well. No, it wasn't up there with the MCU films I think of as very good, like Civil War or such, but still a great movie. Cosidering the director's came from the independent movie world, I didn't expect Russo brothers like work. Thankfully I ignored all the political spin that came out due to Larson's interview comments, but I try my best to completely ignore anything Hollywood actor's say, as I rarely agree with them on anything. I watch the movies for the entertainment they bring, nothing more.

The Russo’s also come from humble beginnings. Winter Soldier was their first big movie.

 

[NateD1226]

Going to see it today at 11:50 AM PST!!

 

[Princess Leia]

Box Office: ‘Captain Marvel’ Flies to Historic $153M in U.S., $455M Globally

'Captain Marvel,' starring Brie Larson, shattered the glass ceiling in its box office debut with $455 million in worldwide ticket sales, including $153 million in North America.

www.hollywoodreporter.com

$153M at the domestic box office, $455M worldwide

@Mike S, we were off a little.

Kudos to the movie for smashing records at the box office (highest grossing picture with a female lead)!

 

[Mike S]

Box Office: ‘Captain Marvel’ Flies to Historic $153M in U.S., $455M Globally

'Captain Marvel,' starring Brie Larson, shattered the glass ceiling in its box office debut with $455 million in worldwide ticket sales, including $153 million in North America.

www.hollywoodreporter.com

$153M at the domestic box office, $455M worldwide

@Mike S, we were off a little.

Kudos to the movie for smashing records at the box office (highest grossing picture with a female lead)!

Would it have still broke the record if it only did $100 million? I think the record was a given since it’s an MCU film.

We were definitely off even with our highs but we still correctly predicted it wouldn’t do BP numbers. As good as this was I think I enjoyed BP more. The characters and setting were just great.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Well, CM broke even with just the first weekend. Critical scores have dropped two points over the weekend while audience scores went up 10 points (and will likely to continue to climb as more regular reviews swamp the bombers). Score-wise it's average to slightly-below-average for an MCU movie. It's bound to be way above average with regard to net profit in the theatrical window.

 

[Princess Leia]

Would it have still broke the record if it only did $100 million? I think the record was a given since it’s an MCU film.

We were definitely off even with our highs but we still correctly predicted it wouldn’t do BP numbers. As good as this was I think I enjoyed BP more. The characters and setting were just great.

It didn’t break the record for highest grossing opening for a female lead in the states- that still belongs to Beauty and the Beast. It did pass Wonder Woman’s opening by like $50M though- I think that’s the power of the MCU.

I’m with you about BP- to me, that’s still one of the best films in the MCU. However, I really enjoyed Captain Marvel. Yes, I have seen plenty of women who kicked butt in movies before (my name on this site is Princess Leia for a reason; I grew up loving her). However, I really like Carol. She’s fun, she’s caring, she’s not afraid to put herself in danger if that means saving others.

One thing that I wish the film showed us was more of her past with Maria. We saw glimpses of it, but I left wanting more.

That being said, I am really excited to see where her story goes in Endgame. The rumored pairing of her and Thor is an interesting dynamic.

Well, CM broke even with just the first weekend. Critical scores have dropped two points over the weekend while audience scores went up 10 points (and will likely to continue to climb as more regular reviews swamp the bombers). Score-wise it's average to slightly-below-average for an MCU movie. It's bound to be way above average with regard to net profit in the theatrical window.

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Well it’s getting my money again at least two more times

I’m kind of shocked at the average user score for Ant-Man & the Wasp??