[7.4/10] A movie can live on good vibes alone. Don’t think too hard about the mechanics of a planet that can only communicate in song, or the logistics of the digestion habits and transportation of dozens of alien kittens, or the mechanics of the light-based entanglement of *The Marvels* trio of leads. Just sit back and enjoy the ride. If you can do that, you’re in for a good time.
The best part of 2019’s *Captain Marvel* was the buddy comedy between Carol Danvers and Nick Fury. Its more ecumenical sequel smartly leans into that, giving audiences the great buddy comedy of Carol and her new chums: surrogate niece, Monica Rambeau and young admirer Kamala Khan. And Fury is back for good measure, not only trading some laugh-worthy lines with the Marvels, but also amusingly bouncing off the rest of the Khan family and his subordinates. This movie thrives on banter and the charm of the proceedings, even if you have to leave sense at the door.
The charm is good, because beyond the science fiction-y, quasi-magical confluence of nonsense going on here, the character arcs are pretty thin here too. Captain Marvel is haunted by the consequence of her destroying the Supreme Intelligence had on the Kree homeworld, consequences that mostly happen off-screen and so have little impact. Monica is salty that Carol never returned despite promising to, and Captain Marvel’s decision not to is tied to that Kree catastrophe through a gossamer thin thread, which Monica forgives for reasons that are no firmer.
And Kamala Khan gets to meet her hero and, but for one minor bump in the road...it pretty much goes great. I don’t know what Ms. Marvel’s arc is supposed to be here. She dreams of being an Avenger and then basically gets to be one, I guess?
Still, I can't complain because Iman Vellani continues to be a revelation in the role, and Ms. Marvel continues to be the best new hero the MCU has introduced since *Endgame*. Her flummoxed-but-unruffled disposition, starry-eyed desire to do good, and sheer giddiness at getting to team up with her hero continue to win the day. The combination of empathy, enthusiasm, and relatable kid-dealing-with-parents energy the character brings to the table makes her stand out yet again.
The movie’s big silly set pieces are also just charming. The film makes the most of the thinly-sketched conceit that Carol, Monica, and Kamala are “entangled” via their light-based powers, and thus switch places every time they use their powers. The chaotic absurdity when they’re getting a handle on the swaps and squaring off against bad guys everywhere from an alien space station to S.A.B.E.R. headquarters to the Khans’ living room is a treat. The montage where The Marvels learn how to use their powers and have a ball testing them out is endearing for all three of them. And it ties into the movie’s vague theme about the three of them coming together and working best when they’re a part of a team.
Granted, the film’s action varies between inscrutable and bad. *The Marvels* can get away with a little bit of confounding combat, given the place-swapping conceit of the team’s powers. But even when they’ve mastered it, or are mostly fighting one-on-one, the fisticuffs are chopped all to hell in the editing bay, with indifferent results. In the same vein, the CGI here is a cut below, with unconvincing mid-air green screening and artificial backdrops, a not-ready-for-primetime fully-animated Beast, and full-powered over-glowy versions of Captain Marvel and Monica Rambeau that just look silly.
This level of craft might be forgivable for a mid-range project, but coming from one of the most successful movie studios in the world, they should be able to do better. WIth complaints about crunch and process from effects teams, the shabby results affirm that some rethinking of the whole approach is in order.
But some of that is forgivable with the loony charm of other set pieces in the film. As little sense as it makes, The Marvels’ visit to a planet that communicates entirely in song is terrific. In the humor department, Carol’s tenseness at being the planet’s princess strictly for “political reasons”, Monica being resistant to the whole deal, and Kamala absolutely reveling in it is a complete delight. Likewise, don’t ask why Nick Fury can depend on a bunch of newborn alien cats to keep his S.A.B.E.R. team in their stomachs for a whole spaceship ride, conveniently without gulping down any of the main characters, and just enjoy the goofy imagery of a litter of kittens gobbling up space accountants.
The only weak point that really gets in the way is the villain. Dar-Benn has a decent gripe -- that Captain Marvel, whom she dubs “The Annihilator” disrupted her world. She has an appropriately evil scheme -- stealing climate and resources from other worlds. And Zawe Ashton gives a solid performance. Dar--Benn’s just wildly underdeveloped, feels tossed into the proceedings rather than a vital part of them, and gets dispatched without much real trouble.
It doesn’t help that the nature of The Marvels’ powers is fuzzy as all hell, which isn’t a major problem, except that it’s vital to the plot. Dar-Benn is absorbing Carol’s powers to exert her schemes. But she’s also mixing some power from her big “cosmic rod” which messes things up. But she also has a matching bangle to the one Kamala inherited in the *Ms. Marvel* show. But it’s no problem, because Carol can just peel those off when she tackles Dar-Benn into a big interdimensional rift. But that's fine, because Monica apparently has the power to absorb the energy from that rift and seal it, even if it sends her to an X-Men universe. And it turns out Dar-Benn’s whole project was unnecessary, since all it took was a pep talk and some technobabble for Captain Marvel to realize she can use her powers to restart the Kree homeworld’s sun anyway. Phew.
It’s all a big nonsense stew. But you know what? In a “phase” that has left many MCU fans disappointed, *he Marvels* feels like classic Phase One or Phase Two Marvel. Yes, the villain is forgettable and the plot is held together by popsicle sticks and bubble gum, but there’s charm out the wazoo. Kamala, Monica, and Carol have an incredibly fun dynamic together. Nick Fury bouncing off of them and Kamala’s family is a treat and a laugh every time. This is light adventure, heavy on the light, and it’s not afraid of having a good time at the expense of pure soundness of construction throughout the movie.
It’s an approach that's worked well for the MCU for a long time. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy rollicking potboilers and clearer character stories as much as anybody. But regardless of whether *The Marvels* adds up to a greater whole, it is a fun watch on a scene-to-scene basis. In an era where more and more superhero films feel the need to present some vital lore or try to cram complicated character work between the mandatory fireworks shows, there’s something refreshing about a film that puts on a coat of paint for both, but saves most of its fire for simply being entertaining. On charm and fun alone, *The Marvels* is a good time at the movies.
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