via
https://ift.tt/2SS8OaBprimarybufferpanel:
fthgurdy:
Captain Marvel!
I’ll be honest, I expected a mediocre but standard superhero origin movie, something like maybe Thor, Aquaman. You know, fun, explaining the why of a character, but not really great.
What I got was so much better.
Captain Marvel is very easy to watch, the pace is light, the fight scene edits are clear and easy to understand, visually it’s got that clean, colourful Marvel look to it, but I think they changed up the palette a little bit? Desaturated it just a little? Just an impression, if so it probably had to do with setting it more credibly in the 90s.
Because 90s references abound, but in a subtle way- basically you’re never told what year it is, you just gotta figure it out by what shops are still around, what posters are on the walls, what technology people use and which songs are playing on the radio. And yeah you can pinpoint it pretty well. If you remember the 90s, you may find this a fun game.
The acting is gentle, so gentle and endearing. Almost none of those ‘badass one-liner split with a pause while the music soars’ shots, thank goodness (ain’t you tired of those?) but a lot of casual banter instead. Zero sexual tension! Zero implied romances or arousals! Though you may find yourself shipping one couple, because it’s plausible.
People talk to each other. People ask questions and explain things to each other. The cultural differences between people from planets who have (technically) never interacted before are shown in a credible and amusing way. Villains are villainous for their actions, not their creepy way of talking or how shadows fall on their face.
There’s a flashback sequence, of course- but it’s tackled in a manner unlike anything I’ve ever seen before, and it works really well.
In short, as far as origin stories go I feel like this one gives its audience a little bit more credit, giving us the chance to try and connect the dots ourselves as we watch and learn more about who Captain Marvel is.
And as far as female empowerment- yes, the film does spend a fair amount of time on sexism that girls and women experience throughout their lives. Which is fine because…well, it’s relatable for girls and women, so it makes the character feel more real.
And there’s some excellent retorts Captain Marvel makes, incidentally, to men, which are definitely a nod to feminism. Important note though: the movie doesn’t demonise men. It doesn’t even go as far as blaming men for anything or even showing mistrust for men, or a grudge towards them…it doesn’t even highlight male privilege.
It’s just that when you see this powerful woman shut down a manipulative bully who thinks he’s got a right to waste her time, you’re not gonna have to think very long to recall similar interactions from real life where the bully is a man, and his entitlement is based on sexism.
And that is not to blame on SJWs :P
(As usual, I offer trigger spoilers, pm me if you need any warnings before you go see it. I can tell you right now the cat does definitely NOT die.)
I went in with the same expectations and loved it SO MUCH MORE than I thought I would. Mostly just because… Carol, you know? She’s so amazingly human, she struggles with stuff but not in a ‘weight of the world’ annoying brooding way, she chats and she has humour and she cares about other people really hard and she doesn’t have that immovable object righteous I Am The Hero Therefore I Am Right male superhero energy.
The 90s nostalgiafest helped me love it, too. Fury and Coulson were a bit uncanny-valley.
I’m gonna have to watch the Avengers movie just to see her interact with the Avengers, won’t I? Everybody please give me lots of fic of Carol hanging with the team.
(Your picture was not posted)
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
