IS THE MARVEL HYPE TRAIN RUNNING OUT OF STEAM?

Another week, another Marvel movie, or at least that’s how it feels.

With a whopping 21 films in the main “Avengers” cinematic canon already, not to mention all the Marvel properties that were previously held by Fox, such as the X-Men, it’s no wonder so many people are starting to get burned out on the superhero genre.

So, with all the previous inconsequential controversy surrounding “Captain Marvel,” and the stale formula of Disney’s superhero films becoming ever more obvious, you may be wondering if it’s really worth leaving the house to see this latest Marvel superhero flick.

Captain Marvel introduces the latest member of the Avengers: Our heroine, Carol Danvers (played by Brie Larson), is an earthling turned honorary Kree alien, who was discovered in a freak accident that gave her extraordinary powers.

Now suffering from extreme amnesia, Carol fights for the Kree against Skroll terrorists, a race of shape-changing aliens who seek independence. When a mission takes her back to Earth, however, she learns there might be more to her mysterious past and the people she fights for than she could have imagined.

Captain Marvel puts itself in a weird position, as the movie retroactively makes Danvers one of the most important characters in the Avengers canon. Previously, Captain Marvel had only been minimally hinted at in the other Avengers movies, and introducing a new, big player in the franchise with an origin-story film this late in the series – especially with the release of “Avengers: End Game” only a few months away – really comes across as too little, too late.

For all the hype and arguing that went on over this movie’s “feminist agenda” – all of the trolling and unnecessary support that was given to this movie – it all just ended up being more money in Disney’s pocket. Despite this film’s rather mediocre critical reception, it has still been a massive box office success.

But, money in the bank does not excuse poor quality.

Truth be told, this movie is enjoyable enough if you turn your brain off, but then again, most anything can be considered passable if you turn your brain off.

The issues begin with the film’s directors. There are two of them, first of all: Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. Generally speaking, having two different directors who aren’t used to working together, with two separate visions for the movie they’re working on, just won’t turn out a cohesive product.

That sentiment has unfortunately proven true once more, with Captain Marvel.

All of the pieces seem to be present in order for a fun story to be told, but it all just feels a little stilted and uninspired. In some scenes  Larson is fun and snarky, especially when interacting with a young Nick Fury (played by Samuel L. Jackson, of course), and it’s fun to see their relationship grow. In other scenes, however, she comes across as flat and annoyed.

The flow of the editing is also completely off. The way this film was structured, there simply isn’t much payoff or character development for any of the main cast except Fury.

Overall, this movie simply lacks the flair and sense of adventure that audiences have come to expect from a Marvel film.

In fact, I’m less excited to see Captain Marvel’s appearance in End Game than I was before, because this movie offers nothing more than cheesy-looking special effects and a very on-the-nose soundtrack.

If you really want to know all of the lore and backstory behind the newest Avenger before you watch End Game, then go see Captain Marvel. More than likely, the character’s appearance in the final Avengers won’t be jarring enough to warrant going out and watching this movie, however. I rate this film 2.5 out of 5 stars.