First things first: “The Marvels” admittedly has more baggage than your average film — even your average Marvel film. From a production delay that set it back a year, another that moved it from July to November 2023, the SAG strike ending on the day of the film's premiere — meaning the actors couldn't even speak about the film until it entered theaters — and, of course, the massive online hate campaign that marred the original film, neither production nor promotion came easy.
Those things have been addressed, and they will not be mentioned for the rest of the article because, truthfully, none of them matter. The bottom line is that this was a good film, the best Marvel movie of the year and one filled to the brim with heart and skill from its production team.
“The Marvels” introduces arguably the best team to hit the MCU since the original Avengers: Monica Rambeau; Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel; and Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel. All three hail from different corners of the MCU. Monica had a small part in “Captain Marvel” and a pivotal role in “WandaVision.” Carol, of course, most recently appeared in 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame,” and Kamala was recently the star of the “Ms. Marvel” Disney+ series.
Despite none of these actresses being cast with the other in mind, their chemistry throughout the film is palpable. Brie Larson as Carol and Iman Vellani as Kamala perfectly encapsulate a reluctant mentor/hero-worshipper dynamic from the comics, with Vellani bringing much-needed levity in her first-ever film role.
Larson and Teyonah Parris, who plays Monica Rambeau, do the emotional heavy lifting of the film as they confront the tattered remains of their relationship from the previous film. While there’s a notably emotionally charged scene from the trailer missing in the final cut of the film, their relationship still manages to hit in all the right ways, especially at the end of the movie.
Zawe Ashton gave it her all as Darr-Ben, the film's villain, but there was so much happening throughout the film that it became hard to focus on her motivations. The internal conflict between the characters of this film was much more interesting than the external conflict, which left the villain's story feeling hollow and at times unnecessary.
The true hero of this movie was the fight choreography. A main plot point of the film is the fact that, when they use their powers, our three main heroines switch places uncontrollably, which is a major conflict for the first third of the film. However, they learn to use this to their advantage after spending some time together, which gives way to some of the coolest MCU fight scenes we’ve seen thus far.
As someone who was on the fence about the change in Kamala Khan's powers from the comics to the MCU, I can safely say that this movie led me to accept them.
All in all, this is a good film.
There’s nothing objectively bad about it, and it was worth a watch in theaters just as it’s worth a watch (or two) on Disney+. This film knows who it was made for: the girls. It’s a fun road trip film about women discovering that their true power comes when they work together.
It’s no confidence that this film, which has gained a lot of hate online, is led by three female main characters, two of whom are women of color. This is also the first MCU film to be directed by a Black woman.
I hope that these facts will ultimately be seen as a positive and that this film will finally get a fair chance.
“The Marvels” is now available on Disney+.
Gabriella Hartlaub is the former arts editor for The Daily Cardinal. She has also written state politics and campus news. She currently is a summer reporting intern with Raleigh News and Observer. Follow her on Twitter at @gabihartlaub.
