Director: Nia DaCosta
Run time: 1 hour 45 mins
The Marvels fixes multiple issues MCU movies are notorious for, but does not manage to fix them all. DaCosta takes some wide and successful swings in her 3rd picture, which really allows Iman Vellani to shine in her film debut. There are some refreshing opportunities for Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Teyonah Parris, and others too. This movie is more than just two post-credit scenes, but audiences might be quick to overlook it if they play into the unnecessary crisis alert currently sounding about Marvel Studios.
Kamala Khan’s family, played by Zenobia Shroff, Saagar Shaikh, and Mohan Kapur continue their Ms. Marvel chemistry and do a great job of grounding the film. The Khan family in general is the anchor for the film as Carol and Monica continue to work through their own traumas. So in short, The Marvels does succeed in terms of humor, action, and pace.
To continue the trend and flower-giving sessions, the standout of The Marvels is indeed Vanelli. She brought an enthusiasm and sincerity to Kamala on television that oozed and at times led to reminiscing of the MCU’s Spider-Man, played by Tom Holland, and his high school experience, which we only saw shades of. Vellani’s energy holds the film together because she’s passionate, sincere, humble, and not taking any of this for granted. She’s in a film with an Oscar winner, nominee, and multiple Golden Globe awards between them, and she’s well aware.

Speaking of the additional cast, Jackson brings a refreshing take to Nick Fury in his 13th appearance as the character. His turn this time is much more paternal, yet he also continues to run SWORD and joke around at the same time. Parris is still solid as Monica, but since the character is in a similar space of figuring out her past, a mirroring of Larson’s Captain Marvel, the actresses often come across as simultaneously unsure, as if they don’t know how to play their characters, when in actuality they’re probably just guarded.
In terms of number of appearances, the road is short for many of these characters, but audiences are overly curious about how Captain Marvel and Monica will be displayed in their entirety. Both characters are traumatized, functioning in a world that’s very different from the world they grew up in. We needed and need more moments like the bonding scene on Captain Marvel’s ship in the first portion of the movie. Literal space for them to relax and be free as they figure themselves out. Their stoic presence, especially considering the actresses are so bright and charismatic, is a struggle for many audiences to read, but it’s improving.
A surprising yet unfortunate casualty of the film is the Skrulls. We haven’t seen Captain Marvel interact with them much, so the Skrulls have potentially waited decades for acknowledgment from her. In this entry, just as the group is beginning to form their foundation and shed their refugee status, their colony, which audiences didn’t even know about, finds itself under attack. Upon escape, we get a cameo from Val (Tessa Thompson) which shouldn’t have been spoiled in the trailer. Val makes a quick appearance and then the Skrull storyline is placed back on the shelf again.
Another misfire, referenced in almost every MCU film review, is The Marvels poor use of yet another amazing British actress in the role of antagonist. Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton) brings legitimate motivations and often fights in hand-to-hand combat that doesn’t require too much VFX work, yet her conclusion mimics that of almost every other villain in the universe.
The film avoids common MCU issues, such as exposition-heavy intros, motivation-less villains, and indiscernible CGI battles in the 3rd arc, but DaCosta was unable to avoid them all. Ashton plays Dar-Been well, but has no longevity, and though the action is well choreographed, it’s disproportionately slow. As expected, there’s tons of pressure on the film to connect to the larger universe too.

CGI and VFX work in The Marvels is consistent and works best when the action is in space or at least mostly in camera. The larger atmospheres, like on the planet Aladna, felt a little volume-ish and unconvincing, but otherwise the film appears to use locations and well-crafted sets well. It’s unfortunate that the location that takes the largest creative leap is also the one with too short of an appearance by a new character, Prince Yan (Park Seo-joon), as well as the location most relying on generated visuals.
Similar to James Gunn’s work in Guardians 3, there’s a nice change of pace in terms of action and style in The Marvels. Though the style is unique, the film does reinforce a recent call for more consistent stunt coordinators. To create more unity and really max out the stylistic choices of directors and characters, I think there should be a position over all the coordinators for the studio.
Each superhero obviously has their unique approach to fighting, whether it’s grappling or using energy, but the way in which similar powers or strengths are filmed is inconsistent. The speed of humans vs. powered individuals, like Nick Fury compared to Captain Marvel, doesn’t carry over from film to film or within a singular film, especially when Mrs. Khan, for example, throws a pillow and it takes a Kree soldier out easily.
If the final scenes haven’t been spoiled yet, continue to hold out. The film ends with a fun, referential scene that was a post-credit scene originally. The mid-credit scene contains even more surprises for the future of the Multiversal Saga. So avoid the spoilers if you can, as the MCU is still worth seeing in theaters without preconceived notions.
Overall, The Marvels is enjoyable and tightly paced. There’s likely some quality story left out that would have fleshed out the main characters, but the pared-down story does appear to be purposeful. The Marvels is fun and palate-cleansing, a unique vision from a young and fresh director. The film is also a perfect middle ground of absurdity and camp. Hopefully DaCosta returns for another entry, whether it’s a solo venture or another team outing.
4 out of 5