Captain Marvel

          Captain Marvel is the twenty-first entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and stars Oscar winner Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelssohn, and Jude Law. The main character, Carol Danvers/Vers, is aiding the planet Hala and its Kree race in its war against the Skrull. During a mission, Vers is kidnapped by the Skrull and eventually ends up on the planet C-53 otherwise known as Earth. It is here that she meets Nick Fury. He helps Vers in her attempts to figure out who the woman is she keeps seeing in her dream and whether or not she had a life on Earth. In her attempts to sort out her amnesia, she discovers some horrible truths surrounding her, the war, and everything else.
          I wasn't as familiar with this character as I was with others. Sure, everyone knows who Iron Man and Captain America are, but I'm sure not many people could tell you who Carol Danvers was before now. She's the exciting new heroine for the new age and holds a spot next to Wonder Woman when it comes to powerful on-screen women.
          It's a Marvel movie so that means fight scene after fight scene, corny character development, and all the superhero goodness. Sure, it's formulaic, but as I stated in a previous review critiquing a movie for being formulaic is barely credible and doesn't hold any weight toward one's argument. One thing I liked about this movie was the way it treated its audience. My biggest problem with the last Marvel movie, Ant-Man and the Wasp, was that it expected the viewer to have already seen most of the MCU filmography and, therefore, skimmed over previous plot details that would confuse a new viewer. It's still a good movie, but I could help but notice its dependence. Captain Marvel doesn't do this as much. Sure, the new planet, alien species and the presence of Ronan may be important notes for fans, but the movie doesn't depend on these and a newcomer can enjoy the movie just as much as a familiar viewer. It also takes place during the '90s which is before most of the events of the MCU happen which helps with its ability to stand alone.
          The film starts out a bit overwhelming. The pacing of the first twenty minutes is way too fast and before you know it there's already a fight scene. I felt left behind and that I had missed something. The story starts out on a new planet and it felt like I should've maybe done some homework beforehand. Looking back on it, this wasn't the case and everything gets explained towards the end, but that initial confusion did have an impact on my experience.
           I don't think this film is up there amongst the best Marvel movies, but it's certainly not the worst either. It's not as forgettable as Ant-Man and the Wasp, but it's memorable enough and with the release of Avengers: Endgame soon approaching us, it will definitely serve as another layer for the grand scale that that movie will deliver us. Captain Marvel is an exhilarating time and will definitely hold you over until Endgame, but it stands well enough on its own that you will almost forget that it takes place in a universe as big as Marvel. 8.5/10