Susan Granger’s review of “The Marvels” (Marvel/Disney)
In 2019, when Brie Larson first assumed the title role in “Captain Marvel,”
the sci-fi fantasy racked up a $153.4 million opening, yet – back in November – when its sequel “The Marvels” opened, it garnered only $46.1 million, making it the most disappointing opening in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s history.
Shortly afterward, Marvel and Disney announced they’d scaled back the number of superhero movies scheduled for release in 2024 from three to one: “Deadpool 3,” starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman as Wolverine.
So what went wrong with this new female-powered action saga? It’s simply silly. Brie Larson reprises her role as the bland amnesiac U.S. Air Force pilot Carol Danvers. She’s joined by Teyonah Parris as astronaut Monica Rambeau from “WandaVision” and Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan from Disney+’s “Ms. Marvel.”
Their muddled story of interplanetary dependence begins as villainous Dar-Benn (Zarwe Ashton), Supremor of the Kree people, finds half an armlet called the Quantum Band that’s infused with a powerful energy.
Suddenly, we’re transported to Jersey City, where teenage Kamala Khan is wearing the magical bangle as she bonds with Monica and Carol, who has vowed to end the genocidal 30-year war between the Kree and Skrulls.
Apparently this armlet allows the insipid trio to randomly swap places. These leaps are called “jump points” which are part of a teleportation network in outer space.
There’s a planet called Aladna whose inhabitants sing instead of talk, and Capt. Marvel’s golden cat – named Goose – has a mouthful of yards-long tentacles that allow it to swallow creatures many times its own size and spit them back out intact.
Working with techno-babbling co-screenwriters Elissa Karasik & Megan McDonnell, Nia DaCosta (“Candyman”) is not only Marvel’s youngest writer/director ever but also the first Black woman to helm a MCU franchise film.
Plus this is the first Marvel film with a Muslim superheroine and, mercifully, it’s also the shortest MCU movie, clocking in at an hour and 45 minutes.
FYI: Today’s teenagers were toddlers when Marvel first seized the zeitgeist. What generation wants to dig the same stuff as their parents? All this is explored in a new book called “The Reign of Marvel Studios” by Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzales and Gavin Edwards.
On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Marvels” is an inconsistent, interminable 3, playing in theaters.
