There’s no denying that The Marvels is coming in for a rough landing. The latest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is arriving with lower than usual box office projections thanks to an ongoing actors strike and a cooling of the franchise thanks to prior lackluster installments like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Secret Invasion. The Nia DaCosta-directed film was also the center of a recent Variety expose about behind-the-scenes panicking at Marvel Studios.
However, despite everything working against it, the first reviews for The Marvels are overwhelmingly positive. At a crisp 105 minutes, the Captain Marvel sequel taps into the MCU fun that has made the franchise a Hollywood powerhouse. That fun is almost exclusively because of the three leads: Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, and most particularly, Iman Vellani who is repeatedly being singled out as the film’s highlight.
That said, the overall plot for The Marvels does not fare as well, and while the character work is strong, it might not be enough to save the film from dashing on the box office rocks when it opens this weekend.
You can see what some of the reviews are saying below:
Mike Ryan, Uproxx:
I was pleasantly surprised that the dynamic between Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers, Teyonah Parris’s Monica Rambeau, and Iman Vellani’s Kamala Khan does work. Or, at the very least, is willed together by the sheer force of Vellani’s endless enthusiasm. … The problem with The Marvels is just the story itself. The plot, which focuses on the continuing and never-ending war between the Kree and Skrulls, is so borderline indecipherable at times, even though they keep trying to explain it multiple times, I truly was questioning if I missed three or four Marvel Cinematic Universe movies somehow. (I haven’t.)
Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter:
Larson, Parris and Vellani have a natural and infectious rapport. Their undeniable chemistry anchors one of the stronger threads of The Marvels, which wrestles with Carol’s isolation and ego. Larson is steadier in this installment of the Captain Marvel franchise: Her toughness and stoicism, which felt clumsy and alienating in the first film, have a more intentional edge here because they’re accompanied by a deeper understanding of her character. Parris, who worked with DaCosta on Candyman and most recently demonstrated her range in They Cloned Tyrone, is always a pleasure to watch. She brings an understated warmth and nerdiness (akin to Letitia Wright in Black Panther) to the film. But it’s Vellani who really splashes. Her character’s bubbly personality adds levity and humor to The Marvels, making it lighter fare than its predecessor.
Amelia Emberwing, IGN:
With her inaugural outing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Nia DaCosta directs the kind of film that leaves you grinning well after the credits roll. It’s made up of heart and soul and spirit and all of the piss and vinegar you’d expect from a story featuring three stellar leading ladies. Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) is more human than the franchise has ever allowed before this point, Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) is as bright and bold as ever, and Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani) predictably steals the show.
Owen Gleiberman, Variety:
The actor with the most sparkle, however, is Zawe Ashton, who invests Dar-Benn with a lyrical go-for-broke anger, though we’ve seen this brand of villain 100 times. As good as Ashton is, Dar-Benn feels like the generic version of Cate Blanchett’s Hela in “Thor: Ragnarok.” The movie is short enough not to overstay its welcome, though it’s still padded with too many of those fight scenes that make you think, “If these characters have such singular and extraordinary powers, why does it always come down to two of them bashing each other?”
Leigh Monson, The A.V. Club:
It’s with these flickers of character that The Marvels remembers how to have fun. It can be as simple as a training montage where the team figures out how to use their entangled powers in sync with one another, as high-concept and silly as a diversion to a planet where everyone communicates through the medium of song, or as off-the-wall as a sequence where a herd of flerken kittens goes adorably hogwild to the choicest musical accompaniment. These are the moments where it feels good to hang out in this world and with this gang of personalities, a reminder that anything can happen within a comic book universe.
Matt Webb Mitovitch, TVLine:
There have been what feels like a half-dozen books and exposés in recent weeks detailing the worsening problems with the once-mighty MCU machine. But as the tight-n-bright, 105-minute movie got unspooling, I found myself smiling, and even bursting with laughter at points, because The Marvels is the most wall-to-wall fun Marvel movie or series since Spider-Man: No Way Home. (This is where I remind you that Guardians 3 was heavy, folks.)
Valerie Complex, Deadline:
Despite these external setbacks, The Marvels stands as a testament to the possibility of character-driven stories within the grand tapestry of the MCU. DaCosta’s vision, fortified by compelling performances and thoughtful storytelling, delivers a superhero film that pulsates with life, energy, and most importantly, a sense of purpose. It’s a reminder that in the right hands, even the most expansive universes can be distilled into stories that resonate on the most human of levels.
Kate Erbland, IndieWire:
Tellingly, the most pleasurable moments in Nia DaCosta’s “The Marvels” don’t hinge on the audience having an encyclopedic knowledge of all things Marvel. Hell, they don’t even hinge on the audience being particularly inclined toward anything Marvel. They’re just solid pieces of blockbuster filmmaking: charming stars (like the full-force charisma of Iman Vellani and the appealing vulnerability of Teyonah Parris), sprightly action, and zippy humor. But as good as those elements are, when stacked up inside an otherwise scattered, choppy, and often incoherent film, they also feel like stinging reminders of what could have been (a better film).
The Marvels opens in theaters on November 10.