The year is winding down, but before it does, it is always fun to reflect on what happened thus far. In the world of music (at least on the fans’ end), Apple Music Replay and Spotify Wrapped remind listeners of their favorite albums, EPs, and singles. Likewise, the Billboard Music Awards is all about the collective data. Last month, the complete nomination list was shared. So, who is performing at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards?
Thus far, only four featured performances have been announced. Those entertainers are Bebe Rexha, David Guetta, Peso Pluma, and NewJeans. The organizers revealed that additional performers will be announced on social media leading up to the ceremony.
Based on the stacked nominee lists, fans hope SZA, up for 17 awards, could hit the stage, especially after she reportedly opted out of performing at the 2023 VMAs. The most nominated artist of the evening is Taylor Swift, up in 20 listed categories. Peso Pluma is nominated in six. David Guetta and NewJeans are nominated in five each.
The 2023 Billboard Music Awards ceremony and performances from the evening will be shared across their official social media platforms or seen live on November 19 at 8 p.m. Eastern. Find more information here.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
A slew of new awards have been introduced, as well; new categories will encompass two swiftly burgeoning genres: Afrobeats and K-pop. Check out the complete list of nominees below:
Top Artist
Drake
SZA
Taylor Swift
Luke Combs
Morgan Wallen
Top New Artist
Bailey Zimmerman
Ice Spice
Jelly Roll
Peso Pluma
Zach Bryan
Top Male Artist
Drake
Luke Combs
Morgan Wallen
The Weeknd
Zach Bryan
Top Female Artist
Beyoncé
Taylor Swift
Miley Cyrus
SZA
Olivia Rodrigo
Top Duo/Group
Eslabon Armado
Fifty Fifty
Fuerza Regida
Grupo Frontera
Metallica
Top Billboard 200 Artist
Drake
Luke Combs
Morgan Wallen
SZA
Taylor Swift
Top Hot 100 Artist
Drake
Luke Combs
Morgan Wallen
SZA
Taylor Swift
Top Hot 100 Songwriter
Ashley Gorley
Jack Antonoff
SZA
Taylor Swift
Zach Bryan
Top Hot 100 Producer
Jack Antonoff
Joey Moi
Metro Boomin
Taylor Swift
Zach Bryan
Top Streaming Songs Artist
Drake
Morgan Wallen
SZA
Taylor Swift
Zach Bryan
Top Radio Songs Artist
Miley Cyrus
Morgan Wallen
SZA
Taylor Swift
The Weeknd
Top Song Sales Artist
Jason Aldean
Miley Cyrus
Morgan Wallen
Oliver Anthony Music
Taylor Swift
Top Billboard Global 200 Artist
Bad Bunny
Morgan Wallen
SZA
Taylor Swift
The Weeknd
Top Billboard Global (Excl. U.S.) Artist
Bad Bunny
Ed Sheeran
NewJeans
Taylor Swift
The Weeknd
Top R&B Artist
Beyoncé
Chris Brown
Rihanna
SZA
The Weeknd
Top R&B Male Artist
Chris Brown
Miguel
The Weeknd
Top R&B Female Artist
Beyoncé
Rihanna
SZA
Top R&B Touring Artist
Beyoncé
Bruno Mars
The Weeknd
Top Rap Artist
21 Savage
Drake
Lil Baby
Metro Boomin
Travis Scott
Top Rap Male Artist
21 Savage
Drake
Travis Scott
Top Rap Female Artist
Doja Cat
Ice Spice
Nicki Minaj
Top Rap Touring Artist
50 Cent
Drake
Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa
Top Country Artist
Bailey Zimmerman
Luke Combs
Morgan Wallen
Taylor Swift
Zach Bryan
Top Country Male Artist
Luke Combs
Morgan Wallen
Zach Bryan
Top Country Female Artist
Lainey Wilson
Megan Moroney
Taylor Swift
Top Country Duo/Group
Old Dominion
Parmalee
Zac Brown Band
Top Country Touring Artist
George Strait
Luke Combs
Morgan Wallen
Top Rock Artist
Jelly Roll
Noah Kahan
Stephen Sanchez
Steve Lacy
Zach Bryan
Top Rock Duo/Group
Arctic Monkeys
Foo Fighters
Metallica
Top Rock Touring Artist
Coldplay
Depeche Mode
Elton John
Top Latin Artist
Bad Bunny
Eslabon Armado
Fuerza Regida
Karol G
Peso Pluma
Top Latin Male Artist
Bad Bunny
Peso Pluma
Rauw Alejandro
Top Latin Female Artist
Karol G
Rosalía
Shakira
Top Latin Duo/Group
Eslabon Armado
Fuerza Regida
Grupo Frontera
Top Latin Touring Artist
Daddy Yankee
Karol G
RBD
Top Global K-Pop Artist
Jimin
NewJeans
Stray Kids
TOMORROW X TOGETHER
TWICE
Top K-Pop Touring Artist
Blackpink
Suga
TWICE
Top Afrobeats Artist
Burna Boy
Libianca
Rema
Tems
Wizkid
Top Dance/Electronic Artist
Beyoncé
Calvin Harris
David Guetta
Drake
Tiësto
Top Christian Artist
Brandon Lake
Elevation Worship
For King And Country
Lauren Daigle
Phil Wickham
Top Gospel Artist
CeCe Winans
Elevation Worship
Kanye West
Kirk Franklin
Maverick City Music
Top Billboard 200 Album
Drake & 21 Savage — Her Loss
Metro Boomin — Heroes & Villains
Morgan Wallen — One Thing At A Time
SZA — SOS
Taylor Swift — Midnights
Top Soundtrack
“Barbie The Album”
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – Music From and Inspired By”
“Elvis”
“Metro Boomin Presents Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse (Soundtrack From and Inspired by the Motion Picture)”
“Top Gun: Maverick”
Top R&B Album
Beyoncé — Renaissance
Brent Faiyaz — Wasteland
Drake — Honestly, Nevermind
Steve Lacy — Gemini Rights
SZA — SOS
Top Rap Album
Drake & 21 Savage — Her Loss
Future — I Never Liked You
Lil Baby — It’s Only Me
Metro Boomin — Heroes & Villains
Travis Scott — Utopia
Top Country Album
Luke Combs — Gettin’ Old
Luke Combs — Growin’ Up
Morgan Wallen — One Thing At A Time
Taylor Swift — Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)
Zach Bryan — American Heartbreak
Top Rock Album
HARDY — the mockingbird & THE CROW
Jelly Roll — Whitsitt Chapel
Noah Kahan — Stick Season
Steve Lacy — Gemini Rights
Zach Bryan — American Heartbreak
Top Latin Album
Bad Bunny — Un Verano Sin Ti
Eslabon Armado — DESVELADO
Ivan Cornejo — Dañado
Karol G — MAÑANA SERÁ BONITO
Peso Pluma — GÉNESIS
Top K-Pop Album
Jimin — FACE
NewJeans — 2nd EP ‘Get Up’
Stray Kids — 5-STAR
TOMORROW X TOGETHER — The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION
TWICE — READY TO BE: 12th Mini Album
Top Dance/Electronic Album
Beyoncé — Renaissance
Drake — Honestly, Nevermind
ILLENIUM — ILLENIUM
Kim Petras — Feed The Beast
Tiësto — DRIVE
Top Christian Album
Anne Wilson — My Jesus
Brandon Lake — House of Miracles
CAIN — Rise Up
Elevation Worship — LION
Lauren Daigle — Lauren Daigle
Top Gospel Album
Jonathan McReynolds — My Truth
Maverick City Music x Kirk Franklin — Kingdom Book One
Tye Tribbett — All Things New
Whitney Houston — I Go to the Rock: The Gospel Music of Whitney Houston
Zacardi Cortez — Imprint (Live in Memphis)
Top Hot 100 Song
Metro Boomin, The Weeknd & 21 Savage — “Creepin’”
Miley Cyrus — “Flowers”
Morgan Wallen — “Last Night”
SZA — “Kill Bill”
Taylor Swift — “Anti-Hero”
Top Streaming Song
Miley Cyrus — “Flowers”
Morgan Wallen — “Last Night”
SZA — “Kill Bill”
Taylor Swift — “Anti-Hero”
Zach Bryan — “Something in the Orange”
Top Radio Song
Metro Boomin, The Weeknd & 21 Savage — “Creepin’”
Miley Cyrus — “Flowers”
Rema & Selena Gomez — “Calm Down”
Taylor Swift — “Anti-Hero”
The Weeknd & Ariana Grande — “Die For You”
Top Selling Song
Jason Aldean — “Try That in a Small Town”
Jimin — “Like Crazy”
Miley Cyrus — “Flowers”
Oliver Anthony Music — “Rich Men North of Richmond”
Taylor Swift — “Anti-Hero”
Top Collaboration
David Guetta & Bebe Rexha — “I’m Good (Blue)”
Metro Boomin, The Weeknd & 21 Savage — “Creepin’”
Rema & Selena Gomez — “Calm Down”
Sam Smith & Kim Petras — “Unholy”
The Weeknd & Ariana Grande — “Die For You”
Top Billboard Global 200 Song
Miley Cyrus — “Flowers”
Rema & Selena Gomez — “Calm Down”
SZA — “Kill Bill”
Taylor Swift — “Anti-Hero”
The Weeknd & Ariana Grande — “Die For You”
Top Billboard Global (Excl. U.S.) Song
David Guetta & Bebe Rexha — “I’m Good (Blue)”
Harry Styles — “As It Was”
Miley Cyrus — “Flowers”
Rema & Selena Gomez — “Calm Down”
The Weeknd & Ariana Grande — “Die For You”
Top R&B Song
Metro Boomin, The Weeknd & 21 Savage — “Creepin’”
Miguel — “Sure Thing”
The Weeknd & Ariana Grande — “Die For You”
SZA — “Kill Bill”
SZA — “Snooze”
Top Rap Song
Coi Leray — “Players”
Drake & 21 Savage — “Rich Flex”
Gunna — “Fukumean”
Lil Durk Feat. J. Cole — “All My Life”
Toosii — “Favorite Song”
Top Country Song
Bailey Zimmerman — “Rock and a Hard Place”
Luke Combs — “Fast Car”
Morgan Wallen — “Last Night”
Morgan Wallen — “You Proof”
Zach Bryan — “Something in the Orange”
Top Rock Song
Jelly Roll — “Need A Favor”
Stephen Sanchez — “Until I Found You”
Steve Lacy — “Bad Habit”
Zach Bryan Feat. Kacey Musgraves — “I Remember Everything”
Zach Bryan — “Something in the Orange”
Top Latin Song
Eslabon Armado x Peso Pluma — “Ella Baila Sola”
Fuerza Regida x Grupo Frontera — “Bebe Dame”
Grupo Frontera x Bad Bunny — “un x100to”
KAROL G & Shakira — “TQG”
Yng Lvcas x Peso Pluma — “La Bebe”
Bizarrap & Shakira — “Shakira: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53”
David Guetta, Anne-Marie & Coi Leray — “Baby Don’t Hurt Me”
David Guetta & Bebe Rexha — “I’m Good (Blue)”
Elton John & Britney Spears — “Hold Me Closer”
Tiësto Feat. Tate McRae — “10:35”
Top Christian Song
Brandon Lake — “Gratitude”
Chris Tomlin — “Holy Forever”
for KING & COUNTRY with Jordin Sparks — “Love Me Like I Am”
Lauren Daigle — “Thank God I Do”
Phil Wickham — “This Is Our God”
Top Gospel Song
CeCe Winans — “Goodness of God”
Crowder & Dante Bowe Feat. Maverick City Music — “God Really Loves Us”
Elevation Worship Feat. Chandler Moore & Tiffany Hudson — “More Than Able”
Maverick City Music & Kirk Franklin Feat. Brandon Lake & Chandler Moore — “Fear is Not My Future”
Zacardi Cortez — “Lord Do It For Me (Live in Memphis)”
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
The Grand Theft Auto world will soon see a new incarnation from Rockstar Games. The publisher fired off an official announcement from co-founder Sam Houser, which reads in part, “We are very excited to let you know that in early December, we will release the first trailer for the next Grand Theft Auto.”
We are very excited to let you know that in early December, we will release the first trailer for the next Grand Theft Auto. We look forward to many more years of sharing these experiences with all of you.
This, of course, is the news that gamers were waiting to hear after word of an unfortunate leak of GTA6 source code from about a year ago. The company previously acknowledged (after some gameplay video illegally surfaced on various message boards online) that this leak did, in fact, happen, and that a “network intrusion” that nabbed “confidential information” was responsible for the leak. At the time, the publisher didn’t confirm any of the supposedly revealed details, which is to be expected, but at least now, viewers know that a trailer is on the way within weeks.
When will GTA6 be released? That’s still up in the air, but rest assured that when the date surfaces, updates will be flying.
In the meantime, there’s also a GTA TV show (apparently teased by 50 Cent) called Vice City in the works. The series will be developed for Paramount+ by Lionstage and Paramount, and hopefully, more news will arrive on that end soon. Looks like it could be a very merry Christmas for GTA addicts.
Gracie Abrams has shared a new song, “Cedar,” from Apple TV+’s new series, The Buccaneers. The song is part of the show’s soundtrack and details a harrowing breakup.
Over a chilling instrumental produced by Aaron Dessner of The National and Stella Mozgawa of Warpaint, Abrams questions a lost love, a deceitful lover, and mostly, herself, as she finds herself dealing with the aftermath of heartache.
“It’s impossible to acclimate / Every time we talk, we understate / Oh, I know we both could die / We both could die / But you told me that you felt the same / When I told you how I needed space / But I think it was a lie / It was a lie,” sings Abrams on the song’s chorus.
For the album, Mozgawa assembled a roster of women artists to accompany the television adaptation of Edith Wharton’s unfinished novel.
“It was a truly incredible experience working with this group of uniquely talented artists,” said Mozgawa in a statement. “Everyone brought their A-game and taught me something invaluable about the creative process. Witnessing these artists map each character’s journey through song was a joy and the album feels like a really exciting companion to the show.”
Gracie Abrams has shared a new song, “Cedar,” from Apple TV+’s new series, The Buccaneers. The song is part of the show’s soundtrack and details a harrowing breakup.
Over a chilling instrumental produced by Aaron Dessner of The National and Stella Mozgawa of Warpaint, Abrams questions a lost love, a deceitful lover, and mostly, herself, as she finds herself dealing with the aftermath of heartache.
“It’s impossible to acclimate / Every time we talk, we understate / Oh, I know we both could die / We both could die / But you told me that you felt the same / When I told you how I needed space / But I think it was a lie / It was a lie,” sings Abrams on the song’s chorus.
For the album, Mozgawa assembled a roster of women artists to accompany the television adaptation of Edith Wharton’s unfinished novel.
“It was a truly incredible experience working with this group of uniquely talented artists,” said Mozgawa in a statement. “Everyone brought their A-game and taught me something invaluable about the creative process. Witnessing these artists map each character’s journey through song was a joy and the album feels like a really exciting companion to the show.”
Led Zeppelin IV is the most popular album from Led Zeppelin, one of the biggest bands ever. The 1971 recording, which includes classic rock radio favorites “Stairway to Heaven,” “Black Dog,” and “Rock and Roll,” has sold over 37 million copies worldwide; in the United States alone, it’s gone 24 times platinum, good for fifth all-time. But a mystery has always surrounded the album: who is the stick man on the cover? We finally have an answer.
University of the West of England researcher Brian Edwards was browsing a photograph album when he noticed a familiar image: a crouched man carrying a basket of sticks on his back. The caption for the picture read only “Wiltshire thatcher,” but according to the Guardian, “further research suggests the thatcher is Lot Long (sometimes Longyear), who was born in Mere in 1823 and died in 1893. At the time the photograph was taken, Long was a widower living in a small cottage in Shaftesbury Road, Mere.”
At the time of Long’s death, Led Zeppelin was 75 years from forming. The “Stairway to Heaven” guitar solo would have broken his brain.
The photograph was taken by Ernest Farmer, who died in 1944. But his work will be on display as part of an exhibit at the Wiltshire Museum. “Through the exhibition, we will show how Farmer captured the spirit of people, villages, and landscapes of Wiltshire and Dorset that were so much of a contrast to his life in London,” said Wiltshire Museum director David Dawson. “It is fascinating to see how this theme of rural and urban contrasts was developed by Led Zeppelin and became the focus for this iconic album cover 70 years later.”
You can read our ranking of the best Led Zeppelin songs here.
Led Zeppelin is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
After the issue of abortion rights won Democrats major election victories in key states (again) yesterday, GOP Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene launched a Twitter tirade blaming her party’s anti-abortion stance for the upsets. Specifically, she thinks they aren’t being batsh**t enough when it comes to the issue.
Despite clear and damning evidence that a majority of Americans believe abortion constitutes healthcare and should be a widely available procedure for women, Greene saw landslide wins for Dems in states like Ohio, Kentucky, and Virginia as proof that Republicans just aren’t being militant enough in their “right-to-life” approach. After (ironically) labeling her fellow Republicans “tone-deaf” on the issue via rambling run-on sentences that suggested she should probably read a book on Marxism — or, at the very least, Google “What is communism?” — Greene defined abortion as genocide.
“Abortion is genocide and none of their screams are heard when each of them are slaughtered in their mother’s wombs,” she wrote. “Calling this ongoing genocide ‘healthcare’ is an abomination and political lie that democrats use in order to manipulate women to vote for them and continue the child sacrifices that enable democrats to maintain power.”
Her melodramatic ranting continued as she called on Republicans to fund graphic depictions of dead babies in order to spread misinformation about abortion procedures in the U.S., hoping to scare voters to her draconian way of thinking.
“Producing ads that graphically show the truth of an abortion as a baby is being ripped apart or dies lying on a cold metal trey gasping for air after being ripped out of its mother’s womb is the truth America needs to see versus the democrat’s never ending ads lying to women that baby murder is their right,” Greene said. “Too offensive? No not for America and definitely not for democrats.”
Greene managed to squeeze more of her go-to bigoted talking points in the thread, hurling transphobic insults and suggesting children were “throwing money” at Drag Queens on the street, successfully ramping up her brand of crazy to batsh*t levels before retweeting Hilary Clinton and making a mini-stump speech for Donald Trump.
So really, just another Wednesday in the MTG camp.
1/2
Republicans did not lose because of abortion itself, it’s how the party handles the issue or rather does not handle the issue.
And there are bigger growing problems.
Republicans are losing Republican voters because the base is fed up with weak Republicans who never do…
Even as adults we find ourselves being extremely silly with our siblings at times. Just because you’ve got kids and a mortgage doesn’t mean you have grown out of your typical sibling interactions. You’ll find elderly siblings still having silly squabbles or trying to make the other laugh.
What makes this sibling interaction so ridiculously hilarious and embarrassing is the fact that, the whole thing happened at the wrong house. A woman walked up to what she thought was her sister’s doorbell camera and began to make silly faces into it saying, “help me! Help me!” in a high pitched voice. It’s obvious she’s feeling pretty confident her sister will appreciate her shenanigans as she continues contorting her face in the camera.
But her confidence was quickly overshadowed by embarrassment after a man she doesn’t recognize opens the door to greet the stranger in his doorbell camera.
“Am I at the wrong house,” the woman asks while seemingly looking into the door. The man just calmly says, “I think so. Yes, ma’am,” before the woman quickly leaves while hysterically laughing and apologizing the entire trip down the steps and across the yard. Hopefully she made her way to the right doorbell camera on her second try, though the goofy faces and voices may be retired for a while.
Watching this video is definitely giving people second hand embarrassment but it seems to not be so uncommon judging from the comments.
“I did this once, but I didn’t knock, I just walked in where a little girl was laying on the couch. I asked where my aunt(by name) was, she yelled out mom there’s a lady here we don’t know. I apologized said wrong house and left before her mom got in there. I started laughing when I realized I was in the wrong house and laughed until I got to my aunt’s house, two houses down. It’s a weird feeling lol,” one person reveals.
“My husband and I pulled up to the wrong apartment building one Christmas Eve, hauled all of our things into what we “thought” was my Mom’s apartment, yelled “Merry Christmas!”, then realized we were in someone else’s apartment! We turned quickly and left before we either got shot or had the cops called on us,” another commenter says.
“I went in the wrong funeral home and shook a few hands with my condolences. Then I saw the name and did a slick exit,” someone writes.
While there’s no identification on where the video originally came from or who the woman was in the video but it’s gone viral across different social media platforms and was shared by LADbible. You can watch the video below:
When early reports on a movie come out about endless reshoots and then director Nia DaCosta at least appears to distance herself from the movie by saying, “It is a Kevin Feige production, it’s his movie” – then add in The Marvels didn’t screen until two days before its release for anybody; which is unheard of for an MCU movie that’s not a huge spoiler-filled movie like Endgame – it does tend to lower expectations. So while watching The Marvels, 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 MCU Disney+ shows have gotten a bad reputation lately for “diluting the brand” or whatever, and maybe that’s true, but as I wrote before, Ms. Marvel was really good.)
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.) It feels like a movie that’s missing a good 30 minutes and, in fact, at a brisk 105 minutes – the shortest MCU movie to date – I’m sure it is missing 30 minutes. And keep in mind, that 105 minutes includes the credits. Anyway, I will do my best to explain the plot of this movie.
Carol Danvers, Monica Rambeau and Kamala Khan all keep switching places with each other when they use their powers. Again, why this happens is explained multiple times and it’s never truly clear why – it has something to do with space portals – but whatever, it does lead to some funny scenes. As this is happening, a Kree warrior named Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton) is searching for a mysterious bangle that will allow her to manipulate these space portals (I think?) – a bangle that matches the one that Kamala Khan uses.
Dar-Benn’s motivation is her home world of Hala has been decimated of natural resources like air and water — and also their sun is dying. Dar-Benn is using the space portals to steal resources from planets that have those resources. So she uses the bangle to open a portal above a water planet, suck all the water out, then splash it all down on Hala. Eventually, Dar-Benn comes for Earth’s sun. Now, Dar-Benn blames Carol Danvers for the Kree’s troubles – referring to Danvers’ Captain Marvel as “The Annihilator” – and, for her part, Carol agrees that she screwed up and destroyed their planet by destroying the artificial intelligence that ran Hala during the events of the first film.
Now, this is an interesting concept that Carol Danvers might actually be the villain here, but the whole concept is never played out fully and pretty much forgotten by the end of the movie as everything is wrapped up quickly and in a way too tidy way*. I can’t help but wonder if this was something that DaCosta wanted to explore further and wasn’t allowed because, well, Captain Marvel certainly can’t be the villain.
(*Without getting into too many details, there’s a part near the end of this movie when Carol is literally told, oh, that whole thing you feel bad about and the reason the villain exists in this movie … you know with your powers you can just fix that right? And, as an afterthought, she does it with no repercussions.)
Samuel L. Jackson is back as Nick Fury in his first MCU movie since Spider-Man: Far From Home (he was also in the Disney+ show Secret Invasion) and really doesn’t have a whole lot to do here. His primary function seems to be relegated to checking on the team from time to time and taking care of Kamala’s family who, for some reason, he brings up to his top secret space station. I understand, for comedy’s sake, it’s better to have all these characters together, but narratively it makes absolutely no sense.
There’s a scene in the middle of The Marvels where it starts to get pretty weird and interesting as our trio of heroes travel to the aforementioned water planet. It’s a planet where the locals only speak while singing. To communicate with them, Carol has to sing a song to warn them of the upcoming Kree invasion. See, this is pretty fun! But this is also where it feels like a lot was cut out to keep the movie moving along because we get on and off of that planet pretty quickly. Actually, again, the whole movie feels like that. It truly feels like a decision was made, “Let’s just get in and out of this thing as quickly as humanly possible and get to the mid-credit scene so we can start our new thing.” Which makes The Marvels feel like a movie that only really exists as a way to get to that mid-credit scene. (I will not spoil what it is but I’m sure a quick search of social media will fill you in.)
Even though there are some fun scenes with The Marvels trio, I’d be hard-pressed to recommend this to anyone who isn’t an MCU superfan. Again, even *I* was a bit lost with the latest in the Kree and Skrull political relationships — I felt lost by it all and I’ve seen every movie. I bet a pretty straightforward plot involving the main three characters would have gone a long way. Or, on the other hand, really diving into this whole “The Annihilator” side of Carol Danvers’ history would have also been interesting, but it goes nowhere. Instead, we are left with a movie that seems to only exist for a scene that happens after you watch three minutes of credits.
‘The Marvels’ opens in theaters everywhere this week. You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter.
When early reports on a movie come out about endless reshoots and then director Nia DaCosta at least appears to distance herself from the movie by saying, “It is a Kevin Feige production, it’s his movie” – then add in The Marvels didn’t screen until two days before its release for anybody; which is unheard of for an MCU movie that’s not a huge spoiler-filled movie like Endgame – it does tend to lower expectations. So while watching The Marvels, 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 MCU Disney+ shows have gotten a bad reputation lately for “diluting the brand” or whatever, and maybe that’s true, but as I wrote before, Ms. Marvel was really good.)
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.) It feels like a movie that’s missing a good 30 minutes and, in fact, at a brisk 105 minutes – the shortest MCU movie to date – I’m sure it is missing 30 minutes. And keep in mind, that 105 minutes includes the credits. Anyway, I will do my best to explain the plot of this movie.
Carol Danvers, Monica Rambeau and Kamala Khan all keep switching places with each other when they use their powers. Again, why this happens is explained multiple times and it’s never truly clear why – it has something to do with space portals – but whatever, it does lead to some funny scenes. As this is happening, a Kree warrior named Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton) is searching for a mysterious bangle that will allow her to manipulate these space portals (I think?) – a bangle that matches the one that Kamala Khan uses.
Dar-Benn’s motivation is her home world of Hala has been decimated of natural resources like air and water — and also their sun is dying. Dar-Benn is using the space portals to steal resources from planets that have those resources. So she uses the bangle to open a portal above a water planet, suck all the water out, then splash it all down on Hala. Eventually, Dar-Benn comes for Earth’s sun. Now, Dar-Benn blames Carol Danvers for the Kree’s troubles – referring to Danvers’ Captain Marvel as “The Annihilator” – and, for her part, Carol agrees that she screwed up and destroyed their planet by destroying the artificial intelligence that ran Hala during the events of the first film.
Now, this is an interesting concept that Carol Danvers might actually be the villain here, but the whole concept is never played out fully and pretty much forgotten by the end of the movie as everything is wrapped up quickly and in a way too tidy way*. I can’t help but wonder if this was something that DaCosta wanted to explore further and wasn’t allowed because, well, Captain Marvel certainly can’t be the villain.
(*Without getting into too many details, there’s a part near the end of this movie when Carol is literally told, oh, that whole thing you feel bad about and the reason the villain exists in this movie … you know with your powers you can just fix that right? And, as an afterthought, she does it with no repercussions.)
Samuel L. Jackson is back as Nick Fury in his first MCU movie since Spider-Man: Far From Home (he was also in the Disney+ show Secret Invasion) and really doesn’t have a whole lot to do here. His primary function seems to be relegated to checking on the team from time to time and taking care of Kamala’s family who, for some reason, he brings up to his top secret space station. I understand, for comedy’s sake, it’s better to have all these characters together, but narratively it makes absolutely no sense.
There’s a scene in the middle of The Marvels where it starts to get pretty weird and interesting as our trio of heroes travel to the aforementioned water planet. It’s a planet where the locals only speak while singing. To communicate with them, Carol has to sing a song to warn them of the upcoming Kree invasion. See, this is pretty fun! But this is also where it feels like a lot was cut out to keep the movie moving along because we get on and off of that planet pretty quickly. Actually, again, the whole movie feels like that. It truly feels like a decision was made, “Let’s just get in and out of this thing as quickly as humanly possible and get to the mid-credit scene so we can start our new thing.” Which makes The Marvels feel like a movie that only really exists as a way to get to that mid-credit scene. (I will not spoil what it is but I’m sure a quick search of social media will fill you in.)
Even though there are some fun scenes with The Marvels trio, I’d be hard-pressed to recommend this to anyone who isn’t an MCU superfan. Again, even *I* was a bit lost with the latest in the Kree and Skrull political relationships — I felt lost by it all and I’ve seen every movie. I bet a pretty straightforward plot involving the main three characters would have gone a long way. Or, on the other hand, really diving into this whole “The Annihilator” side of Carol Danvers’ history would have also been interesting, but it goes nowhere. Instead, we are left with a movie that seems to only exist for a scene that happens after you watch three minutes of credits.
‘The Marvels’ opens in theaters everywhere this week. You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
1/2
(@RepMTG) 
