Estimated read time: 6-7 minutes
In the summer of 2008, I was living in Harlem, New York, wandering along one Saturday along 125th Street. Directly across the street from the famed Apollo Theater was the Magic Johnson movie theater. My wife had not moved yet, as she was finishing a school semester, so I was on my own and had time to burn. I wandered into the movie theater and thought I'd see a movie.
I wasn't sure what I would see when I walked to the box office. It felt weird going to "Kung Fu Panda" by myself as an adult man, so I decided on "Iron Man."
I didn't know what to expect from the movie. I wasn't overly excited, and I didn't know who Iron Man was, other than that Black Sabbath had a pretty cool song with the same name.
The packed theater along with myself, loved the movie. We were cheering, clapping, and having a grand old time. Believe it or not, the movie that kicked off the Marvel Cinematic Universe came out 15 years ago, and the universe is now releasing its 33rd feature-length film. Don't even get me started on all the TV shows.
"The Marvels" marks the 33rd time the Marvel Cinematic Universe has hit the theaters, but how does it stack up against the previous 32 movies and 15 years of history?
While "The Marvels" didn't surprise me as much as "Iron Man" did that hot day in Harlem, I was surprised I liked the movie as much as I did. That's not to say I loved the movie or that it's up there as one of my favorite Marvel Cinematic Universe films, but it had its moments.
Here are a few reasons "The Marvels" was a pleasant surprise and some reasons it reminds me that I'm getting Marvel Cinematic Universe fatigue.
The marvelous
The 3 leads
I won't spoil anything here, but "The Marvels" consists of Captain Marvel, Ms. Marvel and Captain Rambeau. When the three superheroes are together, they make up a rag-tag team of universe-defending heroines. They also make for some enjoyable entertainment.
The heart of this movie lies with the three leads, and this is where we have the best time. Thankfully, the filmmakers realized this and only spent a little time getting to the three teaming up and fighting evil. The fight scenes with the trio are action-packed and well-choreographed. They are hectic, but that's what makes it so fun. Each character is fine on her own, but they make for an engaging ride together.
It doesn't take itself too seriously
My biggest gripe with the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies I didn't like is that they took themselves too seriously. This is an absurd universe; when we try to go all dramatic, it makes for boring narratives. When Marvel movies poke fun at themselves, however, that's when I have a good time. These movies can have some drama, but they need to be funny and embrace the ridiculousness of a superhero universe.
I felt "Captain Marvel" fell into the "too serious" realm too often and lost interest quickly. "The Marvels" learned a lesson from its previous outing and went more along the route of the "Ms. Marvel" TV series and decided to have a good time.
There is drama and high stakes, but there is also a healthy dose of insanity and levity that is welcome.
The un-marvelous
The villain is boring
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has missed the mark, recently, with its villains. I know they are borrowing from the comics, but they all seem so interchangeable anymore. Their reasons for destroying the universe are similar, and their plans are more or less the same. As I am writing this, I'm trying to remember the villain's name, and gun to my head, I can't. The character was so forgettable — I watched the movie for nearly two hours, and I can't even tell you what letter her name begins with. I even looked it up on IMDb recently and still couldn't tell you.
The villains are boring and are all the same to me now. There have been some standouts, but it feels like the Marvel Cinematic Universe is just lifting words from another script, changing some names and copying and pasting them into the new script.
I actually cared about the trio of Marvels, but when it came to who they were fighting and why, I didn't care.
It's starting to feel old
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has given us some great movies and cinematic moments over the last 15 years, but it's starting to wear a little thin for me, and I felt it during "The Marvels."
Keeping up with the universe just to know what's happening in their latest movie is like having a part-time job. For "The Marvels" to fully make sense, you need to have seen "Captain Marvel," "Captain America: Civil War," "Avengers: Infinity War," "Avengers: Endgame," "Guardians of the Galaxy," and the TV series "WandaVision," and "Ms. Marvel." Those are the ones I can think of, at least.
If you have yet to see all of these, you can still follow the overall plot, but there is plenty you will miss and not fully understand. The universe they have created in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is impressive, but it's getting a little exhausting. Well, it is for me, at least.
What parents should know
I'll keep this section brief because "The Marvels" is your run-of-the-mill Marvel movie, regarding content.
Except for a few outliers like "Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3," Marvel Cinematic Universe movies are all about the same level of PG-13, and "The Marvels" falls securely in that category.
Conclusion
I didn't love "The Marvels." It's not the best of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it's also not the worst. It is one of the better films post-Endgame, but that's relatively easy to do.
While the movie was fun, some moments tried a little too hard to be funny and quirky and fell flat for me, but it succeeded in that area for the most part.
If you're a big Marvel fan, you'll enjoy "The Marvels." If you are a casual fan or growing tired like myself, you'll be entertained for most of the runtime, but waiting until it pops up on Disney+ in a few months would be fine.
"The Marvels" is officially rated PG-13 for action/violence and brief language.
