Captain Marvel (2019) reviews…

There have been elements -dark elements, IMHO- within the interwebs focused on bringing down movies which feature female leads in what are to some traditionally “male” roles.

For example, the onslaught of ridiculousness directed at the Ghostbusters remake of a few years ago. Now, those forces seem to be focused on the this week to be released Captain Marvel, the latest in the long line of Marvel Comic adaptations and featuring Brie Larson in the titular role.

These people tried to lower the movie’s Rottentomatoes.com audience score by posting all kinds of negative reviews… this in spite of the fact that the film has not been released but to critics thus far.

Rottentomatoes.com decided to shut down these audience reactions/comments and, frankly, I’m fine with that.

Today, I went on the site and looked specifically at the Captain Marvel page (you can go to it here) and found the movie’s critical reaction was generally good, charting in at 84% positive.

But reading the actual reviews, I’m getting a feeling that Captain Marvel, alas, will prove to be one of those “good/decent but not great” films that Marvel has released.

I’m curious to see further reviews, but even many of the positive ones point out this movie has flaws. Given this movie is intended to be the precursor to what will likely be the end of the “first wave” Marvel films (I strongly suspect some of the big name actors who participated in that first wave, including the likes of Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, and Gwyneth Paltrow, will be done with the Marvel universe following Avengers: Endgame) as well as serve as the launching pad to the second generation of Marvel movies, one has to wonder if the second generation might be having a bit of a shaky start.

Here’s the thing: It was extraordinary good luck the fledgling Marvel movies snagged the talents they did for this first wave of films. I cannot imagine an Iron Man film not featuring Robert Downey Jr. Getting Samuel L. Jackson to play Nick Fury, though the character was clearly changed from his comic book version, nonetheless worked incredibly well. Chris Evans made for a fantastic Captain America.

I could go on and on, but the point should be clear.

After a fantastic, and incredibly long series of successful movies (some of which fared better than others), will the Marvel Universe films continue to hit pay dirt with new actors and characters?

Only time will tell!

UPDATE: So today I’m looking at Captain Marvel’s rottentomatoes.com page (you can find it here) and I find that the critical reaction is 81% positive but the audience reaction is a paltry 31% positive.

I suspect many of the negative statements are malcontents (at this point in time, none are actually posted though it will likely happen very soon).

Regardless, I found this on reddit:

The Official Captain Marvel Discussion Megathread

You can find many opinions here, both positive and negative, regarding the movie and what worked for some and didn’t for others.

I’m still getting a feeling this film is one of the “lesser” Marvel features. That doesn’t mean Captain Marvel is a “bust,” but rather that it has good moments yet doesn’t quite reach the level of being a “great” Marvel film.

Time will tell, redux.