The film may be called “The Marvels,” but the show belongs to Iman Vellani’s Ms. Marvel. In a powerful trio of heroes, she brings a light and buoyancy to the role that is a refreshing tonal dopamine hit. She’s paired with Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers (aka Captain Marvel) who gives us a much more stoic performance in this. Rounding out the trio is Teyonah Parris as the grown up Monica Rambeau, who we last saw powered up in “WandaVision.”
Director Nia DaCosta does an admirable (though oft uneven) job of weaving in the trio, whose powers get intertwined. She and fellow writers Megan McDonnell, Elissa Karasik, and Zeb Wells unfortunately are unable to break through Marvel’s general antagonist issue. Zawe Ashton takes on the mantle as Dar-Benn, a Kree leader who fills the power void left after the events of “Captain Marvel.”
Fun fact: Ashton’s real life partner is Loki himself, Tom Hiddleston.
For those needing a refresher on those very events, thankfully the film quickly establishes them for you. It then moves along at a delightfully brisk pace. Ms. Marvel’s family serves as excellent comedic support, with Mohan Kapoor, Zenobia Shroff, and Saagar Shaikh reprising their roles as Yusuf, Muneeba, and Aamir. Samuel L. Jackson of course lends his support as Nick Fury, and some of our favorite moments come from the Khans / Fury collision. Finally Park Seo-joon makes his Hollywood debut as Prince Yan.
While “The Marvels” is at times bumpy, it is no more so than its recent MCU predecessors. The comedy and snappiness make it an overall actually fun watch. Finally the must watch (nearly) show stealer is of course… Goose.
Be sure to stay to the end, as there is one mid-credits scene.
“The Marvels” is in theaters now.
