The Marvels (2023)

Image is a movie poster for The Marvels. It shows the three main stars (from left to right) Monica Rambeau, Carol Danvers, and Kamala Khan.

I have talked about how excited I am about The Marvels. This is one of the few Marvel movies I was really looking forward to. When The Marvels released in theaters, it wasn’t a surprise to anyone that the movie was getting negative critique. This wasn’t necessarily from movie reviewers, but from other fans. I was able to see The Marvels before the Thanksgiving holiday and I loved it. The Marvels was such a fun film to see in theaters.

Carol Danvers (played by Brie Larson) is roaming space with her alien cat sidekick, Goose. She’s notifed by Nick Fury (played by Samuel L. Jackson) about an anomaly created when Dar-Benn (played by Zawe Ashton) recovers a magical band that looks eerily similar to Kamala’s. Meanwhile, Monica Rambeau (played by Teyonah Parris) also investigates and when she touches the anomaly, all three of the Marvels switch places when they use their powers simultaneously. The trio are forced to work together to prevent Dar-Benn from creating jump points that could destroy the barriers that protect multiple realities.

I loved how Monica, Carol, and Kamala have to work together. Kamala finally gets to meet her hero and Monica, who hasn’t seen Carol since she was little, has to work through those feelings of abandonment that she feels from Carol. Carol misses Monica and reckons with the consequences of being gone from Earth for so long. All of these dynamics interweave throughout the story and I find it really interesting to see how the three work together. As always, I loved Kamala. Iman Vellani is too precious and I hope to see more of her in future Marvel adaptations.

There were so many great scenes throughout The Marvels. The beginning battle where the enemies appear at Kamala’s house and all three are rotated in throughout the fight was so entertaining. I loved Kamala’s parents and brother attacking one of the guys with a mop and a broom. Another fun scene involves Flerkens and multiple of them. I won’t say too much more than that.

Another thing that I liked was how this was a shorter Marvel film. Most films these days are 2 1/2 hours which is time consuming to watch. The Marvels is at 105 minutes which isn’t even two hours. My attention span is short at times and I liked how this was a shorter film.

While I loved The Marvels, I understand that not everyone did. There is nothing wrong with differing opinions in fandom. If someone comments on this and says they didn’t like the film, that’s fine! We are all allowed to like different things. With that being said, I find that some negative critique from this film includes insulting Brie Larson or Iman Vellani or throwing in the word “woke” or talking about how diversity is ruining comics or Marvel. These are the types of opinions that go beyond having a respectful opinion. I don’t stand for insulting others or trying to debate the importance of representation and telling stories from all backgrounds. If you don’t like the film, that’s fine, but don’t use that as a shoe in for being a jerk.

The Marvels was so fun and I want to see it again in theaters. With the after credits scenes, I feel hopeful of seeing more of Kamala in the near future.

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