The Marvels [2023] – Brie Larson, Iman Vellani, Teyonah Parris

The Marvels shows that Marvel Studios can still make good movies as long as they focus on the characters and have fun!

This movie is weird, wacky, and mostly focuses on its trio of powered women, and that’s a good thing. The movie is easy to enjoy in the moment despite its cluttered story, rushed villain(s), and jumbled tonal shifts.

Let’s start with what works. If you haven’t seen Ms Marvel, please do. Iman Vellani delivers the ultimate fan as Kamala Khan while growing into her own hero. And thankfully, Vellani (and the whole cast from that show) brought that energy to this movie, and I loved it. Just focus on Vellani, she’s having the time of her life as the geek whose dream came true.

In addition, director Nia DaCosta clearly understood the assignement of making the original movie better. Flurkens. An invasion of them with the most ridiculous plot that made everyone in the theater laugh out loud.

What didn’t work? Many things. Carol Danvers’ story felt missing a core component. If this was a Captain Marvel sequel, we’re missing a whole chapter. Plus, her relationship with Teyonah Parris‘ Monica Rambeau (and the strain we saw in WandaVision) felt…underdeveloped.

Add Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton). Yes, she’s supposed to be a nuanced villain. But at the end, I was like: that’s it?

Don’t get me wrong. I loved the highs of this movie. They were really really good (especially forgetting that Secret Invasion ever existed, and Vellani <3). However, the lows were awkward and felt like someone was hiding something. Yes, it’s the shortest MCU movie to date, and you can feel like some scenes were cut to remove a storyline or two. But If I’m being honest, I didn’t mind it.

I would have loved to see better character development for Carol Danvers and Monica Rambeau because it was just confusing. Plus, they really didn’t come close to matching Vellani’s energy in any scenes.

This felt more like the Kamala Khan movie we deserve and the other two were just background actors. I didn’t mind it, but I would have preferred less storyline entanglement.

Finally, stay for the mid-credits scene. It’s…hot.

Should You Watch It?

Funny, refreshingly brief, and elevated by Iman Vellani and an invasion of Flurkens, it’s a fun movie to watch with the smallest tie in to the MultiVerse since Shang-Chi.

Where Can I Watch It?

Marvel Studios’ The Marvels is now playing in theaters.