The Marvels movie review

It has been a while since I have visited the cinema.. Covid put a halt to my days of watching a movie with hundreds of others in a confined space. Somehow it felt unnerving to do so. 

So my viewing diet has been a series of 4k discs, streaming platforms or binging on an aeroplane. 

However some movies are meant for the big screen and the comic book genre is definitely one of them. An opportunity came up to watch The Marvels came and I guess it was as apt as any to return to the cinema, especially since dinner was also thrown in. 

The recent MCU franchise has been a treat, right up to the last Spiderman outing, No Way Home, but since then, there have been a couple of damp squibs and I did wonder if this would suffer the same fate.

Sadly, I have to say that The Marvels is not up to the same standard that brought in the crowds for the The Avengers and other earlier outings. 

There is still the action, the technical marvel (pun intended), some smattering of humor, but what made the MCU superior to the DC comic book movies was the plot and the actors. 

Here, we had a relative unknown Brie Larson to carry the weight of success on her shoulders, and I regret to say that unlike her powers in the show, she did not manage to usher in the crowds.

So we now have more people with superpowers, and a deliberate attempt to be inclusive or perhaps rake in more fans from the Asian scene, with an Indian, a Korean added to the list of people with superpowers, but the plot was hectic without a clear goal and the pacing whilst frenetic at times, also inexplicable slowed down without a real rewards in acting chops on display.

There were a few plot devices that did not gel, although (spoiler alert), the use of the Flerken cat like creature for the rescue effort was cute. The idea of body switching and time travel was thrust upon us, and whilst we are usually alright with suspending disbelief, the plot holes were a little too gaping to bring a coherent plot to life. It does not help that Brie Larson does not have the same charisma as the other members of the Avenger to carry the movie through these moments of plot holes. Samuel Jackson was ok, but I felt he was cashing in his check and dialing in his lines with less effort than in past outings. 

At least the surround effects and bass were decent and there was sufficient action to make the more dramatic moments less of a drag. 

Even so, I can understand why the movie struggles to impress the MCU fans. 

This is a rental at best. 

** I have no financial interest or other interests in any of the items / events I write about.