Captain Marvel

We're a month away before the Avengers play their Endgame. We now have one last hero to join Earth's Mightiest Heroes for their final battle. Her name is Captain Marvel, formerly Ms. Marvel and is currently a box-office Marvel. It's easy to see why with her first cinematic adventure.

Vers (Brie Larson) is a soldier for the Kree Empire, whose arch-enemies are green shapeshifters called Skrulls. She has massive energy powers that her commander, Yon-Rogg (Jude Law), helps her control. She also has recurring nightmares of an older woman (Annette Bening) she's never met. That's what she thinks.

Anyway, Vers is nabbed by the Skrulls when a mission goes awry. She escapes and crashes in 1995 Los Angeles. She's met by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg), agents of SHIELD. The Skrulls come to Earth looking for a Dr. Lawson. Vers thinks Dr. Lawson is the key to her past. She also finds out the Skrulls' motivations are more than meets the eye.

Directors and Writers Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (Half-Nelson, It's Kind Of A Funny Story) collaborated with Geneva Robertson-Dworet on the screenplay. The setup of the Kree-Skrull War and its players is intriguing. The revelation of both sides' true colors is a strong twist. Vers' time on Earth makes for a funny and meaningful fish-out-of-water story. But the strongest story element is the film's best supporting player; a cat named Goose (played by four cats), who also turns out to be more than meets the eye.

Larson is great as Vers, later revealed as Carol Danvers. A few reviews have questioned her arc about controlling her emotions as Larson's performance is quite subdued. But I get it. Her fierce body language comes through perfectly. She's a determined, snarky soldier. Her chemistry with Fury and her fellow pilot Maria Rambeau (Lashana Lynch) is endearing. The climactic moment where she lets loose with her abilities is awe-inspiring.

What about the rest of the supporting cast? Jude Law as Yon-Rogg is a good mentor turned great adversary. The Kree Starforce unit is a nice bunch, which makes it a shame they aren't really nice. Bening makes an impression as Carol's mentor and the AI Kree Supreme-Intelligence which takes her form. Ben Mendelsohn stands out as the Skrull leader Talos. Akira Akbar is good as Maria's daughter, Monica. All in all, another fine bunch of Marvelous actors.

And here's another fine bunch of technical Marvels. The visual effects department has two crowning achievements. I've already mentioned a fully-powered Carol, but there's also Fury and Coulson. They've been digitally de-aged 20+ years and it's flawless. Nothing. Is. Amiss. The costume designs by Sanja Milkovic Hays includes a fantastic alien wardrobe for Krees and Skrulls alike. Ben Davis's cinematography and Alex McDowell's production design best come together in the Supreme Intelligence's eerie dimension.The Alien characters had great makeup work behind them. The soundtrack, whether the old standards or Pinar Toprak's score, is another good listen.

Captain Marvel's debut was well-worth it. It's an exciting space-adventure which never lags in its 125 minutes. Carol's mid-credit scene sees her join the Avengers in time for Avengers: Endgame. And we're even more ready to see how that'll play out. If you want to see a movie starring another Captain Marvel, look forward to next month's Shazam!

The End Credits scene gives us one more scene with Goose the Cat. And it's funny and creepy.