A Cosmic Marvel Of Two Different Worlds

“You are just one victim of the Skrull invasion that has threatened our civilization for centuries. Imposters who silently infiltrate, then take over planets.” ~ Supreme Intelligence

“I know a renegade soldier when I see one.” ~ Nick Fury

“Does announcing your identity with branded clothing help with the covert part of the job?” ~ Carol Danvers

The Marvel Cinematic Universe rolls along without a hitch with a new addition to the fold. Captain Marvel tells a tale set a couple of decades in the past, featuring a mysterious woman, cosmic conflicts, familiar faces, and ties to what lies ahead for the heroes and villains of the Marvel universe. Brie Larson joins the growing cast of heroes as the title character, and the direction is done by a pair of filmmakers whose work is collaborative- Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. The film that results is a highly satisfying cosmic thriller with strong characterization, grounded in a solid performance by Larson.

The film opens with Vers (Larson), a member of Starforce, an elite team of soldiers for the Kree empire. She’s having recurring nightmares of a woman. She has abilities- flight, superhuman strength, and energy projection. Her mentor Yon-Ragg (Jude Law) is training her, and an organic artificial intelligence called the Supreme Intelligence, which rules over the Kree, urges her to keep her emotions in check. Vers and her team engage the Skrulls, a shape shifting enemy race to the Kree, and Vers is captured by their commander, Talos (Ben Mendelsohn). An escape leads her to Earth, where she encounters two fresh faced S.H.I.E.L.D agents, Nick Fury and Phil Coulson (Samuel L. Jackson and Clark Gregg), and discovers that she is in fact Carol Danvers, a military pilot who was presumed dead and whose biology was altered in an explosion.

The idea for a solo film was already in the works back in 2013 for Carol Danvers, at a time when the character was still using the long-term codename Ms. Marvel in the comics. Five writers are credited with the script (aside from the character’s comic book creators). Two are the directors. Nicole Perlman and Meg LeFauve worked extensively on the film story during development, and Geneva Robertson-Dworet picked up where they left off. Usually that many writers is a sign of trouble, but not in this case.

The story is an origin story, but dispenses with the need to tell how the protagonist gained her powers by starting things off with her already powered. And the story as it unfolds, with its grand, cosmic stakes, nonetheless grounds itself in strong characterization, not only in its leading characters but in those around her, both good and bad. It also makes good use of established characters like Fury and Coulson- here years younger than when we first met them in Iron Man- and of established races in the comics universe like the Kree and the Skrulls. The Kree have been seen before in the MCU- in Guardians Of The Galaxy and on the small screen in Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D., but this is the first we’ve seen of the Skrulls, a shape shifting race that are so often the villains of a story, and first tied to the Fantastic Four in the comics. The story presents the Skrulls one way and then takes it in a different direction, which I liked.

To this point, production values in Marvel Studio films have been exceptional, so that hasn’t been a worry in terms of world building, special effects, or other aspects of filmmaking. That continues here, as the sequences set both on Earth and amid the stars and distant worlds feel real and integral alike, as opposed to green screen hell as you might expect in a different studio’s film. One of the tricks that’s been used to a smaller degree in some of these films- the de-aging of characters like Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark or Michael Douglas as Hank Pym for short set in the past scenes- is used to great effect here. As the bulk of the story is set in 1995, Samuel L. Jackson spends the whole film looking a lot younger than he actually is (while Clark Gregg’s Coulson gets some of the same treatment). The technique looks natural, as if the actor filmed their scenes back in the day as opposed to when the film was actually in production. The look for Captain Marvel feels very much like it is at present in the comic books, which is a welcome thing, as her present costume design is a particularly good one.

Boden and Fleck have worked together as directors and writers on character and indie films like Half Nelson, Sugar, and Mississippi Grind. It says a lot about the MCU that directors who are often not previously involved in blockbuster action thrillers, but character films, do so well with these films. As directors they have a rapport with actors that a blockbuster director might not have (imagine Michael Bay being let loose on a comic book film, and, well… you’d have a Michael Bay film). Instead, the directors can focus on the story, the acting, and the flow of the film and just trust that the production crew knows what it’s doing. Such is the case here. Boden and Fleck’s directing style keeps the film balanced between the scope of the story and the intimate and richly drawn interaction of characters. It’s paced well, never feeling like it lags.

We’ve seen some of the cast before. Lee Pace and Djimon Housou appeared in Guardians Of The Galaxy as Ronan the Accuser and Korath, two ruthless Kree warriors who were among the villains of that film. They reprise their roles here, years before the events of that film, and play the roles differently. Pace’s Ronan is not yet the zealot he will become in the years to come, but still a force to be reckoned with. Hounsou’s Korath is a member of Starforce, second in command of the group and lacking a whole lot in humour. Clark Gregg, who started out in Iron Man as the calm Agent Coulson and has taken that role into other films and into Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., appears as his character, something of a rookie in the job in how the actor plays him (and de-aged thanks to the CGI).

Annette Bening gets more than one role in the film, voicing the Supreme Intelligence (which in the comics has always been somewhat creepy and certainly plays out that way here). The Intelligence is the sort not to be disobeyed, a brilliant organic program that rules the Kree with authority and a measure of ruthlessness, which Bening invests into her performance. And yet that’s not quite all she does, appearing in a double role as a scientist, Wendy Lawson, whose true form is that of a renegade Kree with a benevolent agenda. In this capacity, in flashback, the character is sympathetic and very much a hero.

When the film was still in production, the expectation among many was that Jude Law would be playing Mar-Vell, the predecessor Captain Marvel to Carol. That isn’t the case in the movie, though he starts out as a mentor to Vers/ Carol. His Yon-Rogg is based on a comic book version, an enemy of Mar-Vell among the Kree. He starts out in one way, as an authoritative and capable commander, but there are hidden secrets beneath the surface, which Law plays to throughout his performance. It’s a character who proves to be quite different by film’s end, and one that I’d like to see again.

Lashana Lynch plays Maria Rambeau, a former Air Force pilot and colleague and friend of Carol Danvers who happens to be a single mother to daughter Monica (who in the comics has quite a history of her own). The character is resilient, likable, and independent, with a lot of strength and just the right kind of attitude that you might expect out of a pilot. She provides some of the emotional grounding that Carol needs to find her way back to herself, and the actress makes her really come to life through her scenes.

Australian actor Ben Mendelsohn has played a whole lot of different roles down through the years, and in recent years was noted for his take as King George VI in Darkest Hour and for the villainous Imperial official Orson Krennic in the Star Wars spinoff Rogue One. Here he plays the Skrull Talos (and since he’s a shapeshifter, other characters) in more than one way. The comic book reader expects the worst out of a Skrull, and so we expect the villain. Instead his Talos starts out deemed the enemy (and given that he seems so relentless in the pursuit, we just accept it), but there’s a different angle on the character that shows up as the film progresses. Mendelsohn gives Talos a somewhat laid back approach in how he plays him. It’s a complicated role, but he handles it well.

Samuel L. Jackson has been a regular force in the Marvel cinematic universe as Nick Fury. Here he gets a lot to do as a younger Fury, before the general state of perpetual crankiness and the eye patch. Fury is essentially in a bureaucrat’s role at this point in his life, more affable and less cynical in his general approach. For the character, this is his first time dealing with a superhuman threat, and it forces him to change his mindset. Jackson plays to that, and his take on the character is that of someone who needs to learn to trust this superpowered being he’s come across. It makes for what ultimately becomes something of a buddy film between Fury and Danvers in terms of their rapport.

Brie Larson gets the main role as Carol Danvers/ Vers/ Captain Marvel and makes the most of it, becoming the bedrock of the film and showing how good she can be. Previously I’ve only seen her in the thriller Kong: Skull Island, so this is the second go around for me with the actress. Her take on Carol Danvers matches the best of the character that we’ve seen in the comics. She’s strong willed, sassy, smart, and has a whole lot of fortitude. Even without power, she’s courageous, ethical, and refuses to quit. Larson gives the character a tremendously sympathetic, compelling take with a lot of depth, making us empathize with her. I’m looking forward to more from her, both in the upcoming Avengers film and in another solo film. While the character’s existence was teased in Infinity War, this is a splendid introduction to her that’s done in the right way by the actress.

Captain Marvel establishes the character in a big way in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but gives her a chance to shine on her own. The film balances in the right way the cosmic stakes of the larger story with the characterization that is needed to ground such a story. With a cast that is well chosen, either in returning or new character roles, the film has the ideal players in their roles, especially so with its protagonist. Brie Larson firmly establishes a place for Carol Danvers in the wider Marvel universe, and in her performance, the film finds its greatest strength. I look forward to more down the line. And I haven't even mentioned the cat stealing the show.

Newt Scamander And The Exposition Of Doom

“You’re too good, Newt. You never met a monster you couldn’t love.” ~ Leta Lestrange

“Their arrogance is a key to our victory.” ~ Grindelwald

“I can’t move against Grindelwald. It has to be you. In your shoes I’d probably refuse to.” ~ Albus Dumbledore

“You want me to hunt him down? To kill him?” ~ Newt Scamander

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald is the second chapter in a five film series that predates the Harry Potter franchise by decades and follows an unassuming young wizard through misadventures and the rise of darkness. Following the world building first film and taking off from its ending, this film falters a bit and spends time in heavy exposition. It also brings back a familiar name from the original films, in a younger body played by a new actor, while reuniting cast members from the original. Director David Yates returns, while the creator of this magical world, J.K. Rowling, again provides the screenplay.

In 1927, a year after the capture of the dark wizard Grindelwald (Johnny Depp), who had spent the events of the previous film impersonating another character, the man himself is being held prisoner by the Magical Congress of the United States of America. When we’re catching up to him as the film starts, he’s looking like Billy Idol on a bad day. About to be transferred to Britain, he escapes with the aid of one of his followers, with his own plans for the future yet to unfold. As he’s the villain of the series, none of those are good.

Three months later, Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) finds his path crossing with familiar faces- witch sisters Tina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston) and Queenie Goldstein (Alison Sudol), the Muggle and comic relief Yank of the first film Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler), his own brother Theseus Scamander (Callum Turner) and Leta Lestrange (Zoe Kravitz), Theseus’ fiancée, with whom Newt has a complicated past. Add in Hogwarts professor Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law, making his debut in the role) and the return of the wild card character Credence Barebone (Ezra Miller), and the story takes the characters into Europe and an inevitable confrontation with Billy Idol… I mean, Grindelwald.

Already before the first film came out, there was talk of a trilogy, and then a five film series. David Yates, who’d had a hand in the Harry Potter franchise, directing the last half of the eight films, signed on for the first two films of this series (plus whatever’s to come). J.K. Rowling, who created the boy wizard in her novels and name dropped the Fantastic Beasts book as a textbook at Hogwart’s, was behind the development of the Fantastic Beasts film franchise, writing both scripts. The first film, which took the action out of Britain and into North America, takes things in another geographic setting this time out, with much of the action set in Paris.

The script does tend to delve too much into expository dialogue and the world building of sequels beyond this, which does end up being the weakness in the film. But it does fit into the previously established Potterverse, which nods of what’s to come- Grindelwald being something of a precursor to the darker threat that is Voldemort, the names of families with deep ties to magic, and even a character who shifts from human to snake and will one day be cursed to remain in snake form- a snake already established as Voldemort’s companion.

Where the previous film took a certain glee in presenting unusual beasts of the magical sort, this film deals less with such critters (mostly confining appearances to a magical circus of sorts run by a thoroughly unpleasant wizard) and more with the growing threat of a dark wizard with ambitions and the tensions between wizard and Muggle dynamics. With these, there is the difference of two approaches: a set in our way official government policy of wizards and witches staying away from Muggles, while the dynamic Grindelwald seeks is supremacy over the world for magic.

Filming was done in Britain and France, part of that in studio, other parts on location, with extensive work involving CGI and physical effects, already well established through the previous films and the Potter franchise. So the sight of magical spells being unleashed in small or big ways is familiar to our eyes, and handled well. Yates is, as noted, well familiar with this magical world through his previous work, and the pace of the film only falters when the story calls for expository dialogue and some of that sequel setting up. I do like how Yates makes full use of Paris as the movie’s action goes there. Also welcome is the return of composer James Newton Howard, who composed the score for the previous film and returns for this one, building on what has come before.

The cast, returning players and new, are of course well selected, the strength of the film. Johnny Depp has spent too much time as eccentrics in his choices of film roles in recent years, and his personal life has been something of a mess. He dials down the eccentricity in playing Grindelwald, a character he debuted in the first film as a cameo appearance. His take on the character is a mix of ambition, charm, and malevolence, a dark wizard for whom the ends justifies the means. He believes in wizard supremacy, and his actions are driven by that.

Albus Dumbledore has already been played by three actors in the Harry Potter series. Richard Harris debuted the wise headmaster of Hogwarts in the first two films, with Michael Gambon taking the role after the death of his predecessor. Toby Regbo played a younger Dumbledore in flashbacks in Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part One, and returns in flashbacks as the character this time out as well. Now Jude Law takes the part of a young Dumbledore, decades before the older but spry headmaster we first met, but a bright professor at Hogwarts in his own right. His Dumbledore is a bright and highly respected academic and wizard, protective of students, with a principled character and a quiet strength. He plays his cards close to the vest though- a broken bond with Grindelwald from teenaged years is hinted at, as well as the reasons he cannot intervene personally in the hunt for the criminal. Law plays the character’s integrity, loyalty, and resolve in a way that fits in naturally with the Harris and Gambon takes on the character.

Ezra Miller returns as Credence, the abused and disturbed young magician we met in the first film, who was apparently destroyed, but not quite. Here he continues to be a wild card in the mix, unstable and caught between two sides of a growing rift in the world of magic. On the one hand he makes a connection with a fellow misfit, one that might point him to a different path, and on the other is a continuation towards the wrong way. The character is also the subject of a twist before it’s all said and done, and the actor plays to that. Claudia Kim plays Nagini- a familiar name to Potter fans, and she’s the other misfit in question. She’s the main feature of a magical circus, a woman who’s a Maledictus- capable of changing into an animal, in this case a big snake. But she’s also under a blood curse, knowing that one day the change will be permanent, and she won’t come back to herself. Fated to one day be the serpentine companion and Horcrux of Voldemort, Nagini is more sympathetic than you might expect, which the actress bases her performance on, and ultimately tragic when you know where her final fate will lie.

William Nadylam turns up as a French-Senegalese wizard, Yusuf Kama, who has his own reasons to be looking for Credence, and who gets caught up in unfolding events. The actor gives the role a steadfast quality, playing his cards close to the vest. Callum Turner debuts as Theseus Scamander, Newt’s older brother, an Auror and wizard who happens to be a World War veteran, a hero in and of his own right. The two brothers get along, even if they don’t quite understand each other, and even if Newt might feel a bit overshadowed in his presence. There’s also the issue of Leta. Zoe Kravitz plays the part, and there’s a previous bond between she and Newt, but now she’s engaged to Theseus (this would, of course, make get togethers a bit awkward. Given that she’s from the pure blood Lestrange family, well established in the Potter books as on the dark side of things in the ways of magic, Leta is complicated, and you’re never quite sure of where her loyalties lie, but it makes her a compelling character to watch.

Jacob Kowalski served as comic relief in the first film, something that actor Dan Fogler played to in his performance. The character, a human with no awareness that wizards and witches were in the world, is a World War One veteran and bakery owner who crossed paths with Newt in the first path, found himself faced with the astonishing, and managed to survive the film. While the previous film ended with a memory spell cast to wipe the memory of New Yorkers about the events of that film, it didn’t quite happen with Jacob, who gets caught up in things again, particularly with the woman he’s fallen for in the mix.

Queenie Goldstein is once again played by Alison Gudol. A witch with a vivacious, friendly, and outgoing personality, there was a spark between she and Jacob which has persisted (despite knowing she’s violating a rule about not having relationships with non-magical people). The actress continues to play that aspect of the character, as well as the divided loyalties she’s feeling between the world of magic she knows and the man she’s come to love.

Katherine Waterston returns as Queenie’s sister Tina. An auror after the events of the previous film, she’s on a quest of her own in Paris, and the actress plays her as determined and headstrong, courageous in the face of danger. It helps that there’s a good spark between her character and Newt. She’s sensible, down to earth, and likable, which are all good qualities in a leading character.

The first time I saw Eddie Redmayne in anything, it was a supporting role in Les Miserables (aka two and a half hours of Why Won’t These People Stop Singing). I disliked the character and the performance, but as noted in my review of the previous Fantastic Beasts, that viewpoint was likely influenced by my dislike for musicals in general. I liked his work in the previous film, and that status quo remains in place here. Newt is a soft spoken, shy sort who doesn’t particularly want to get involved, who’d like to stay neutral and just do his thing, but who rises to the occasion and comes into his own. He does the right thing simply because it is the right thing to do (if only more people had that quality), and that’s something to respect in a character. Newt might have a disregard for following orders, which he shows repeatedly, but he’s the sort of character you can count on in a crisis, and that’s what Redmayne plays to.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald doesn’t have the same energy as the first film, which brought a new dynamic to the world of magic J.K. Rowling created. The script tends to wander a bit too much into exposition and setting the stage for sequels. But the cast more than compensates for that issue, playing their roles with energy and conviction. What happens next is yet to be seen, but it’s not likely to involve Gellart “Billy Idol” Grindelwald singing Rebel Yell at midnight to a bunch of Muggles. 

Incompetence And Murdering The Oreos

I have an image blog today. Enjoy!