Captain Marvel, the MCU's newest hero, has literally entered the fray and has a cosmic-original history that feels like a much-needed new approach to Marvel's classic Formula One formula. With a soundtrack full of old 90s earworms and an adorable, selfless awareness of humour, Captain Marvel presents a satisfying introduction to the hero that could be our Avengers: Endgame trump card.
The bulk of Captain Marvel's two-hour standard run time focuses on Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) and begins by being far from Earth, trying to figure out who (and what) she is. She has lived in foreign Kree for years and, under the leadership of Yon-Rogg (Jude Law), has earned a position in an elite commando unit-but she has no recollection of her life before. In public, Carol is a soldier who is not allowed to take in prisoners and wants to prove herself worthy of her fellow contestants-but privately she is not so sure. This duality keeps the memory loss tropes to a minimum. She never feels properly lost or fluttered. She is frustrated that she has a problem with which she cannot exploit her powers granted by Kree. Although she definitely gives the impression that if she could put her own memories in the right order, she would definitely do so, which is absolutely adorable.
Yon-Rogg of Law manages to grasp everything about the haughty, heires-thy-you cree way. He is threatened by Carol's unusual power, but instead of improving himself, he seeks every opportunity to rein in Carol by tricking her into believing his skills are not gifts. In this way, he is almost an insidious villain as Carol's obvious enemies. This dingy creep is definitely fun just because Law plays the archetype so honestly.