Directed by: Nia DaCosta
Written by: Nia DaCosta, Megan McDonnel, and Elisa Karasik
It seems that Marvel Studios has finally discovered their audiences are now experiencing what we all foresaw happening, “Superhero Fatigue.” I called this out when the villains of the franchise were underdeveloped and poorly written, and feared that style over substance was starting to take the lead, which in short order would become their undoing. With this latest release, even the CGI is not up to par as it used to be and the box office receipts are proof.
The Marvels comes to us as the sequel to Captain Marvel with Brie Larson returning as Carol Danvers. Featuring Iman Vellani as Ms. Marvel and Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau, this ensemble was poised to bring a unique and diverse dynamic to the superhero franchise. Quite frankly, Marvel desperately needs a box-office hit. This film will not be it. With three writers (including the director Nia DaCosta), they just can’t seem to manage a solid story or even make decent story edits. This is Nia’s third feature film and one of the other writer’s only other credit is WandaVision. What has happened to Marvel Studios? Has Kevin Feige lost his touch with what moviegoers want to see? Maybe it is time for a regime change at Marvel Studios?
Here come the spoilers.
We pick up after Captain Marvel, aka Carol Danvers, destroys the Supreme Intelligence and causes a civil war amongst the Kree, which leaves their home planet barren of all natural resources, including water and air, with the added twist of their sun dying. How or why the sun is dying is never really dived into, and relocation such as the Skrulls have done in the past is…just not a viable option for the Kree? With the plot barely hanging on from the beginning, our villain Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton) seeks out The Quantum Bands which wield an ancient power to create jump points in space. Her goal is to go to planets that have great air, water, and a sun to steal, or rather siphon through a jump point, that resource away back to her home planet to replenish what they’ve lost. Again, seems like a lot of work to go through when they could just move to another planet. The plot hangs on this one major faulty fulcrum, but it gives the story two planets to hop to as we dredge through this awful plot toward a guessable finale. Now we can introduce Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel from the Disney+ series, and Monica Rambeau, who is the daughter of Maria Rambeau from the first Captain Marvel film. Monica and Carol are not on good speaking terms and it is eventually revealed what caused the rift, but it isn’t a big deal compared to the fight to save the galaxy. It just seems trivial, and in a sense, selfish on Monica’s part.
Now how to fix this heaping mess of a film? First, with any solid story, you need to establish the heroes’ journey and change. Carol should lose her powers and struggle with being vulnerable both physically and emotionally. Kamala needs to see the human side of Captain Marvel whom she idolizes, and then have to step up as a hero herself. Monica just needs to learn to let go of the past pain and hurt and find the will and internal strength to fight. Finally, the villain needs to have some supporting warriors or generals at her side which will up the ante when it comes to all the fights. It felt odd during the end battle scene that it was JUST Dar-Benn and the three Marvels in a large spacecraft within a fleet of Kree ships. Bit odd. To fix that, perhaps have her generals and followers see how she has been replenishing their planet and then disagree with destroying other people’s worlds. She could then go alone to finish her mission, believing they will all forgive and accept her. That would be a much better angle to serve on the screen.
Has Marvel Studios lost its touch? Yes. 100% yes. They need fresh ideas and fresh actors and actresses to bring to life better stories with better writers. Might I suggest that Marvel recruit fans of the comics and grab some from sites such as Reddit or other superhero-focused forums to be a part of the writing team? You just may be surprised at the fresh story ideas you may get and end up with superior films. Until then #MakeMarvelGreatAgain.
Thanks for reading Writing Movie “WRONGS.”