Ben Mendelsohn’s Talos manages to be equal parts menacing and endearing, serving as a strong introduction into a race and storyline that seems poised to play a role in future Marvel releases. It’s the most we have gotten to see and learn of Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) so far and he doesn’t disappoint – teaming up with Danvers, he and Larson play off each other well and hopefully this means we’re going to see him take a bigger role in Marvel films going forward.
The supporting cast are excellent and some seem destined to become fan favourites. She is without a doubt the strongest person in the film, a fact that is never downplayed or diminished instead, her strength is celebrated by the people around her. Throughout the film she is told to restrain herself and control her emotions and yet it’s allowing herself to feel her emotions that enables her to fully realise the potential of her powers.
Although she does work with other male characters in the film, at no point do they need to swoop in and rescue her. Her costume is practical and unrevealing, without a hint of sexualisation. There are many traps Captain Marvel could have fallen into and yet the film manages to sidestep them all. A super soldier with amnesia, she ends up crash-landing on Earth in her quest to defeat the Kree race, before realising that this possibly isn’t the first time she’s been on the planet. Brie Larson is excellent in the titular role (although her character also goes by “Carol Danvers” and “Vers” at various points in the film). And yet it took 11 years and 20 films before audiences were finally given an MCU film with a female lead. The motto of Captain Marvel’s hero also works as a descriptor of Marvel films of late – each reaching higher, going further and breaking records faster.
Watch Captain Marvel online in the UK: Disney+ / Sky Cinema / NOW / Apple TV (iTunes) / Prime Video (Buy/Rent) / TalkTalk TV / Rakuten TV / Google Play / Sky Store Kit is so single-minded in her goal that she doesn't see the love and affection around her from both her parents and Virgil.Cast: Brie Larson, Samuel L. It's the same with the movie's love interest Virgil (Mamoudou Athie), who Kit meets at a hardware store as she needs someone to build her a unicorn stable, and just assumes he can ("It's a bit sexist," he jokes).
The ever-dependable Bradley Whitford and Joan Cusack star as Kit's well-meaning parents, trying to understand and help her, while being hurt by her not viewing them as her "dream parents".
Yes, Kit thinks her parents should take the blame for the position she finds herself in, yet the movie isn't always on Kit's side. Kit is a Peter Pan character, unwilling to grow up, and where the movie succeeds is that it shows how this impacts on the people in her life. There's smarts and emotion behind all the talk about unicorns and magic, thanks largely to a brilliant performance from Larson, showing the real person behind the whimsy. Sure, we know that for some of you, even that synopsis will seem too whimsical for your tastes, but give Unicorn Store a try and you might be surprised.