By: Lana K. Wilson-Combs
Sacramento?s very own
Brie Larson is a marvel to behold as the first female lead superheroine in the new movie,
?Captain Marvel.?
Larson, who won the ?Best Actress? Oscar for the 2016 movie, ?Room,? is sensational in this Marvel Comics origin story from directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (TV?s ?Billions?) .
?Captain Marvel? packs a lot of information and excitement into its 124 minutes run time. Larson makes every second count alongside the film?s stellar supporting cast that includes: Samuel L. Jackson (?Glass?) as Nick Fury, Jude Law (TV?s ?The New Pope?) and
San Francisco State University alumna, Annette Benning (?The Report?) among others.
We first meet Carol Danvers/Vers/Captain Marvel, (Larson) on the alien planet Hala. She?s a skilled warrior and member of the elite Kree contingent that?s led by commanding officer Yon-Rogg (Law).
He has his work cut out with Vers because she?s very independent and headstrong. Yet, he tells her that if she really wants to become a great warrior, she must learn to take orders and control her emotions.
What woman wants to hear that from a man?
However, it?s good advice and it comes in handy when Vers heads out on a rescue mission with the squadron to capture an undercover Kree operative infiltrating a group of Skrulls, but it goes horribly wrong. Her pod lands smack dab in Los Angeles into a Blockbuster Video store.
Remember them? By the way, the very last Blockbuster store in the world is in Bend, Oregon. But I digress.
The action from this point takes place during the 1990s. The film?s clever use of female centric 1990s music like TLC?s ?Waterfalls,? and En Vogue and Salt & Peppa?s ?Whatta Man? add to the film?s nostalgic, fun vibe along with other witty, pop culture moments that involve pagers and slow, dial up Internet.
When Vers arrives on Earth she is kidnapped by the Krees? biggest foes, the Skrulls who are some ugly looking shape-shifting creatures. One is named Talos/Keller (Ben Mendelsohn, ?Ready Player One?) who works undercover with S.H.I.E.L.D.
Talos and the rest of his crew can change and mimic anyone or anything. What the Skrulls really want is to get inside Ver?s head and obtain power that will ensure their survival.
Vers finds an ally in S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent, Nick Fury (a younger and eye-patch free Samuel L. Jackson) and his rookie associate Phil Coulson, Clark Gregg (TV?s ?Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.?).
Nick and Vers must join forces and battle the Skrulls. Nick also gets an unlikely assist from a scene-stealing cat named Goose who claws his way into his heart and another body part which explains Nick's current look.
Although Vers is suffering from amnesia, she slowly begins to piece together the memories of her fighter pilot past.
She remembers time spent with her best friend, former Air Force pilot Maria Rambeau (Lashana Lynch, TV?s ?Bulletproof?) and her adorable, young daughter Monica (Akira Akbar, TV?s ?This Is Us?). Vers also remembers her Supreme Intelligence mentor Dr. Wendy Lawson (Bening).
As Vers unravels the truth about her being and superpowers, she soon understands why she was chosen as a savior for mankind.
I enjoyed the jammed packed storyline of ?Captain Marvel.? I?m curious and eager to see how it and Brie Larson will evolve.
Make no mistake, ?Captain Marvel? is a marvelous venture for Larson. She brings compassion, humor and plenty of unabashed ?girl power? to this role. She?s a super, superhero and a welcome addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Editor's Note: Be sure to catch my N2Entertainment.net movie talk segment on the Kitty O'Neal Show Fridays now at 6:20 p.m. on radio station KFBK 1530 AM and 93.1 FM.
Lana K. Wilson-Combs is a member of the Broadcast Film Critics? Association, The Black Film Critics Circle, The Alliance Of Women Film Journalists and a Nominating Committee Voting Member for the NAACP Image Awards.
Take A Look At This Trailer For
"CAPTAIN MARVEL"