The Marvels

“It’s a joy to watch The Marvels’ superwomen support and empower one another.”

Title: The Marvels (2023)
Director: Nia DaCosta 👩🏾🇺🇸
Writers: Nia DaCosta 👩🏾🇺🇸, Elissa Karasik 👩🏼🇺🇸, and Megan McDonnell 👩🏼🇺🇸

Reviewed by Gavin 👨🏼🇬🇧🌈♿

Technical: 3.5/5

In a disappointing reminder of how little progress we’ve made since Captain Marvel (2019) was trolled and bombed by Marvel “fans” before its release, sequel The Marvels had a similar uphill battle. Racist and misogynistic voices slammed the female-led, Black-directed movie; right-wing critics derided The Marvels for being “woke.” This ugly smear campaign appeared to do its job, leading to a disappointing box office despite a chipper audience score of 82% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes at this time of review. It’s an awful outcome for The Marvels, a superhero flick that’s actually an entertaining ride deserving of your time.

Under Nia DaCosta’s (Candyman, Little Woods) direction, the core premise of the three heroes—Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), Captain Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), and Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani)—swapping places whenever they use their powers leads to genuine thrills. The camera moves with each slide, kick, and punch; the choreography incorporates the hero switching to hilarious effect; and editing effortlessly follows each character as they get transported throughout the universe in an instant.

Outside of the superpower hijinks, there’s a section of the film that takes place on a planet where the citizens can only communicate through song, a gag involving an army of alien cats, and even a hand-drawn animated sequence. It’s refreshing to see a Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) entry be creative and have fun with its ideas, although they do end up being rather short-lived.

At the heart of The Marvels are its winning performances. Vellani is the standout here, imbuing Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel with an excitable teen energy that is endearing and never annoying. Larson and Parris are both charismatic in their roles, and Samuel L. Jackson is clearly having fun as a more relaxed Nick Fury who delivers funny quips and one-liners. What prevents The Marvels from being, well—a marvel, are the typical MCU trappings: a surface-level narrative, a one-note villain, uninspired alien designs, and a tight leash that doesn’t let the cast and crew get even weirder with this intergalactic adventure.

Gender: 5/5
Does it pass the Bechdel Test? YES

Much like its predecessor, The Marvels doesn’t directly confront systemic issues of gender but it allows the central trio of women to be themselves and take part in a traditional big-budget Marvel movie in a way that doesn’t revolve around men. Each lead character has the universe-saving mission as a priority, but through that, they build their relationships with one another and even work out some personal issues. With solely women in directing and writing roles, the results speak for themselves as the all-female leads, and their dialogue, feel naturally conceived.

Carol/Captain Marvel and Monica have tender moments as they process shared grief after reuniting from being apart for years. The film gives them just enough time on screen to discuss their feelings and take steps to move forward. Meanwhile, Kamala is infectious as the puppy-eyed teen who finally gets to hang out with her idols, but there are hints of character development as she faces the harsh realities of getting involved with planetary conflicts. As individuals, they each have their funny, heroic, or emotional beats, but together they’re magnetic. It’s a joy to watch these superwomen support and empower one another.

The film’s breakneck pacing, though, prevents The Marvels from giving us in-depth character arcs. Whenever a pivotal moment or development arises for any of the characters, it’s solved in a flash and the movie presses on to the next scene or set piece. A shame, since the character dynamics are so great.

Race: 4/5

Since the MCU expanded into TV series like The Falcon and the Winter Soldier or Vellani’s Ms. Marvel, there has been better racial representation. It’s also through the shows that audiences were first introduced to two of The Marvels’ leads, Monica and Kamala. Whilst Monica’s life as a Black woman isn’t explored in WandaVision, Ms. Marvel spends most of its six episodes exploring the titular character’s life as a Muslim Pakistani American. That show features Kamala’s colorful family, and they also show up here. As the film progresses, the Khan family become more involved with the plot and they offer some light comic relief. Nick Fury also serves a more passing comedic role this time around, which is particularly welcome after the dour Secret Invasion series.

Background actors are also racially diverse, and the dashing supporting character Prince Yan is played by South Korean actor Park Seo-joon, who refreshingly keeps his Korean accent—a rarity when British or French accents remain the go-to for swoon-worthy men in American productions (hello, Henry Golding), while East Asian accents are still usually mined for humor, even within positive contexts such as Kim’s Convenience. The Marvels doesn’t pave the way for rigorous assessments of race, nor do its characters grapple with their ethnic identities, but with DaCosta—the MCU’s first African American woman in the directing chair—holding the reins, her diverse cast takes center stage in a tentpole franchise without bringing along any unwanted stereotypes.

Mediaversity Grade: B+ 4.17/5

The Marvels expands on what its predecessor achieved back in 2019 and gives fan-favorite characters their big-screen debut to great success. With women in front and behind the camera, this MCU outing lets its female superheroes be their weird, dorky, and charismatic selves. It’s still a Marvel film—character development and narrative themes take a backseat to action comedy hijinks—but it’s one of their better features in some time.

Like The Marvels? Try these other movies starring teams of women.

Grade: BLiFebruary 25, 2024Female/Nonbinary Creator, Great for: Gender