As longtime comic book readers know, Carol Danvers more than saves the day when it truly matters. Otherwise known as Captain Marvel, she was the person that Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) paged at the end of The Avengers: Infinity War—just before he turned to ash. Immediately fans knew he had called the right superhero in Marvel’s arsenal and the rest of the world discovered that fact when Captain Marvel arrived on screens and blew us away in ever possible facet. Now that Brie Larson’s cinematic alter ego has arrived on DVD, Blu-Ray and digital download, we get to witness the marvel that is her origins story repeatedly—and dive into some pretty stellar superhero bonus features.
Set in the 90s, Captain Marvel introduces us to Danvers as an Air Force pilot whose past is all mystery, especially to her. As she pieces together what led her to this place in her life, something becomes clear. What Danvers does recall is haunting in the most mysterious of ways. We learn that she is in fact an extraterrestrial, a Kree, whose aptitude for battle is uncanny. She is a true warrior on Earth caught between her people and another alien race known as the Skrulls. How did she get to be Danvers and how are these things all connected? Those inquiries get the most fascinating of answers, all while a new-to-superheroes Fury shadows her and realizes that our home could easily be the site for an all-out galactic war between the Kree and the Skrulls. The two help each other in the most treasured, thrilling and enlightening (especially for us longtime Marvel Cinematic Universe fans) of ways that set the stage on a broader scale, for the Endgame that is coming.
Watching Captain Marvel discover her powers is handled in such a delightful manner, and in a way that is mesmerizingly brilliant. Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck shared directing duties and co-wrote (with Geneva Robertson-Dworet) the wickedly original screenplay. It truly gives us the first female-led superhero movie whose greatest triumph is that gender never really comes into the equation. That’s the most treasured aspect of the entirety that is Captain Marvel. In real life we may have a long way to go until true equality is achieved. At least onscreen, the approach to the origins story and the tropes that come along with that are delivered so matter of factly that our hero’s gender is never a factor. This origins story feels fresh and captures our attention immediately as Boden and Fleck introduce a character to an audience that has seen dozens of origins stories in the last two decades. Never once does Danver’s journey to becoming Captain Marvel feel anything less than an experience that is unique, enriched with supreme intelligence and above all else—is extremely entertaining.
Captain Marvel banked over a billion at the box office and it’s easy to see why witnessing it again on home video. First, Larson was born to be Danvers and Captain Marvel. The Oscar winning actress, we all know, can grab us by the lapels and never let us go with her titanic talent. There is something utterly compelling about the choices she makes, in terms of characterization and onscreen persona, that are nothing short of inspired genius. As great as she is in the role, it is her chemistry with Jackson throughout the flick that takes this fiery flick and sends it into the cinematic stratosphere. This is a character, in Fury, that audiences have known for over a decade. After all, he is the man who brought our superheroes into the collective known as The Avengers. Discovering how he got his start in this realm is another facet of Captain Marvel that is simultaneously joyous as it is electrically entertaining. He is not the eye-patch wearing, commanding force of nature that has essentially saved the world on numerous occasions with his ability to manage a supergroup of superheroes. This is an experienced G-man who is portrayed by Jackson as being open to Captain Marvel and the flood gates of strange and surreal supernatural souls that will be cascading into his (and our) world. That is largely due to how Danvers and Fury meet and how Boden and Fleck have weaved this web. Sure, the talent of Jackson and Larson will carry this thing into the end zone, but it is the co-directors and co-writers who have crafted the most detailed and dazzling of game plans for these characters.
They are not crafting in a vacuum. This is a cinematic universe that has been richly laid out over a decade and 22 films. It also is all leading up to what comes right after Captain Marvel’s origin stories and that is The Avengers: Endgame. It’s a stunning achievement. Some may say that Boden and Fleck are standing on the shoulders of everyone who came before and merely had to not drop the ball. That’s naïve. Everything that came before must come through what we experience in Captain Marvel and that is no easy task and it could have been a thankless one. Yet, the way the filmmakers have delivered on the promise of our newest heroine, they have firmly put themselves on a list of movie makers whose name alone gets me in the theater.
For more on the film itself, don’t miss my theatrical Captain Marvel review.
Now, the bevy of bodacious bonus features illustrate why Marvel just cannot be touched—on the big screen and on the small(er) ones.
In short, they feature everything from a chronicle of the journey of Larson—physically and mentally—to becoming this layered and complicated character, the illuminating influence that Fury has had on the wider scope of the MCU, a wildly informative look at the Skrulls and Kree and of course the can’t miss featurette that focuses on Goose. Who, you say (at least those of you who haven’t seen this gem yet)? Meow! That’s who.
Delving deeper, Becoming a Super Hero is a terrific look at Larson and how she came to even be considered for the role, why it was such a gift for her to be the first headlining female superhero and the physical challenges involved in getting in superhero ready, as well as learning the action sequences’ choreography. Also nice is how fellow thespians and crew members shine a spotlight on the brilliance of Brie. Big Hero Moment is an enlightening featurette and is dazzling in how it pulls the camera back on Captain Marvel and illustrates how impactful her arrival has been, not only on the MCU, but on our global culture.
The Origin of Nicky Fury is a too-brief, especially given his enormous shadow the characters has over the entire Marvel world. Of course, it’s fantastic, it’s just we wanted more. Then again, an hour-long look at Fury would still leave us wanting more!
The Skrulls and the Kree is another immensely satisfying introduction to our alien races at the heart of the film and provides what we’d call a Skrulls and Kree 101 introductory informative look at the alien antagonists and protagonists.
I have saluted, probably ad nauseum, my appreciation of the film’s co-writers and co-directors. Therefore, not one of you could be surprised that our opinion of the moniker and contents of the bonus feature that looks at Boden and Fleck. Yes, The Dream Team is sublime and sensational!
Goose, hands down, stole the show in the flick. The kitty cat, who is literally larger than life when he lets his true self freak flag fly, gets a five-star featurette, Hiss-Sterical Cat-Titude. Kudos to all involved with making this bonus feature with an old school look that befits the 90s timeline of the film. Side note, is it too much to want an animated series that focuses solely on our fierce feline?
Sometimes, gag reels feel forced, especially for superhero or action movies. That has never been the case with Marvel movies and the Gag Reel for Captain Marvel is a welcomed addition to the litany of extras.
Given the extraordinary job turned in by our directors, I cannot recommend enough the audio commentary track with Boden and Fleck. From their first thoughts, on the Stan Lee opening studio logo tribute (and no, you’re not the only one who got misty eyed witnessing that gem), to insight into the plot, how they crafted certain scenes and their casting choices… this is one commentary track that if awards existed for such things, Captain Marvel would be an early favorite.
Film Grade: A
Bonus Features: A