Captain Marvel

Captain Marvel is the first female led film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with Brie Larson in the title role. Set during the 1990s, Larson's character, calling herself Vers, is a Kree soldier whose past is unknown to her until she is kidnapped by the shape shifting Skrulls and escapes to Earth where she starts to regain her lost memories. Allying herself with a younger and less experienced Nick Fury, Vers comes upon what led to her memory loss and energy powers, a conspiracy by the Kree, and what the Skrulls want. With the directing duo of Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck in the helm, their past work in small independent films is known as the film's strongest aspect is the acting and the chemistry between Larson and Samuel L. Jackson that makes it a really great buddy film. While it has some great action scenes, Marvel has a few moments that don't feel as well done especially for an MCU film. Much of the first quarter of the movie is very slow and takes a while before it really starts to get good. Since it is set in 1995, there are numerous references to the time period such as a Blockbuster and slower computers, though not too many things that distract except for a few song choices. The story is well done, even if a lot of it tends to be too similar to past MCU films during its first phase. As always, the comedy can either work really well or can be grating and forced, including the reveal of a stray cat being an alien. The biggest weakness that hurts Captain Marvel is that there are many things and ideas that could have been utilized but are wasted, such as having a younger Phil Coulson and Ronan but barely appearing throughout it, seeing more of Kree society, and no mention of how Skrulls could disguise themselves as huge figures like Tony Stark knowing his genius could be useful. While silly, the way Fury loses his eye I don't see as a huge deal since he always lies to make something more epic and thus fits a bit with the character. Over all: 95%

2019 top list so far:
1. How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

2. The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part

3. Captain Marvel
4. The Upside
5. Cold Pursuit
6. Glass