Angelus News | March 15, 2019 | Vol. 4 No. 10

In search of real girl power
‘Captain Marvel’ tries to portray feminine heroism but focuses
more on the punches than the person
BY SOPHIA BUONO / ANGELUS
Brie Larson in a scene from the movie “Captain Marvel.”
CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE/WALT DISNEY PICTURES
In the final battle scene of “Captain
Marvel,” two aliens aboard a spaceship
watch in shock as their fleet,
hurtling toward earth for an attack, is
suddenly obstructed and destroyed in
a tremendous midair explosion. They
back away, and the leader remarks
that they must return to capture that
powerful thing.
“The weapon?” asks his companion.
“The woman,” the leader responds.
He’s referring to the figure rocketing
through the air, with glowing eyes
and flaming fists, who has foiled their
attack. A threatening glare and pound
from one fist into her palm is enough
to send the remaining alien ships back
into the far galaxy. It is a tremendous
display of power, and it is all centered
on one individual: the woman.
This mighty moment follows an
entire storyline dedicated to portraying
an emblem of female strength. And
while the mixture of special effects,
decent acting, and plenty of combat
scenes make for an overall entertaining
show, the central mission of the
Marvel Studios’ first female-led superhero
film — to make the protagonist a
truly memorable heroine — falls short
of its goal.
We first meet Captain Marvel (Brie
Larson) as Vers, a Starforce soldier living
on the planet Hala, who struggles
with recurring nightmares about an
older woman and an aircraft crash. In
the midst of an ongoing war, she is to
be sent on a team mission to rescue a
lost agent.
Along the way, Vers finds her way
to planet C-53 (known to its natives
as “earth”) and discovers that her
nightmares are actually flashbacks to
her life there. She encounters friends
she had forgotten since the crash and
learns her true name, Carol Danvers.
In an instant, our heroine’s entire
understanding of her world and
mission turn inside out. Once proud
to proclaim that she hailed from a
race of “heroes — warrior heroes,” she
realizes that she must step up as a singular
hero. She must become Captain
Marvel.
From the beginning, directors Anna
Boden and Ryan Fleck make clear
what they think the basic framework is
for a show-stopping heroine: an attractive,
snarky woman who knows a thing
or two about throwing a punch. And
Brie Larson pulls it off quite well.
From the scene in which she asks her
mentor with a cool glance, “Wanna
26 • ANGELUS • March 15, 2019