Proper Captain Marvel Thoughts
Mar. 12th, 2019 09:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
potofsoupHere's why my overall reaction to Captain Marvel was "meh".
Like, I get what they're doing. Jude Law is the Patriarchy -- happy to look after Carol as long as she conformed to his visions, but once she starts asserting herself, he turns ugly real fast. There's a lot of women talking to each other. Carol doesn't get a wimpy superpower. There's a lot of palpable exuberance whenever Carol does her hero thing. And Maria and Monica are just utterly precious.
I think the problem is just that I feel like too many of the characters are poorly developed. Monica is great, and Maria's speech about the pain of dealing with her best friend's death only to have Carol show up again was super touching. It made me want to know more about them. But Carol herself? What was she like when she was playing with Monica? What is she like as a pilot? How did she react to men picking on her? Steve Rogers had so many scenes establishing his personality at the beginning of Cap 1: trying to enlist, calling out the jerk at the movie theater, being rejected by the women on Bucky's double date, the shot where he steps onto the display and it's visually shown that he doesn't "measure up", the way he struggled through basic training, the flagpole, the "is this a test?" So many things that establish who Steve is as a person. And what do we have for Carol? Wakes up haunted by mysterious, plot-relevant dreams. Makes quips and does some fighting, but can't control her powers. Goes charging into an obvious ambush. Uncovers more memories. Like -- what are her non-skill, non-plot-based personality attributes? How does she feel about not having any memories? How does she feel about the Supreme Intelligence? Does she have the hots for Jude Law or no? Does she feel lonely? Does she feel inadequate? I DON'T KNOW.
Like, I know how the Winter Solder feels about not having memories (the quiet, insistent "but I knew him"), and about his HYDRA masters (fear, trepidation, but also obedience as he takes in the mouth guard). I know how Steve Rogers feels about a life of just doing missions (the convo he has with Sam about getting out), and how he feels about his boss ("this isn't freedom, this is fear") and his team (his convos with Natasha on the Lemurian Star). And those are similar situations to Carol, imho. But for Carol? I get some sense of urgency and desperation re: her missing memories, but so much of the movie is spent punching Skrulls to really clarify these emotions and make them distinctive. If a desire to help others is such a big part of her, then show us more of that earlier. If singing and having a fun time was a big part of her identity, then show her doing that as they prep the plane. If she finds joy in winning, then show more of that in the beginning. Instead all of these things are overwhelmed by punching and plot. AND IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE?!!! Like, the women of Black Panther managed to punch and have plot *and* have distinctive personalities. The way Nakia, Okoye, and Shuri interact with the plot are Very Different because their personalities come first -- Nakia's pragmatism, Okoye's loyalty, Shuri's joy. And I feel like with Carol, the part of her that drives the plot is ... her ability to punch things? her ability to stand up? her confusion about her past?
Meh. Give me her determination. Her focus. Her kindness.
Compare to Wonder Woman, where it *is* Diana's determination and love of the world that drives her to save Steve, leave the island, charge into No Man's Land, etc etc etc. What makes Carol go to C-52? find her past? choose to help the Skrulls? (accident, completing mission, because Lawson did?) Carol may be able to explode a space ship and zoom around in outer space, but her personality doesn't actually get to have much impact on the story. All she got to do was punch Jude Law. (Maybe that's why that scene was so satisfying -- it was personal.)
Also:
- Why doesn't Head Skrull's wife get any proper lines? Why are there really no other female characters?
- ... is this the third Marvel main character with a sensible black best friend? Can Rhodey, Sam, and Maria form some sort of support group?
Like, I get what they're doing. Jude Law is the Patriarchy -- happy to look after Carol as long as she conformed to his visions, but once she starts asserting herself, he turns ugly real fast. There's a lot of women talking to each other. Carol doesn't get a wimpy superpower. There's a lot of palpable exuberance whenever Carol does her hero thing. And Maria and Monica are just utterly precious.
I think the problem is just that I feel like too many of the characters are poorly developed. Monica is great, and Maria's speech about the pain of dealing with her best friend's death only to have Carol show up again was super touching. It made me want to know more about them. But Carol herself? What was she like when she was playing with Monica? What is she like as a pilot? How did she react to men picking on her? Steve Rogers had so many scenes establishing his personality at the beginning of Cap 1: trying to enlist, calling out the jerk at the movie theater, being rejected by the women on Bucky's double date, the shot where he steps onto the display and it's visually shown that he doesn't "measure up", the way he struggled through basic training, the flagpole, the "is this a test?" So many things that establish who Steve is as a person. And what do we have for Carol? Wakes up haunted by mysterious, plot-relevant dreams. Makes quips and does some fighting, but can't control her powers. Goes charging into an obvious ambush. Uncovers more memories. Like -- what are her non-skill, non-plot-based personality attributes? How does she feel about not having any memories? How does she feel about the Supreme Intelligence? Does she have the hots for Jude Law or no? Does she feel lonely? Does she feel inadequate? I DON'T KNOW.
Like, I know how the Winter Solder feels about not having memories (the quiet, insistent "but I knew him"), and about his HYDRA masters (fear, trepidation, but also obedience as he takes in the mouth guard). I know how Steve Rogers feels about a life of just doing missions (the convo he has with Sam about getting out), and how he feels about his boss ("this isn't freedom, this is fear") and his team (his convos with Natasha on the Lemurian Star). And those are similar situations to Carol, imho. But for Carol? I get some sense of urgency and desperation re: her missing memories, but so much of the movie is spent punching Skrulls to really clarify these emotions and make them distinctive. If a desire to help others is such a big part of her, then show us more of that earlier. If singing and having a fun time was a big part of her identity, then show her doing that as they prep the plane. If she finds joy in winning, then show more of that in the beginning. Instead all of these things are overwhelmed by punching and plot. AND IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE?!!! Like, the women of Black Panther managed to punch and have plot *and* have distinctive personalities. The way Nakia, Okoye, and Shuri interact with the plot are Very Different because their personalities come first -- Nakia's pragmatism, Okoye's loyalty, Shuri's joy. And I feel like with Carol, the part of her that drives the plot is ... her ability to punch things? her ability to stand up? her confusion about her past?
Meh. Give me her determination. Her focus. Her kindness.
Compare to Wonder Woman, where it *is* Diana's determination and love of the world that drives her to save Steve, leave the island, charge into No Man's Land, etc etc etc. What makes Carol go to C-52? find her past? choose to help the Skrulls? (accident, completing mission, because Lawson did?) Carol may be able to explode a space ship and zoom around in outer space, but her personality doesn't actually get to have much impact on the story. All she got to do was punch Jude Law. (Maybe that's why that scene was so satisfying -- it was personal.)
Also:
- Why doesn't Head Skrull's wife get any proper lines? Why are there really no other female characters?
- ... is this the third Marvel main character with a sensible black best friend? Can Rhodey, Sam, and Maria form some sort of support group?
no subject
Date: 2019-03-13 07:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-03-13 05:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-03-13 09:47 pm (UTC)*makes notes for my viewing*
no subject
Date: 2019-03-14 03:52 am (UTC)To me it seems impossible to have much of a personality if all your past has been erased.
Although even Monica's reflection about their shared past, showed Carol to be a bit shallow and competitive.
It might have been nice to see more emotion from her flashbacks, but i wasn't really expecting that either.
Maybe my expectations were just lower, but with Carol's missing memories, i was expecting the cast to be the real emotional barometer of the movie. And while i loved the buddy cop feel with Fury, it was Monica and Maria that were by far my favorite.
I definitely liked Wonder Woman better, though.
no subject
Date: 2019-03-18 02:41 am (UTC)