‘The Marvels’ movie review: Low on stakes, this modest addition hits a much-needed soft reboot button for the MCU

Iman Vellani steals the show in ‘The Marvels,’ co-starring Brie Larson and Teyonah Parris, that doesn’t offer anything new once the initial highs wear off

When Captain Marvel was released back in 2019, the origin story stuck to the basics and followed the franchise’s predominantly successful formula. While it didn’t have the gravitas that other origin stories like Black Panther,Iron Man and Doctor Strange possessed, but was packaged as the quintessential Marvel film with an equal dose of humour and heart that titles like The Incredible Hulk and Eternals lacked. The simple trick worked out for one of Marvel’s strongest superheroes, and it seems as if the same destiny has trickled down to its sequel, The Marvels. Unfortunately, for the makers, MCU isn’t the unsinkable carrier it was a few years ago. The MCU is in choppier waters than before, and that’s precisely why this simple yet effective outing comes as a respite for fans of the franchise who haven’t had more than a couple of noteworthy outings from the series since the end of Phase Three in mid-2019.

If Jonathan Majors starring in the Loki series followed by Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumaniawas testing the waters for the MCU, it’s The Marvels where the franchise takes that one big step forward when it comes to integrating its small-screen characters and events into its film canon. The studio, not wanting to have another Eternals problem, brilliantly subverted the issue by breadcrumbing its lead characters’ backstory via the series. Monica Rambeau who, as a kid, waved goodbye to her ‘aunt Carol’ in Captain Marvel, now has the ability to manipulate all wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum thanks to the events of WandaVision (2021). Kamala Khan, on the other hand, was shown in Ms Marvel (2022) as Captain Marvel’s fan and wears a magical bangle with which she can create hard light constructs.

The trio’s powers get entangled thanks to the actions of Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton), Danvers’ archenemy, who is hunting down prosperous planets after their Kree planet Hala goes barren. Despite world-ending repercussions, the film neither spends a lot of time explaining the lives lost nor turns Dar-Benn into a force to reckon with. What we’re left with is the three women practising how to master the “quantum entanglement”, Nick Fury going on a treasure hunt after spotting mysterious eggs aboard his S.A.B.E.R. space station, and the fan-favourite Goose (Carol’s pet Flerken who resembles a cat) getting some much needed extended screen time. And of course, there’s the emotional (of sorts) reunion of Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) with Danvers (Brie Larson) and Khan (Iman Vellani) finally meeting her favourite Avenger and fan-girling making for some of the film’s most amusing moments.

But once these initial highs settle, it becomes quite apparent that The Marvels has nothing novel to offer. Keeping aside the much-awaited reunions and a few cameos that do the usual job of moving the MCU forward, the film doesn’t entice you. The lack of a strong antagonist — despite the MCU being praised for featuring some of the best villains in recent history such as Thanos and Erik Killmonger — is an unpleasant surprise. The tonal shifts don’t help either.

After the tease of an all-women team-up in Avengers: Endgame, The Marvels is the biggest union of female-fronted superheroes, featuring characters from different ethnic backgrounds and cultures. But the film never builds upon that and relies on the aforementioned cameos, which (being the big guns they are) thankfully work. By introducing them, the MCU charters itself into a new dimension that exponentially increases the number of directions for the future of this franchise. The fact that The Marvels doubles as a soft-reboot switch for the MCU, which is expected to hit new and exciting frontiers, is good enough reason to discount its ample shortcomings.

The Marvels is currently running in theatres