Captain Marvel takes a while to get going, but once she finds her stride, it makes for a fun and enjoyable ride.

Captain Marvel is the 21st entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It also marks a parting of ways with the origin story template Marvel had been using Phase One. Rather than telling how Vers/Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) got her powers, the movie lets the audience piece together Captain Marvel’s origin story through flashbacks, against the backdrop of an intergalactic Kree-Skrull war. Carol Danvers is living amongst the Krees in an alien world at the start of the movie. A series of incidents lead her to Earth (Planet C53) where she runs into a digitally de-aged Nick Fury. Brie Larson’s chemistry and easy comradery with Samuel Jackson is a big highlight in the movie.

Ben Mendelsohn can add his portrayal of Talos, a Skrull warrior, to his interesting resume that includes Rogue One and Ready Player One. There are no doppelganger villains like in most MCU origin movies (Iron Man vs Iron Monger, Black Panther vs Killmonger, Ant-Man vs Yellow Jacket). Jude Law makes his bow in the MCU, donning Kree colors, as Carol’s haughty mentor. However, the true star of the movie is Goose, Carol’s cat who steals every scene she’s in.

The MCU is now so rooted in contemporary pop culture that Marvel can take liberties in cramming as many easter eggs as they want. I watched the movie only a week after release and the movie theatre wasn’t exactly what you would call sophisticated. So, it came as a surprise when the crowd was able to appreciate even obscure references to the larger MCU. While Carols’s quips didn’t always garner the amount of laughter Tony Stark would take for granted, it will be interesting to see how she fits in the Avengers team. If what we have seen so far is any indication, it is going to be amazing. The post-credit sequence was just pure comicbook fun!

The hype had been relentless for Captain Marvel, ever since excited fans saw Nick Fury page Carol Danvers at the end of Avengers: Infinity War. It was never going to be easy and the movie could have easily floundered under the weight of so much expectation. Admittedly, the first hour is a bit flat, making it seem like a filler episode before the big Avengers finale, bringing to mind Eleven’s unnecessary visit to Chicago in season 2 of Stranger Things. But the movie picks up from the second act, and it makes for a fun and enjoyable ride as it sets up Avengers: End Game perfectly.