What to know before watching The Marvels in Canada

I take no pleasure at all in reporting that “The Marvels” is terrible, and is the worst movie ever made in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

“Thor: The Dark World” was just a forgettable stretch. “Eternals” was a very long film but was always beautiful to watch. “Thor: Love and Thunder” was unconvincing tonight but featured a terrific performance from Christian Bale.

Within a pop culture empire that has become increasingly inconsistent in quality, precisely because of its efforts to constantly stay in front of our eyeballs, “The Marvels” had the potential to provide a much-needed breath of fresh air. Carol Danvers, Monica Rambeau, and Kamala Khan have all been extremely entertaining characters in their respective movies and TV series, so the possibility of them having a shared adventure seemed promising. Instead, it’s a narrative and visual mess, and the clearest evidence yet that maybe we don’t need some kind of Marvel product in theaters or on streaming all the time.

What to know before watching 2023 The Marvels in Canada

What’s especially frustrating is that each of the actresses playing these comic book roles has brought something distinctive and compelling: Brie Larson with her stellar performance throughout the MCU, but especially in “Captain Marvel”; Teyonah Parris with her warmth and intelligence on “WandaVision”; Iman Vellani with her infectious teenage enthusiasm on “Ms.” Miracle.” Putting “Candyman” director Nia DaCosta at the helm felt like an inspired choice, and suggested the kind of perspective we don’t typically see in this male-centric film world.

But the script from DaCosta and co-writers Megan McDonnell (“WandaVision”) and Alyssa Karasik (“Loki”) is a mess as it tries to cram in stories for all three characters, while also connecting to other MCU properties while twisting it. . The Behemoth saga ahead. You definitely need to be familiar with Carol, Monica, and Kamala’s previous movies and/or series, as well as “Secret Invasion” on Disney+ and some other content I won’t mention for fear of spoilers. In trying to combine all these elements, it never really finds a template. The story rotates between bystanders explaining things to each other and esoteric action sequences in which characters fly around the room in a dizzying fashion. It’s short – only an hour and 45 minutes – so the emotional connections and stakes feel forced and rushed. It feels like there are big parts missing that would have made more sense. Instead, Carol, Monica, and Kamala are actually teamed up to defeat Zawe Ashton’s wild-eyed, vengeful Kree villain, Dar-Ben.

What to know before watching The Marvels in Canada 2023

From the beginning, Ashton’s character is at the center of the film’s spectacularly terrifying visual effects. An opening sequence in which Dar-Ben finds the powerful bangle she has long sought – which coincides with the one that grants Kamala her powers – features the exotic look of an ornate soundstage. The huge boulders look like pieces of Styrofoam spray-painted brown, and the entire scene is bathed in bright, flat light. For the most part, you’d never know that Steve McQueen’s regular cinematographer, Sean Bobbitt (“12 Years a Slave,” “Shame,” “Widows”) shot it.

Something happens when Dar-Ben confiscates this powerful piece of jewelry, causing Carol, Monica, and Kamala to switch positions whenever any of them use their powers. They are all interconnected in such a way that they continue to be explained to each other and to us, but remain confusing. For example, one of them will throw a punch and end up where the other just went. Peripheral figures caught up in the chaos include Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), who basically does nothing except crack a clever quip or two, and Kamala’s family, who are as adorable as ever in a sitcomy way. It’s a reminder of how fragmented everything is here.

Reprising her title role from “Ms. In Marvel’s Disney+ series, Vellani brings a charming, charming presence to her big-screen debut, but gets stuck in one-note fangirl mode for too long. But Larson and Parris, while individually charismatic and commanding, can only do so much to convey the heartache of a shared trauma when it’s sandwiched between bland manic action sequences. Many of these involve characters flying at each other like fireballs to strike each other or blow things apart or push them back together again. It’s all very tiring.

Still, the trio must work as a team and enhance their abilities to stop Dar-Ben from causing intergalactic destruction. Speaking of which, the choice of Beastie Boys’ “Intergalactic” during the outer space training montage is downright eye-candy. But other musical moments are so different from everything else that they are an unexpected and much-needed joy. They are very strange in the best possible way. I won’t ruin them for you, although people are already posting videos of the end credits scene, so apparently nothing is sacred anymore. but two scenes in particular