Captain Marvel Movie Review (with some spoilers)

As the final movie before Avengers: Endgame, Marvel fans expect Captain Marvel to stimulate their appetite for the next big film. However, the movie critically panned. Perhaps because some people just can’t handle the idea of a woman taking the role of a Marvel hero who has also been portrayed as a male. Perhaps not.

It follows the story of Carol Danvers (aka Captain Marvel) who is fighting an intergalactic war between her people and an alien race. However physically strong and highly skilled in battle, her painful and fragmented past holds her back from reaching her full potential as a warrior. As well as mastering her superpowers.

Her peers constantly tell her that she’s too emotional and that her lack of self-control not only makes her weak but a bad warrior. Carol’s leader, Yon-Rogg continuously challenges her to battle him without using her powers. With each loss against him, I watched Carol’s potential and level-headedness fade.

I have never cared much for Marvel movies. I only saw this film because my brother had an extra ticket and I was bored. After having seen it, I actually liked it. I thought the movie was not just a cool and important addition to the collection of Marvel films, but an excellent way to promote woman empowerment. I think how Carol was criticized for being too emotional and weak represented how women are treated in society. As if being able to feel strong emotions makes them weak and incapable of being powerful. However, putting down a woman like this is exactly what makes her feel weak. Thus, weakening her. When Carol finally realized how powerful her emotions were instead of repressing what went on in her head, something broke off of her and made her stronger and than ever. She was finally in control.

I noticed that in the scene right before her spectacular breakthrough, Carol shed a tear. A meaningful one. A tear that showed that she was feeling something without spiralling out of control. A tear that displayed she was not afraid to do so. A tear that showed she finally accepted her past and was being honest with herself. It showed, quite appropriately, that she was captain. At last, was in charge. She always was, she just had to receive it. Being emotional is only a weakness if you let it be (I’m talking to you too, men).

Once Carol found friends who believed in her abilities, you could see her begin to glow (literally). It goes to show that with faith in women, she can unleash something no one has ever seen before. Especially when the one to have faith is the woman herself.

I have faith that this movie will not only inspire women but anyone who needs a little hope in the power they possess. Captain Marvel is absolutely stunning for this reason.

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