I think it's important to draw distinctions. You can hate She-Hulk, as I did, but still love Ms. Marvel, which I also did and detailed over a year ago.
Same for Wakanda Forever, which I also liked.
I caught a lot of flack for that last one, with some accusing of me of suborning pedophilia. Not purposefully, mind you, I was just an ignorant neanderthal who didn't know better.
Honestly, I appreciated the distinction at the time.
There are die-hard Disney haters and boycotters, and I understand the impulse. A great number of things have come out over the years among Disney's management and creators that are enraging, but if I were to boycott every business with which I have disagreements, even profound ones, I wouldn't be left with much.
And let's just say you can't eat pillows.
Besides, as I've argued before, I want to reward "good" behavior, and if Disney produces something that goes light on the ideology and heavy on story and character development, I want to encourage more of that, not boycott everything, preferring a scalpel over a sledgehammer.
With that in mind, let's break this down.
The Woke Factor.
This is the one that has become a verbal tic of sorts. Yes, Disney does A LOT of woke stuff, but not everything they do is a Marxist course on oppressional hierarchies.
Yes, as some have noted, it has an all-female team up. Most even uncover their faces in public!
Ben Shapiro, who I believe long ago abandoned critical thought in favor of a single-minded devotion to personal branding, noted such six months ago.
"Isn't that just girl Ghost Busters again?"
Let's pause on this for a moment.
He watched a 60-second trailer with action, light humor, and both men and women, and the only thing he notices, before anything else, is that the principle characters are all women
Congratulations, Ben, you just handed the progressives their greatest victory: You now see the world through their intersectional lens. People are no longer individuals, but members of a group based on sex, race, ethnicity, class, etc.
Yes, I know he and others are riffing off an assumption about the motivations of the writers and producers, but at some point you become captured by your own single-minded bubble worldview, and I suspect Shapiro crossed that Rubicon some time ago.
So, how woke is The Marvels?
Pretty much all but woke-free. I've seen some complain that a cameo character appears who is a lesbian? I guess? I seem to remember that, but I don't tend to obsess on such things unless it's shoved in my face. Her appearance totaled all but three minutes of screen time but get this, they kiss each other on the cheek.
Because chicks never do that.
Unless you suspect the Flerken might be non-binary (and I'll admit there's an argument for that), I'm going to rate this one as close to zero as possible on the woke scale.
But there's even more bad news for the perpetually outraged.
The Heart of The Movie is the importance of Family Values.
Family, friends, loyalty, confession, forgiveness, sacrifice. That's what drives the narrative.
Well, that and the efficacy of hitting people really really hard. Repeatedly.
That and the energy bolts.
Lots and lots of energy bolts.
But is it family-friendly?
I counted a total of three S-bombs, two of which were uttered by the Nick Fury character. Given he's played by Samuel L. Jackson, I feel like we ducked a bullet there.
I know some people have zero tolerance for that, but for me it's a matter of age-appropriateness and can be funny if used judiciously as it is here. That's a personal call, but you should be aware of it.
The Kamala Khan (or Ms. Marvel) character says "oh my G--, oh my G--, oh my G--," a lot. I don't like that, but she's a high school kid from Jersey City caught up in extraordinary circumstances, so at least it's authentic.
A personal note: Kids say "Oh my G--" as a default. My middle-school-aged son gets in trouble for this from time to time which invariably leads to the following exchange:
Son: "I mean, oh my G--."
Me: "I've told you not to say that."
Son: "Why, you don't like God?"
Me: "No, it's disrespectful to use it like that."
Son: "What if I'm being sincere?"
Me: "Sincere, as in you are sincerely calling on the heavenly Father to try to speed up the WiFi?"
Son: "Yes."
Me: "It has been kind of slow lately, er, I mean, go to your room!"
It's also quite violent, although largely cartoonish, and no gore to speak of. A lot of people die, though, and the Flerken alone could give a young child nightmares, so proceed with caution.
What About the Rest of the Movie?
It's the most fun I've had watching a Marvel movie probably since Guardians of the Galaxy. It has heart, yes, but it's also very funny, and Iman Vellani, who plays Kamala Khan, pretty much steals the show. She is easily becoming one of the most charismatic and likable characters in the modern Marvel universe. Her entire family from the Disney Plus series also has prominent roles and remains outstanding.
Also of note, Brie Larson finally, finally, gets some decent writing and something resembling a character arc. You can certainly dislike her as a person for some of the things that she says, but I never pay any attention to that. I'm not going to sit down and have brunch with any of them, all I care about is their proficiency as an actor, and she finally gets to do some acting here.
Also, Nick Fury is saved from his depiction as a sad, decrepit old man in the "Secret Invasion" Disney Plus series (easily the worst one yet, which is saying something) and is largely back to the Nick Fury Marvel fans know and love.
Oh, and some of you may have heard about a bizarre musical interlude?
Yep, and it works.
It works hilariously. Preposterous? Sure, I guess, and I'm sure there are those who will still find it cringe but I thought it was a lot of fun, and showed a lot of courage on the part of the creative team to go all in on it.
As for the story, well, a healthy suspension of disbelief is always helpful when watching one of these. I've heard from some critics that the narrative structure is a bit of a mess, but it worked for me, and again. it was just a lot of fun to watch. I don't want to spoil anything, but it is a complete story. It absolutely sets the stage for future stories, but it hangs along just fine.
It is also under two hours, clocking in at 1:45.
Finally, a movie that knows when it's time to go home.
This is obviously not for those of you who boycott Disney, or just plain don't like Marvel or superhero movies, but for those who do, this is probably the most fun I've had watching a Marvel movie this year.
UPDATE:
😭
P.S. Now check out our latest video 👇
