Film Review

The Marvels (2023) — light fun, but marvellously mediocre

Carol Danvers gets her powers entangled with those of Kamala Khan and Monica Rambeau, forcing them to work together to save the universe.

Captain Marvel (2019) was a massive $1.3BN hit, but its timing played a significant role in its success. Released between Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019), it rode a wave of audience excitement for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) that was at an all-time high.

The Marvels, a sequel set in a wildly different cultural landscape, now faces waning interest amid a string of disappointing films and a glut of hit-and-miss TV projects. The film even pairs Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) with two characters who’ve been primarily developed on the small-screen: Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), who gained her light-manipulating powers in WandaVision, and fangirl Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani), who’s fresh off her own Ms. Marvel series.

The Marvels is a mini-Avengers, as three heroes share the responsibility of shouldering the movie. This could be due…