The Marvels Struggle for Lift off: In its return more than four years later, “The Marvels” grapples with concerns of Disney+-fication, clocking in as Marvel’s shortest film at 105 minutes. While the brisk pace offers moments of levity akin to a cosmic “Freaky Friday,” the movie struggles to consistently soar.
The sequel to “Captain Marvel” integrates characters from streaming ventures, yet its Achilles’ heel lies in the lackluster villain, Dar-Benn, portrayed by Zawe Ashton. The revenge-seeking Kree leader feels nondescript, lacking the allure of Captain Marvel’s previous adversaries. The film, while different in trajectory, falters with a chaotic temporal displacement anomaly, played for laughs but proving too unwieldy.
Director Nia DaCosta finds a shining star in Iman Vellani’s Kamala Khan, whose fan-girl exuberance injects playfulness and fun. The standout utility player veers towards the silly side with Goose, the Flerken cat, providing comic relief.
Despite the youthful appeal of Vellani and the cat, “The Marvels” struggles to escape the sense of being “Marvel Lite.” The narrative latitude seems better suited for a streaming series, amplifying the challenge of theatrical patronage in the wake of Marvel’s formidable past successes.
Various factors contribute to this, with the film grappling to replicate the operatic highs of “Endgame” and contending with the absence of key players. The closing-credit scene offers a glimmer of hope, hinting at intriguing possibilities for the future. However, “The Marvels” largely plays it safe in a time when Marvel needs to take risks, resulting in a movie that only sporadically achieves liftoff despite its space-faring hero.
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