Review: 5 reasons not to miss ‘Captain Marvel’ 

MANILA, Philippines — Brie Larson is the superhero to watch out for in the new action-packed “Captain Marvel,” which debuted in Philippine cinemas this week, and which is expected to hit $125 million on its opening weekend worldwide.

The movie is generally entertaining, and Brie Larson is a “breath of fresh air,” mainly because she is not your typical “too serious” heroine. She has got some natural comedic flair and she perfectly injected it in the movie. 

Some critics, however, say the movie falls short of recent Marvel titles, and we can see where this is coming from. Citing the past Marvel movies such as the blockbuster hits “Black Panther” and “Avengers: Infinity War,” both predecessors carried a degree of subversion and hardcore political message. “Captain Marvel,” on the other hand, settled a notch lower to establish and weave its origin story.

This latest offering from the Marvel cinematic universe takes everyone farther back in time; way before the “Infinity War” was forged — this alone should be enough to convince you to watch it. If not, here are five other reasons.

Its epic story has nostalgic feel

Its evocative atmosphere set in mid-90s America could be pretty convincing. The film showcased a variety of familiar elements such as video rental shops, dial-up Internet, pagers, recognizable tunes from the same decade, and of course, the two-eyed Nick Fury. 

In an interview, one of the movies directors, Anna Boden, said that Marvel is big when it comes to nostalgia because it is trying to show a cinematic theme with remnants of realities and flashbacks that the audience can relate and connect to. 

To keep the tradition alive, which may have started with “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Captain Marvel” also features popular ‘90s tunes that will easily remind everyone of a certain moment in time. 

Brie Larson kicks ass 

Coming from her hit movie “Kong: Skull Island,” released in 2017, who would have thought that this beautiful blonde would star on her biggest role to date, much more, it is Marvel’s first female superhero to get a solo film. 

Larson’s character, Carol Danvers, is a fighter pilot who lost her memory after a horrific accident and after vanishing without a single trace, everyone she knew thought she died. Few years later, she resurfaced with alien super powers. She can fly, shoot energy beams from her hands and able to throw a punch as hard as the hulk. She is literally indestructible in this movie.

Nick Fury finally got the limelight he so well deserved

Finally, after a long time, Colonel Nicholas Joseph Fury is getting a piece of his origin story well tied to all the Marvel films before this. Though in this film, he started off in a humble beginning as an agent for SHIELD. In one of his seemingly mundane missions, he met Carol Danvers, who was not shy to show off her intergalactic abilities while chasing and fending off aliens. 

Now, we can all agree to some extent that Nick Fury, or “just Fury” as he would insist being called in the movie, is one hell of a versatile character with so much flavor. He is hilarious—way too hilarious throughout the movie in fact, but also quite persistent and courageous when it comes to fighting for what he believes in; a rare trait that made him who he is today, the leader of SHIELD. 

Of course, all of these would not materialize without the man behind the character, Samuel L. Jackson, who plays the role with much enthusiasm and energy. 

There’s a twist and we didn’t see it coming

Kudos to Marvel screenplay writers for always being cunning and genius at the same time for delivering quality story lines with so many twists in the end. Remember when we said Carol Danvers disappeared after an accident and years later found herself among the legion of alien warriors whose mission is to protect the universe—or so it seems? This is where the movie gets tricky as she later finds out that what she has been fighting for has been a big lie all along. 

With this approach, the movie has drawn inspiration from something that happens quite often in real life. You know the feeling when you’re in a romantic relationship that you’re so devoted to? Then eventually finding out it was all a big fat lie? Well, you better watch the movie if you want to know what we’re trying to say here. 

It’s a prelude to ‘Avengers: End Game’

Picking up from the post-credit sequence of last year’s “Avengers: Infinity War,” the movie gave us hints on what the “Captain Marvel” movie was going to look like. 

Remember Nick Fury’s last moment in “Infinity War” where he tried to call someone before supervillain Thanos (along with 50 percent of humanity) turned him into dust? Well, it looks like he was actually trying to contact Carol Danvers. 

Now, to make the connection clearer, in “Captain Marvel’s” end credits, Carol Danvers shows up at the Avengers Headquarters, face-to-face with Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff.

“Captain Marvel" is now showing in all SM Cinemas nationwide.