Reviews

What a gem of a suspenseful, well shot, survival thriller! It is set in the war torn Afghanistan in the early 80s but it's hard to call it a war film in the traditional sense as the movie goes out of its way to highlight follies of humanity and its cycle of violence as opposed to clearly establish the good guys and the bad guys. In light of recent events in Afghanistan, a film like this appears more prescient and relevant in 2021/2022 in showing how we as a species are stuck in a cycle of violence and revenge.

To digress from the film's merits for a second. Those who are asking "who are we supposed to root for?" and thus giving the movie a lower rating as it intentionally provides an answer that sits comfortably right in the grey area, are missing the point. If one was to distill down the philosophy of the movie, that would be is that there are no good sides or bad sides in war, the oppressed in one war could easily become the oppressor in the next and ultimately, war is hell. To dismiss a movie that didn't present the parties in a black and white manner is rather misguided.

Getting back to the quality of the film itself, in my opinion it could've been nearly perfect had it not have the actors playing Russian tankers speaking like regular American soldiers as opposed to Russian while the Afghans spoke their regional dialect (what appeared to be Pashtun). As a viewer it hindered immersion into the story but a movie made in the late 80s that was then dumped in theatres due to what appears to be a leadership shakeup at the time in the distribution company, the movie had no business to be as good and thrilling as it was.

Those who are looking for a thought provoking action thriller, this one hits the spot!

Entertaining, albeit in the typical relentlessly quippy Aron Sorkin fashion, the occasional light touches doesn't hinder from the movie delivering on the stakes and importance of the subject matter.

Sacha Baron Cohen's accent can be jarring at first, but it takes a minute to get used to. The rest of the cast do an admirable job with Yahya Abdul Mateen being the standout (even in a somewhat limited role by design). The strong cameo performance near the tail end also boosts the performance pedigree.

While surely the parallels and the timing of the release of this movie is not coincidental, it is a piece of art that does what good art often do, and that is to remind us of truths. In this case, the truth is, those who forget their history are doomed to repeat it.

It has been ~ 10-12 hours since I came back from the premiere if this movie and I am struggling to find moments that stands out in my mind. Perhaps that is the biggest shortcoming of Captain Marvel the character and the movie is it is an unmemorable experience and a somewhat disappointing entry in the MCU (the second since the decidedly worse Ant Man and the Wasp).

Without going into spoilers, one of the strongest criticism I have of the movie is the characterization of Captain Marvel herself. Her character does not have a strong arc and from the beginning to the end of the movie, the character does not go through any sort of meaningful change or development. She already calls herself a noble warrior hero early on in the movie, and by the end of the movie (drum roll) she saves some people.

The hardest thing about a very powerful superhero is to make them seem vulnerable and relatable. The characterization of Superman is incomplete without the existence of kryptonite. In later movies/literature, that was slowly interchanged with Louis Lane/his parents/the inability to save everyone etc. But the central idea is a Superhero is only as interesting as the obstacles (weakness/adversaries) they face. Captain Marvel at best faces what amounts to minor inconveniences before everything is said and done. Even Thor went through a better arc in his debut movie, which is not considered even in the top 10 of the best marvel movies.

As it stands, Captain Marvel is better than Ant Man 2 (in my humble opinion, the worst MCU movie) but only by a margin and an aggressively forgettable movie going experience. Hopefully, just like the other Captain in the MCU, her character and movies will get better with each sequel too.

This is by far the best movie Netflix has produced. In the hands of a master filmmaker such as Greengrass, the event and the subsequent effects of it gets treated with utmost care and respect.

The actors did a fantastic job and I do not recall the last time I felt so emotionally affected by a movie. The choice of having the actors speak English seemed a little odd at first, but I am glad that was the way it was chosen since reading subtitles would have taken focus away from the excellent performances that were display (especially by the lead survivor actor). By the end, I grew to respect the people and the country of Norway even more, which perhaps was the best thing the movie could have achieved for the victims and survivors.

I don't know what people were expecting going in to this film but to me and my family it delivered mostly what it promised. The action was thrilling, Jason Statham was solid, and the entire movie was just plain fun! To compare with other creature-features of 2018 so far, it is better than Rampage and FAR BETTER than Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom in terms of entertainment value and action scenes (which is essentially what you should be there for).

My only gripe is in a couple of sequences, if the director pushed the envelope just a little bit more, the movie would have elevated from good to great. As it stands it is still a solid summer action thriller and a must watch on the biggest screen you can find around you!