Cinepals - THE MARVELS Non Spoiler Movie Review

Episode Date: November 14, 2023

Jaby Koay, Achara Kirk and special guest Ricardo Elliott (R.A. 2.0) review the latest marvel feature film The Marvels. The film stars Brie Larson as Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel, Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau, Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan aka Ms Marvel, Zawe Ashton as Darr-Benn and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury. 

Senna. Pals. What's going on, everybody? I'm Jabby Kouye, joined by Char Kirk. Yo. And Ricardo Elliott, the second. Yo. Also known as Raw 2.0. And so we just got done watching Captain Marvel. No, we didn't.

We watched that one a long time ago. Captain Marvel 2. The Marvels. They put out the movie so fast. I forget the titles. We watched The Marvels. This is the follow-up. Captain Marvel and Miss Marvel, Secret Invasion, Psych.

And so we'll do a non-spoiler rundown first. That's what we're at two point I was going to do for us. Sure. Let me give it to you straight. We left off from places unknown, from Miss Marvel, from what was the other show? What am I thinking about? No, we don't. Kind of.

And Wanda Vision. We find our heroes mixed up in a galactic hodown where they are found interconnected through a series of events, seemingly unconcerned about their connection. trying to stop someone who is going throughout the universe trying to save her own planet through means that are less than friendly to populations. Obviously, the bar was extremely low for us going into this film for all three of us

with consideration to the fact that this screening is happening really close to release. All the rumors about the film have not been great. When the film kicks off, immediately I was like, oh, God, we're in for a rough ride here. But then it gets into the story, and you're like, oh, well, this isn't so bad. And then it keeps going.

you're like, this is actually fun. I'm actually having a good time. The movie ends, and I was like, that was actually pleasant. And then I turned to someone, I'm not going to name who. But you'll know. You guys will know what I'm talking about. And he's like, that was terrible.

And I'm like, what? No, I enjoyed that. That was, and so now I feel like a Marvel shill. I promise you, I'm not. I enjoyed this movie for what it was. It's a mess. There's a lot of problems in it. I'm not going to lie, but it's still a fun time.

I mean, I agree. I just, I had fun. I really enjoyed it. Also, I'm a huge fan of Kamala Khan. I'm Ma'an Balani is amazing. I was just so pleased to get more of her. And then this was actually, and you said this as well, but this is actually the first time that I've seen Captain Marvel and liked her.

Yes. So I think that she just needed a sprinkle of Kamala to turn it into a concoction that I actually enjoyed. It's so much fun. It's crazy. Yeah. And I also think the other strength of this movie is definitely the, like, the ensemble. Yes. Having Kamala's family around.

Samuel L. Jackson coming back as like Nick Fury also, you know, he's a little bit more comedic relief than like usual, but like it works. It's really funny. Cutting away, anytime we have to cut away from our heroes, like it's not like a chore. Like you still like enjoy the movie and it's like I love seeing their family. Even if you don't have like a connection to the Miss Marvel series, if you didn't see that or Wanda Vision, like there's still like there's a lot of heart coming in that like you don't need too much backstory. Like they do a decent job of putting it all here. Maybe over-explaining it a little bit in the beginning. You get a recap of, like, Captain Marvel and how we got here with, like, her and Tianan Paris as Monica and, like, Miss Marvel.

It does a decent job of, like, setting this up if you're not steeped in Marvel from the last, like, two years. So I think that the coolest thing about this movie is that you see Monica Rambo in shorts. You see her in tights. You see her doing jump rope. You see her in that space outfit and that badonka-dong.

I'm like, oh, my God! I'm just so beautiful. So beautiful. I was very happy on IMAX too. She's gorgeous. I like cats. Oh, yeah, there's a reason why they're in the advertisement. I was like, I thought this was like a gimmick, but it actually plays in the film's favor.

And it was just also really, there were so many unexpected moments that were just really quirky and fun. And then also the mid-credit scene, amazing. That's all I'm going to say. Like I said, the film is a mess. There's a lot of weird quirks with the story. Questions. Stuff when you get to the end, like walking out of the theater, you're like,

wait, that didn't make any sense at all. Like, and you'll do that like eight times as you walk to your car. But the fact of the matter is, with the audience, like we still had a lot of laughs and still a lot of like, whoa moments.

The last action sequence, while on the shorter side, I thought was actually strong. I feel like in Gladiator, were you not entertained? Yeah. I was entertained thoroughly. I definitely think that setting the bar

as low as you could. Like below the ground. Below subterranean was helpful. Yeah. Everyone turns in a great performance except for one person. I don't know if I would say it's just because of the script either.

If it's just, you know, a Marvel weakness. Ah, okay, yeah, yeah, yeah. Everyone's performance is pretty great. The chemistry is ridiculous between, like, the main trio. It's just like you just want more of them. Speaking of performances,

they was cut down quite a bit. I mean, you can feel like this was an hour 40, and any time that there was supposed to be something emotional, it felt artificial because they would jump forward in the scene to the part where there are tears as quickly as possible. Like, anytime you had an emotional moment, it was like the scene started out with tears.

There was like three of these in the film. And by the third one, I'm like, oh my God, please stop it. And the only thing worse than that was the crocs. I knew it. I literally rolled my eyes when that happened. I'm like, oh God. I heard your eye roll. It was aggressive.

It was pretty bad. One of the things I was really hoping going into this film, knowing what ties them all together, was a really cool and creative fight scene where you see them swapping places and whatnot and like some kind of cool strategic choreography mixed with visual effects because this is the only kind of setup and story that can really give that to you and justify it. And there's like this whole thing with them learning how to work together. And then you have fight scenes where they are working together in tandem. And we only really got one strong one, I felt. There was like a few.

and most of them were just messy and not shot very well but there was one that was very strong and very very fun. As far as movies go I would say it's like average but fun I was thinking about it as the movie wrapped up and I'm like well I don't think it's like

a great movie but it's by no means a bad movie and I had a lot of fun watching it so if you just want to have a good time and have some laughs and it's cute and fluffy and light it's not deep at all Just go in with that expectation and you'll be fine.

Like I mentioned before, like, I think there's a decent amount of heart in it. Which I honestly, like, wasn't thinking about. Like, I wasn't, it's sort of a surprise when you sort of find out what the dynamic is between Monica and Carol. Like, I hadn't thought about that. And they do, like, an interesting, like, a path with that. Like, the way they take their story is interesting. And obviously, Kamala being there is, like, a foil to everything. And sort of, like, a third party is, like, super interesting.

She gets her jokes in this stuff, but she also sort of bolsters them. I don't know. I think she really works well with them and I feel like you can tell that's where they spent the most time was getting the three of them together right. Yeah, I would agree with you. I think that the chemistry was very strong

between the three of them and that was the strongest part of the film. Like setting aside the bad action in the movie when they're hanging out and just dialoguing, I was surprised at how much I was enjoying it and I was surprised at how much I was enjoying Kamala Khan just for zingers, her one-liners, one after the other.

No, because I liked her in the show but I'm like, is this going to translate well to the film? And honestly, when it started off, I wasn't sure. I had strong, strong doubts. But then, like, as we got into it, she had so many good, she had all the best lines. Yeah, all the best lines. Her lines were as good as seeing Monica Rambo in that outfit.

Which outfit? All of the outfits. Anytime she was in tight, so I was like, oh, yes. Thank you, Lord. Like I said, it's a mess, but it's an enjoyable mess. It's a hot mess. And you can enjoy it as well. It's like, you know, McDonald's or mac and cheese

from a box, not the restaurant, you know, gourmet kind. But it's still good. Like, you need that sometimes. And then the next thing will be something more highbrow. I don't know. Anyway, that's it for now. Thanks for hanging. I'm Jabby Kouye.

This is... Acharikirk. R.A.2.0. Peace out.