Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Cast: Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Gemma Chan, Lee Pace, Ben Mendelsohn, Jude Law, Annette Bening, Djimon Hounsou, Rune Temte, Colin Ford, Clark Gregg, Chuku Modo, Lashana Lynch, Robert Kazinsky, Kenneth Mitchell, Marilyn Brett, Stan Lee.

There are times when you look at a film and understand the hype that has been attached to it, that the feeling of a completed article is close at hand, and yet in the same recognised thought, you see the issues that others have labelled down and wondered if they even went into the screening with that one purpose of mind, straight forward, non-objective or stereotyped open mindedness.

Hype has its own problems, it finds a way to set the cinema goer up for a fall, even just a moment in which the viewer loses the thread can be catastrophic, can be fatal for the way is reflected in casual conversations around the dinner table and across easy chairs in the glow of fire as families point out their favourite moments and the fan theory explosions. Hype is a fragility in which audiences always seem to grasp for and seem bitterly despondent when it comes to pass.

With the fourth Avengers film in mind, the conclusion to arguably one of the most eagerly awaited cinematic story-lines of the last 20 years almost within reach, it is no wonder that Captain Marvel has had the hype and dare it be said propaganda attached to it, and whilst some have decried it, perhaps with their own agenda acting as a sword in which to impale the story-line with, it is with a sense of assuredness that the film passes its own publicity and carries the Marvel brand forward.

It could well be suggested it is to the remarkable digital effects available that sees Captain Marvel become the technicoloured dream the fans all clamoured for, the digital de-aging of Samuel L. Jackson to portray a younger, less demanding Nick Fury is an example of just how far cinema has come, and it is one that really gives the film its ultimate edge.

But it is to Brie Larson that the film and its hope has been hung upon, much has been made in certain quarters of a female-led hero film, it is of course ridiculous to suggest that it cannot be done, small mindedness is never an attractive trait, and whilst it has been mentioned that Ms. Larson is not in the same mould as Robert Downey Jr. or even Chris Evans in their respective Marvel roles, what this talented actor brings to the screen is more than just the ability to crack a joke or be self-deprecating, she brings charm, a resoluteness to inhabit the role and make it roar with femininity, strength and will.

With tremendous support from the likes of Jude Law, the aforementioned Samuel L. Jackson and the superb Ben Mendelsohn, Brie Larson’s take on Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel is one to seriously rival any of the Marvel films that have come before. It is also a huge nod to the man who started it all off, the unforgettable Stan lee, that his name and image is associated with this film, a forward-thinking creative, a bringer of entertainment to a world that often declares war on such ideas and people willing to share them; it is to Brie Larson that the honour fell to whisper goodbye in such a timely, and beautiful manner.

Captain Marvel-lous, a big bout on screen and one that will enhance what is still to come from the Marvel Studios.

Ian D. Hall