Avengers Origins My expectations going into Captain Marvel were low based on the fact that the only MCU film with a lower IMDB rating is The Incredible Hulk. In all honesty I really didn't think it was that bad. By no means one of the better Marvel films, but not worthy of its current rating <7.
A lot of the Disney humour was not as funny as I've found it to be in previous instalments, and Carol Danvers herself doesn't have the personality to match any of our other beloved MCU heroes. I'm led to believe Brie Larson is indeed a world class actress, with an Oscar under her belt for best actress in a leading role in a film called Room. Based on her performance in Captain Marvel, you couldn't tell. This personality void is filled somewhat by a young Nick Fury, who I guess the film gives as much of a back story to as Captain Marvel herself. It's obvious Samuel L Jackson had a lot of fun in this role, and the CGI used to make his character appear 25 years younger is applaudable. I've read a lot about the fact that Captain Marvel contradicts some of Fury's history as revealed in Winter Soldier, but personally I don't take enough issue with this to allow it to lower my rating, which I believe many other viewers have. The one issue I did take with Fury's character in Captain Marvel however was his depiction as flamboyant and foolish, which while fun, made it difficult to imagine this comical agent transforming into the authoritative S.H.I.E.L.D. director that we all know he is destined to be. Overall I was just grateful for more Nick Fury screen time, who is still the coolest character in the MCU.
The plot was quite messy and difficult to follow at times. There were shades of Top Gun (in fact, there were blatant references to Top Gun - Goose the cat/Flerken thing perhaps??) and Jason Bourne, which both appealed to me greatly and probably boosted my appreciation of the film. The soundtrack attempts to follow a Guardians of the Galaxy blueprint with a 90's twist, which is a nice idea on paper but never really makes any sort of impact. Finally, I enjoyed the closing scene where Fury (with his shiny new eyepatch) is typing up his "protector initiative". This was a classy touch by the writers and has influenced my view of Captain Marvel as more of an Avengers origins story than anything else. At least this way Carol Danvers doesn't feel so irrelevant to the bigger picture after all. 7/10.