From left, Iman Vellani, Brie Larson and Teyonah Parris in the movie, The Marvels.
From left, Iman Vellani, Brie Larson and Teyonah Parris in the movie, The Marvels.
REVIEW:
The 33rd movie in Marvel’s cinematic universe boasts a few firsts. Not an easy ask for a franchise that has been powering out films with great frequency since 2008.
The Marvels, which opens in cinemas today, is the first Marvel film headlined by a culturally diverse team of female superheroes and is the first Marvel movie directed by an African-American woman.
It’s also the first Marvel movie that Nia DaCosta has directed, her previous film — which she also co-wrote — was the horror reboot Candyman. It’s the first that Mary Livanos has executive-produced after working her way up the chain on various Marvel projects like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Captain Marvel and the highly regarded MCU TV series WandaVision.
“This movie is made by fans who just love the genre,” Livanos beams, clearly jazzed about the film. “This is the kind of film that I’ve never really experienced before. I grew up such a fan of this genre and such a fan of Marvel, I think I would have killed to have seen a movie like this back when I was in high school or middle school. I think fans will love it.”
“I’m excited for the movie to come out, finally,” DaCosta says, referencing the fact that the release date was repeatedly pushed back to allow more time for post-production work on the movie’s many, high adrenaline and flashy action sequences. “It’s gratifying. We’ve worked on it for a long time and been deep on it for years now, so it’s lovely to let it come into the world.”
Brie Larson as Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel.
The movie follows the appearance of a mysterious wormhole out in space that somehow links heroes Captain Marvel, Ms. Marvel and Monica Rambeau, causing them to instantaneously swap places with each other whenever they use their powers.
This set-up gives ample leeway for all that extra post-production time to pay off with some hugely impressive action sequences. For example, an early event sees a battle on a space station, a regular house on Earth and inside a planetary base all happening simultaneously with our heroes uncontrollably zapping in and out between all three randomly and at blinding speed.
As expected, Brie Larson returns as Captain Marvel, Teyonah Parris as astronaut Monica Rambeau and Iman Vellani as teenage hero Ms. Marvel aka Kamala Khan.
DaCosta has been involved since near the beginning of the project four years ago, getting the nod one night while at her New York home office on a Zoom call.
“They had a pretty firm idea of what they wanted to do. These three women were going to be at the centre, the switching was there, the Khan family, all of that stuff was inside of the film already,” she says.
“My pitch was really about what they wanted to do, and how I thought I could add to it. How I would execute some of the sequences that, at the time, were in the movie — some of which are still there, and I love a lot. When it came to co-writing, that was something that happened organically in the process of working on the film.”
Taking on a Marvel film is a big responsibility. There are not only the studio’s high demands but also the weight of fan expectations to deal with, all while navigating the challenge of creating an effects-heavy blockbuster.
“It’s just about putting it all into perspective,” DaCosta explains when asked about dealing with those stresses. “It’s a universe I’ve loved for a long time and it’s an extensive one; we have 15 years behind us, and we have an ever-expanding series of films and TV shows ahead of us. So, for me, it was really about, ‘okay, focus on the film at hand’, and then rely on Marvel and what they do so well.”
One of those things is encouraging Marvel’s team of directors to look out for the newbies and offer any support or encouragement they may need. DaCosta didn’t need to be told twice, quickly reaching out to the director of one of her favourite MCU films.
“I did talk to Taika because he made Thor: Ragnarok, one of my favourites of the Marvel films,” she smiles, then adds that she knew Aotearoa’s wunderkind director Taika Waititi a little having spoken to him before landing The Marvels gig.
“He’s an incredibly talented, unique voice. I talked to him about his experience and what it was like for him, and he was really helpful — as were the other directors that I talked to. Everyone has different experiences inside of the machine, but they were all so generous with their advice and their time.”
Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau aka. Photon in The Marvels.
The importance of The Marvels as a diverse, female-led Marvel movie is not lost on either DaCosta or Livanos.
“It’s cool to bring the first crossover and team-up movie to the MCU outside of The Avengers,” Livanos smiles.
“This is very much an event film. What’s wild and serendipitous and wonderful is that it’s coming out now. Especially after this summer with Barbie and Taylor Swift. Women clearly deliver at the box office and women crave these stories because they represent people that we feel like we know. It’s awesome to be furthering the momentum for female representation on the big screen that we’re experiencing now in this cultural moment.”
“I think it’s really important,” DaCosta agrees. “There aren’t that many films like this that centre [on] women. So, to be able to bring this to the fore, not just with one woman but with three — and three very different women — is really exciting. It’s fun to be able to expand what we think of when we think of superhero films.”
