On Nov. 10, the action-superhero movie The Marvels was released in theaters across the U.S. starring Samuel L. Jackson, Teyonah Parris, Brie Larson, Iman Vellani and more. The movie is a sequel to the previous shows Ms. Marvel, and WandaVision. It follows Carol Danvers (Captain Marvel), Monica Rambeeau, and Kamala Khan (Ms. Marvel) as their powers become intertwined and they have to work together to learn how to navigate the obstacle. Once they learn, they use their combined powers to save the universe as the Kree people and their ruler, Dar-Benn, attack the universe in search of resources to salvage their dying planet. The movie premiered in Las Vegas on Nov. 7, 2023 but the cast members could not attend due to the previously ongoing actors’ strike.
I personally enjoyed the movie and thought it was an easy watch. There were some good comedy elements as well which helped make it more lighthearted and fun. The cast was fairly diverse, with the majority of the main characters being people of color. It was also a woman led film and directed by a black woman, Nia DaCosta, which added to the freshness of the movie.
The movie did not exceed expectations, however, it was actually the biggest box office flop for an opening weekend in MCU history. It grossed $47 million and the budget was $200 million causing a vast gap in the profit versus the budget. One problem with this was advertisement, because Marvel wasn’t able to properly promote the movie due to the SAG-AFTRA strike which prohibited a lot of companies from advertising upcoming movies. The release date also got pushed back four times, as it was originally set to release in late July. This caused viewers to be less informed and lose interest over time. Some believe that the flop has to do with the fact that it was a woman-led film, with author Stephen King stating, “Some of the rejection of ‘The Marvels’ may be adolescent fanboy hate. You know, ‘Yuck! GIRLS!.’” The movie, along with the Disney franchise, has been criticized a lot recently for focusing on diversity and inclusion, as some viewers don’t agree with these efforts. The Marvels star Iman Vellani responds to the outcome by saying, “I’m happy with the finished product, and the people that I care about enjoyed the film. It’s genuinely a good time watching this movie, and that’s all we can ask for with these films. It has superheroes, it takes place in space, it’s not that deep and it’s about teamwork and sisterhood. It’s a fun movie, and I’m just so happy that I can share it with people.” The critic review for The Marvels is 62%, but supporting Vellani’s statement, the audience review has an 83% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes showing that a majority of viewers enjoyed the movie.
