“Captain Marvel” co-director Anna Boden - as of now, still the only female filmmaker to have directed an MCU film, though more are certainly coming - has been honest about the process by which she and partner Ryan Fleck attempted to find their way into the character beyond just “here’s a superhero, make a movie about her.” While Marvel has plans to build on its strong base of female stars, from the recent success of “Captain Marvel” to a planned “Black Widow” standalone, the MCU can’t afford this sort of superficial pandering when working towards catalyzing real storytelling change. It doesn’t add anything to the film as a whole, nor does it expand on the characters themselves, and their roles in earlier Marvel movies prove they have more to offer, even as the franchise has lagged when it comes to crafting films explicitly about its many female characters. The message is certainly a good start (look at all these ladies!), but it’s delivered in a hammy way that ultimately reduces each character to a single trait: Powerful women. No matter the empowering intentions here, the scene feels empty, as the women - some of whom only don’t even have any lines in the script - simply line up, charge forth, and look powerful as they do it. However, while its “Infinity War” avoids pandering to its audience, the “Endgame” scene sticks out because it seems so intent on selling “girl power” as nothing more than an image.Īs Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel attempts to move that blasted Infinity Gauntlet, she goes looking for help, and it arrives in the form of fellow Marvel heroines like Scarlet Witch, Valkyrie, Okoye, Mantis, Shuri, Hope Van Dyne, Gamora, Nebula, and Pepper Potts all assembling to assist her in her quest. In the Russos’ massive followup, “Avengers: Endgame,” a similar moment unfolds during another climactic battle.
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