To tell someone who they shine is a nice compliment. And no one is as bright as Brie Larson ("Room") as Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel.

Which is not the only reason that the protagonists of the latest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe are literally charged with energy. But above all, the symbolic radiance of a heroine who seeks her identity between space and earth.

Of course, the longing for one's own destiny connects her with almost all well-known cartoon characters. But what makes their origin story staged by Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden ("Half Nelson") outstanding is the human closeness with which Captain Marvel reaches for the stars.

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"Captain Marvel": The reaching for the stars

In the beginning, Carol Danvers introduces herself as an extraterrestrial: As far as she can remember after a mysterious memory loss, she is a native of the Kree Empire, for which the blue blood in her veins also speaks. Under the name of verse, she is trained by her mentor Yon-Rogg (Jude Law) to become a member of the combat unit Starforce in order to fight for the Kree in the war against the Skrull. The latter are shapeshifters who can take on any shape and undetectedly infiltrate other civilizations.

But although she sees herself as a loyal soldier, verse does not really fit into the tight Kree collective. For one, she has inexplicable gifts, including the ability to fire blazing energy bolts from her hands. On the other hand, she is plagued by recurring dreams in which she suspects hints of her forgotten past.

She caught up with them in a confrontation with the Skrull and their leader Talos (Ben Mendelsohn). For in the course of the battle, verse puts a massive crash landing on the earth, where the year 1995 is written. At once, Vers goes on the phone with a payphone pimped on by cable solder, but even before the Kree, the Skrull arrive on the technically retarded planet.

At first, the stranded warrior of Shield agent Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) gets disbelieving support. Forced to teamwork, the agent and aliens seek to save humanity from a galactic conflict. But they have to solve the mystery of Danvers / Vers' origin.

"Captain Marvel"
USA 2019
Director: Ryan Fleck, Anna Boden
Screenplay: Meg LeFauve, Nicole Perlman, Geneva Robertson-Dworet
Performers: Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Jude Law, Ben Mendelsohn, Clark Gregg, Lashana Lynch, Annette Bening
Production: Marvel Studios
Rental: Walt Disney Germany
Length: 124 minutes
FSK: from 12 years
Theatrical release: 7th March 2019

Carroll Danvers' long march through the comic institution Marvel began in the late sixties as a chronically underrated damsel in distress . Her film debut spares the character such leaden times, but rather breaks down stale role models from the first scene. This is urgently required, because mansplaining is obviously also common in space.

The earthy nineties backdrop offers room for successful jokes on huge video stores and slow computers, as well as for numerous reminiscences of fashion and music. And it's certainly a pleasure to see the towering Brie Larson kick out in a contemporary undercover look (complete with Nine Inch Nails shirt), while hits from Elastica, Garbage or Hole run high.

In stark contrast to the retro charm is the fact that Samuel L-Jackson's face has been consistently digitally redrawn to make his Nick Fury look 25 years younger - with the prospect of potentially ageless, even immortal actors providing a rather disturbing footnote to this otherwise so optimistic tuned movie is.

He also takes a surprisingly long time for slow-moving scenes, in which Carol Danvers in particular gains profile and well-timed dialogue joke finds its place. In addition, "Captain Marvel" surprises with at least one of his action volts, as well as with a humanitarian attitude that is not limited to earthlings and almost goes through as a daily political commentary.

In the video: The trailer for "Captain Marvel"

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Disney

Last but not least, the film boasts the most memorable appearance of a cat in space since Ellen Ripley's orange Stubentiger in "Alien". In this context, it is probably an indication that the Marvel Universe has reached its maximum extent in the foreseeable future, if the essential components of his internal mythology here are ironically equated with an indigestible barrel.

But as long as this Captain Marvel is allowed to get involved, the MCU should persist for a while.