Sci-Fi & Fantasy Girlz discussion

I considered putting this in the Girlz Group thread on the film Wonder Woman but I think it merits its own thread.

Captain Marvel is a better movie than Wonder Woman.

There. I said it. And it's true. Deal with the reality.

I'm not saying it's a great movie, mind you. It drags in a couple of places that I think really shouldn't have been slow, and a few aspects of the "superhero gaining powers" over time don't seem to me to add up. Personally, I'm more than a little leery of CGI action sequences, and the use of CGI to "young down" an aging actor makes me cringe a bit. It's likely better than trying to stick a paper clip on the back of Samuel Jackson's neck during principle photography to tighten up that naturally aging flesh, but to me it still seems just a tick or two above a Snapchat filter.

But it's a better movie than WW is, and I generally liked WW. Great visuals, a few good character dynamics... the third act turns into a video game-style slog with the emotive value of your average Star Trek (OS, not TNG) episode, but it's no Green Lantern or Independence Day. It's not the kind of thing I want to see over and over again—I can practically watch Sunset Boulevard or Casablanca twice a week—but it's a more complex and carefully delivered comic book superhero origin story than WW by a pretty good margin.

I have the same objections regarding film and Feminism as I had about WW. That is, a major studio film is, by its very nature, going to have all the social value of the cheese and "secret" sauce stuck to a fast food wrapper. Sure, it'll keep one alive, and it might punch things up with a bit of a sugar rush, but at best it documents the zeitgeist in order to cash in rather than lead any sort of charge in any particular movement. A little bit isn't necessarily bad for you... but don't go full Super Size Me if you have any concern for your own health, mental and otherwise.

That said, Captain Marvel does a better job of deconstructing the various tropes of the comic book movie, and reconstructing them in the 21st century while taking on the film culture in which it operates, even if it does so glancingly or a little broadly. See, for instance, this article:

Captain Marvel Takes a Literal Shot at One of the Most Sexist Movies of the ’90s
James Cameron’s True Lies deserves every photon blast that comes its way.

With its car chases, fistfights, and self-conscious sense of humor, Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck’s Marvel entry pays knowing tribute to the action movies of the era while rewriting the genre’s history. The flashbacks to Carol’s time as an Air Force pilot in the 1980s could be straight out of Top Gun, if it weren’t for that movie’s lack of interest in women as anything other than romantic complications for straight men, and the cocky flyboy who harasses her bears a significant resemblance to Tom Cruise. But with True Lies, the homage feels a lot less affectionate, and the attack on the codes of the genre—and the period—seems a lot more pointed. Rather than rewriting its history, the movie takes a scorched-earth (or scorched-cardboard) approach. Frankly, True Lies deserves it.

Full article: https://slate.com/culture/2019/03/cap...

I can't help but notice that Cameron hasn't chimed in (yet) on this one, despite "blowing up the Internet" when WW came out. I suspect that's because they head him off quite neatly with the True Lies bit.

I agree. I personally didn't really like Wonder Woman and have no idea why it was called a “feminist” movie, but I loved Captain Marvel.

My main issue with Wonder Woman was that for a “feminist” movie, she spent too much time (almost the whole movie) following a man around (who seemed like he was the main protagonist at times 😛 ). The insta-love with said man also bothered me, A LOT.

But then Captain Marvel didn’t even have a romance arc (which has some people on the interwebs saying that Carol Danvers is a lesbian and her friend was her partner…Interesting subplot that I'm sure Disney wouldn't risk at this point) which I thought was awesome because we didn’t waste any time with her getting emotional or being vulnerable (which also has a different set of people on the interwebs hating her and the movie for this).

I went to see a superhero movie and I didn’t get bored which sadly I can’t say the same about the last two Thor movies, the last Avengers movie, Wonder Woman and Batman vs Superman. I was entertained, I laughed and the soundtrack was awesome. This movie made me want to watch Avengers Endgame next month which I wasn’t planning on seeing at the theater. I just hope I’m not disappointed.

I wish we could see more of her back story. I imagine it as a crossover between Top Gun and Beaches 😁 Please Disney, make this happen.

I never saw Wonder Woman, but I saw Captain Marvel and enjoyed it thoroughly. Not only was the story quite good and the effects and action entertaining, it has a very positive message that really comes across. It was as if they anticipated all the gripes that the fanboys would be making in advance and preempted them. They present, with an implied middle finger to those who would bitch about it, a powerful female lead that kicks the crap out of the people who keep underestimating and patronizing her.

As someone who has heard some of the unbelievably ugly, stupid, vile and totally bullshit things some fanboys have said about this movie (without even watching the damn trailer!), I was very happy to see them do this. They even had a part where some idiot rides up on a bike and is like "how about a smile?", which Larson responds to by stealing his bike. She also has her climactic fight scene to the song "I'm Just A Girl" by No Doubt. There are a few scenes like this, and they all elicited the same reaction of "fuck yeah!"

Knowing this movie was pissing off browflakes and succeeding despite their moronic calls for a boycott, and even anticipated the kinds of weak protests and backlash some guys threw at it made it all the more enjoyable!

Matthew wrote: "She also has her climactic fight scene to the song "I'm Just A Girl" by No Doubt. There are a few scenes like this, and they all elicited the same reaction of "fuck yeah!"

I think that song was the perfect pick for that fight scene!

https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmen...

I'm glad to see that the movie is close to hitting 1 billion. $825,077,835 according to boxofficemojo.com 🙌

Yoly wrote: "Matthew wrote: "She also has her climactic fight scene to the song "I'm Just A Girl" by No Doubt. There are a few scenes like this, and they all elicited the same reaction of "fuck yeah!"

I think ..."

Awesome! I was going to check on this, but you saved me the trip :)