Teamwork, action violence in fun, woman-centered MCU tale.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Violence & Scariness
some
Several alarming, destructive scenes of the Kree siphoning natural resources from other planets and leaving the inhabitants to die as their planets crumble. Kree warriors and Marvels battle each other with fists, kicks, and weapons (laser guns, spears, knives, scarves, missiles, etc.). Spaceship dogfights, pursuits, crashes. People are hurt, some presumably killed, and planets are terribly damaged. Characters are stabbed, shot at, and die in supernatural ways. In one disturbing sequence, the heroes can't evacuate an entire population in time and watch as the planet -- and everyone left on it -- is destroyed. The Kree homeworld of Hala is in imminent danger of destruction due to its dying sun and lost resources. Flerken cat monsters use their tentacles to swallow people and objects whole and then spit them out later.
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Positive messages about the strength and power of teamwork and female friendship. It's important to take responsibility for your actions and to atone if you've done something wrong or in error. Family accepts you no matter what mistakes you've made. Also themes of perseverance, courage, and empathy.
Positive Role Models
a lot
Carol, Monica, and Kamala are strong, brave, and empathetic. They persevere and learn to work together as a team when their powers become entangled. The villain is complicated: She's hurting others while trying to save her own people from doom. The Khans are protective but understanding of Kamala's calling to be a superhero. Nick Fury is encouraging and believes in The Marvels.
Diverse Representations
a lot
Strong female representation both in front of and behind the camera. Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) was the MCU's first female superhero to get a stand-alone movie. Ms. Marvel is the MCU's first Muslim Pakistani American superhero. Monica Rambeau is a Black female superhero. Antagonist Dar-Benn is a woman and is played by Zawe Ashton, who's of Ugandan and English descent. The filmmakers are mostly women, too, including director Nia DaCosta and co-writers Megan McDonnell and Elissa Karasik. Positive supporting female characters include Monica's mother/Carol's best friend Maria (in flashbacks) and Kamala's loving mother, Mrs. Khan. Cast is racially diverse overall, including actors who are Black, Asian, South Asian. Crowds and background characters are diverse in terms of race and body type.
Parents need to know that The Marvels is a Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movie that brings together the heroes of Captain Marvel, Ms. Marvel, and WandaVision. Carol Danvers (Brie Larson), Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani), and Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) must figure out how their powers have gotten entangled so that they can work together to stop the Kree from destroying other planets. Although there's plenty of action violence and peril, plus a smattering of strong language (mostly "s--t" and "damn"), this movie is less intense and bloodily violent than some other MCU films. Expect lots of fights (with weapons including laser guns, spears, knives, and more) between the three superheroes and the primary villain and her minions. There are also moments of large-scale devastation when planets are stripped of air, water, and more -- sometimes before all of their inhabitants can be evacuated or saved. This woman-centered story offers positive messages about the strength and power of teamwork and female friendship. Plus, the film's behind-the-scenes credits include a female director, co-writers, composer, and more. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.
I loved watching it. I loved being in the theatre for it and I absolutely loved every minute with Kamala Khan and her family. Is the plot convoluted...sure. Did you have to watch the Marvel TV series in order to fully understand the film...yep. But I have done all of that and was tickled to watch these three strong actresses interact and work together. It all looked like an expensively good time.
What's the Story?
In THE MARVELS, Kree warrior Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton) finds an arm bangle that gives her the power to create holes in the space-time continuum. When Carol Danvers (Brie Larson), aka Captain Marvel, investigates one such incident, she ends up trading places with Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani), aka Ms. Marvel, who in turn switches with Captain Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), entangling the three superheroes' powers. Every time they simultaneously use their powers, they magically trade off. Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) encourages the trio to work together to solve the mystery of their enmeshed powers and stop the Kree from destroying other planets by siphoning off their resources. As the three women form an alliance, Kamala's family must hang out with Fury and his agents on the SABER space station for their safety.
Thanks to Vellani and Rambeau, this MCU entry embraces the clever and goofy fan in all of us. No, The Marvels isn't the "best" Marvel movie, and the trio does't have the emotional gravitas of the three past and present Peter Parkers in Spider-Man: No Way Home. But that's definitely not the point here. Director Nia DaCosta, working from a script she wrote with Megan McDonnell and Elissa Karasik, explores the joy of Kamala's secret fantasies about collaborating with Captain Marvel actually coming true. On the flip side, Rambeau's fraught past with her "Aunt Carol" provides the heart of the story, as she and Carol are decades overdue for a heart-to-heart conversation. Carol herself is slightly less interesting than her protégés, except for when it's discovered that she has unexpected alliances of her own across the universe.
Plot-wise, thanks to the proliferation of the Disney/Marvel properties, the movie is all over the place. It has to provide exposition about characters and developments associated with various TV shows, in addition to previous movies. Planets and civilizations are brought up in one sequence and then never discussed again. And the special effects are a bit lackluster for a Marvel film; they're more on par with what you'd expect from the small screen. On the plus side, the cat-presenting Flerkens are back -- and hilarious. In keeping with the movie's woman-centered story, the Kree villain is also a woman, and Ashton plays her with a grimace-filled zeal. Despite the film's uneven execution, audiences will surely want more of Monica's story, more Ms. Marvel seasons, and more Flerken kitties.
Why does representation -- of gender, race, ethnicity, and more -- matter? Why is it important that women have a hand in making big, popular movies? What's the potential consequence when the majority of films come from only one gender?
MPAA explanation:
action/violence and brief language
Last updated:
August 23, 2024
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By Sandie Angulo Chen
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