Captain Marvel

The passages on the Ground in which Carol grabs her memories of the past and discovers her strength and bravery in the present (and in the cockpit of the plane) are the highlights of the film. The always formidable Annette Bening is alluringly fleetingly present in the role of a mysterious mentor in Carol's past life. And Lashana Lynch helps reveal Carol's identity as her best friend, a fellow pilot who never got the chance she deserved because she was a woman and a young mother. But Carol's most useful and consistently interesting relationship is with a young S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Nick Fury, played by a magically aged Samuel L. Jackson with the help of magical visual effects. Truly, the result was seamless. You will forget that this is a 70-year-old man. Larson and Jackson play well with each other, easily exchanging witticisms and affectionate barbs. Their mission is to find a glowing cosmic cube-you know what it is and why it's important if you've been following these movies-and keep it out of the wrong hands, but that's the least intriguing component of Captain Marvel. But her camaraderie with Jackson, and then with the witty Mendelssohn and the fantastically scene-stealing orange kitten named Gus, ultimately serves as a reminder of how little Larson is in the character. Unlike the role of Captain America in The Avengers, Captain Marvel here acts as a straight woman, a reliable anchor in a sea of big, bubbling personalities.