Vers (Brie Larson) is a Kree soldier under the tutelage of Yon-Rogg (Jude Law). Unable to remember her past and decode her dreams she is constantly told to keep her emotions in check to be a better warrior. When a dangerous mission to rescue a spy from the grasps of the evil shape shifting Skrull’s goes wrong she finds herself on Earth where she starts to make some connections to her history. Set in the 1990’s Vers meets a pre-avengers Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and forms an alliance with him in her investigations.

The 21st film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe expects you to be able to keep up in terms of its lore. So you should have a vague idea of the Kree and Skrull’s from previous films but if you want to do any preparation the film you should watch before hand is Guardians of the Galaxy, especially as Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace) and Korath (Djimon Hounsou) feature here.

Captain Marvel brings a nice change of pace to Marvel films and it is clearly important to them that this is an anthem for feminism. Why that seems to be an issue for men I really don’t understand (I even heard two guys complaining about this in the queue to get into the film). And if it helps they do soften the blow to male ego by having the moral be about humanity having the ability to pick itself up again and again. The manner in which Vers learns of her past is expertly put together though and Brie Larson does a great job of conveying the human versus the Kree in her character.

Elsewhere it does everything you would expect from a Marvel film. The action sequences are good, there is plenty of humour and the effects are excellent. The de-ageing effects employed in previous films are now faultless. Another link to Guardians here is the awesome soundtrack. As a 90’s teenager I was very happy with Nine Inch Nails and Smashing Pumpkins featuring in costume and props and the likes of No Doubt, Hole, Garbage and Nirvana featuring during the film. Other 90’s fun includes the jokes about computer loading times and dial up Internet.

In terms of performances, it’s at its best when Larson and Jackson are on screen together. They have great chemistry and it brings out a lot of humour, especially when you add Goose the cat to the equation. Whilst big name newcomers such as Jude Law, Ben Mendelsohn and Annette Bening all acquit themselves well. This is Larson’s show though and she is excellent throughout.

Other Marvel things to be aware of are that it has a mid and end credits sting and opens with a nice tribute to Stan Lee, whose cameo in the film is great fun.

Another success for Marvel films.