MovieChat Forums > Captain Marvel (2019) Discussion > It's not Brie Larson, it's the writing.....

It's not Brie Larson, it's the writing...

posted 3 years ago by Otter (24464)
12 replies | jump to latest

No, Brie Larson hasn't made Captain Marvel into a scene-stealing fan fave, but what actor could? The character was written as a woman who spent her early life on earth stifling her personality in order to fit into a male-dominated environment, and then she had her personality taken away and was told to stifle any feelings and individuality she had to fit into a warrior culture. In the solo film, she's written as someone who's had all the charm, humor, personality, warmth, and interpersonal skills that don't involve violence stomped out of her.

I hope the sequel shows Danvers developing some personality, blossoming into the person she was meant to be, learning to live rather than just fight, etc. Maybe then she'll be fun.

[–] FilmBuff (6736) 3 years ago

A lot of critics seem to miss that, rather obvious, fact. Larson nailed the character she was given. The entire story was built around her having lost her humanity, and living as if she were Kree. Her flat affect and calculating manner weren't flaws, they were character traits.

[–] Otter (24464) 3 years ago

Yeah, there wasn't much that an actor could do with the role the writers had created, she was specifically written as being all business and no personality, for reason that were shown in the movie. My only criticism of Larson is that she played the character as very much the same in "Endgame", she could have shown Danvers as reborn and glowing, as startlingly changed by the years as Banner, but she was still stiff and all business.

Contrast her with the Wonder Woman of the recent films, where Gadot was given a character who was glowing with the self-confidence that comes from being raised by a thousand adoring mothers and never having been anyone but her own true self, everyone loved that character for one reason or another! Not everyone could have done it, and Gadot didn't do much else, but get did that rare warm glow of self-actualization right.

[–] ManToTrust (1648) 3 years ago

I disagree that her performance was purposely flat. There were numerous times she smirked, and that doesn’t elude to someone who’s been oppressed of emotions.

Take for example the character Nebula, who exhibits an emotionally oppressed state in a convincing way. That actress nailed it. Brie’s performance was just confusing.

[–] SageMaster33 (859) 3 years ago

according to you Brie Larson did an amazing job in portraying a character "who's had all the charm, humor, personality, warmth, and interpersonal skills that don't involve violence stomped out of her"

are you serious 😐

[–] Otter (24464) 3 years ago

I don't think she did an amazing job with the character. But I don't think any other actor could have done better, the writers just didn't give an actor anything to work with.

[–] Burk48917 (11048) 3 years ago

Dr Strange is written as withdrawn, self centered, all business, unlikeable and self centered, and Cumberbatch absolutely crushed it. It's an actor's job to elevate the character with nuance and subtly, and a successful role does that regardless of the written script. Brie failed at that in this movie.

[–] Otter (24464) 3 years ago

I concede that Larson failed to make the script seem better than it is.

Good point, because did you know that's how I separate the good actors from the very best? Of course you don't, and you wouldn't care if I'd told you before! But really, the very best actors can make a finished work better than it had any right to be, they improve the script as they go along. I mean, when Helen Mirren was onscreen in those godawful "RED" movies, suddenly things got fun! Somehow, when she was in the frame, the dreadful script and embarrassed co-stars didn't matter, it was entertaining until she left and Bruce Willis took over.

I suppose Larsen can be very good, I haven't seen her Oscar role, but yeah. She definitely wasn't Helen Mirren good.

[–] huwdj (4562) 3 years ago

Has Helen Morten always been 'Helen Mirren good'? She's been a star of mostly stage and sometimes screen for a long time but it's only the last 10ish years, perhaps a little longer, that we've had the iconic Helen Mirren who can lift any film a notch or two.

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8341) 3 years ago

It's a combination of the writing and Brie.

The main problem with the writing is that the character is way too powerful. The main problem with Brie is that she is herself.

Not only does she, on screen, come off as stand-offish and arrogant, but her real-life behavior also does her no favors. Even her co-workers don't seem to like her.

[–] GreenGoblinsOck8 (7449) 3 years ago

I admit I enjoyed the movie more than most comics fans who are familiar with the history of the character. But it's more that some people just were turned off by the way they did it with her being emotionless. Funnily enough the original character wasn't really done like the movie at all. But there were quite a few people who went under the name Captain Marvel before Carol did. There's also the original Captain Marvel who was a Kree who rejected his own people and their ways and some comic fans wish they could've had him at the beginning instead of a Kree Scientist. Funnily enough when Carol got her powers in the comics she didn't go live with the Kree for several years. She was kidnapped by the Kree but was rescued by the original Kree Captain Marvel who as I just said rejects his people and their ways.

The real conflict in the original comics is that her Kree given powers worked in a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde type of way. Carol would just be doing the ordinary things in her personal life when she would transform into Ms. Marvel against her will. She was Ms. Marvel before she got the mantle of Captain Marvel. She also didn't have control over her Ms. Marvel personality/powers. At one point she came close to killing a villain in her Ms. Marvel form.

I liked the movie fine but after reading some of the original Captain Marvel comics I can understand comics fans' complaints about how they did the movie. Marvel just wanted a female superhero right away and so the original Captain Marvel was just snubbed in favor of Carol.

[–] ManToTrust (1648) 3 years ago

No, it's Brie.

[–] GreenGoblinsOck8 (7449) 3 years ago

[deleted]