The Marvel Cinematic Universe isn’t what it was a decade or so ago. Just imagine that, around that time, the first Avengers film came out and it made it seem like Marvel could do no wrong. Flash forward to today and fans have been giving rather tepid reviews and reactions to the MCU’s latest releases. Even me, despite having subscribed to Disney+ on the very first day it was released, I haven’t really bothered to keep up with the latest Marvel Cinematic Universe releases.

So, I pretty much went into The Marvels, the latest MCU movie release, with somewhat low expectations. This is probably why, from my point of view, I will say it was… okay. But if you want to get into the SPOILER FREE details on why I say that, read on.

The Marvels takes place after WandaVision and directly at the end of the Ms. Marvel Disney+ series. Monica Rambeau, now working under Nick Fury in SABER, investigates a spacetime anomaly and, as a result, causes her, Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers and Ms. Marvel/Kamala Khan to become quantum entangled, which is a fancy way of saying that, whenever two of them use their powers at the same time, they would sometimes switch places instantaneously. The trio must team up and take on Dar-Benn, the new leader of the Kree empire, as she has nefarious plans to return her race and her home planet back to glory.

I will say the entire gimmick of the titular Marvels switching places whenever they use their powers was interesting. Too bad the rest of the film’s story is pretty bad for a variety of reasons. For one, a lot of it is told using exposition. And it’s not told in very convincing manner either as it never really comes up in a natural way. They just blurt things out because they need to tell the viewer on what’s happening. Also, there is a weird amount of filler here, which is weird as the Marvels only runs for around 105 minutes, including the credits. I would’ve been fine if the filler was interesting but it’s mostly there so that Nick Fury has something to do.

The overall editing also comes across as very choppy. There are some area transitions where characters don’t seem like their supposed to be where they show up from scene to scene. And that’s not because they’re doing that entire quantum entanglement switching deal. They’re just sitting in a chair when, in the last scene, they were left behind in a different room. It’s hard to explain as this is a SPOILER FREE review and, frankly, I don’t think many people will notice these specific details. But it just seems like there are things that were cut out to make the Marvel run quicker rather than smoother.

You know how some people are getting tired about the signature Marvel humor, where there will be some comedy mixed in with the dramatic scenes. Well, this is very evident in the Marvels as there are some dramatic scenes that were never given time to marinate. Characters will mention how sad they are and then move on to the next scene. What’s worse is that these moments are never given a really satisfying conclusion. Once again, I feel the more dramatic elements were cut out and reshoots were done to limit the drama as well as make the comedy more pronounced. Also, the comedy bits aren’t really executed all that well. The ideas behind the comedy is good but the execution kinda falls flat.

I will say, however, the acting does range from really good to… good. The standout here is definitely Iman Venali as Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel. As a teenager who idolizes superheroes, the Avengers and, specifically, Captain Marvel, you can understand her enthusiasm throughout the entire adventure. I mean, getting to team up with your favorite superhero should be a big deal for her and her innocent excitement does come off as very endearing. Kamala Khan’s family also does a more than respectable job of being the comedy relief but I did enjoy their family dynamic as a whole. It even makes me want to watch Ms. Marvel on Disney+ in the future.

The rest of the cast does fall into the “good” category. No one comes off as terrible but I will say a lot of the cast don’t really have a lot to do and, as such, come off as underdeveloped. Brie Larson does come off better as Captain Marvel/Brie Larson in the Marvels as she’s more down-to-earth this time around. Teyonah Parris’ Monica Rambeau is okay but the character herself comes off as really bland. Same thing can be said for Dar-Benn, the film’s antagonist. Heck, even Samuel Jackson’s Nick Fury just seems to be there because he was in Captain Marvel and, like Kamala Khan’s family, seems to function more along the lines of comedy relief. This lack of personality from the characters does also hurt the movie quite a bit because it’s kind of hard to connect with them when there isn’t any character to speak of.

The action sequences are… weird as they’re both good and bad all at the same time. The first batch of action sequences, where you do see Captain Marvel, Monica Rambeau and Ms. Marvel constantly changing locations through time and space is really fun. But, at the same time, you really have to suspend your disbelief as you’re supposed to accept someone like Kamala Khan, a teenager without any formal combat training against aliens, to be able to survive against trained Kree soldiers. They’re exciting but really stretches the believability in this manner.

So, why did I say, at the start of the review, I thought the Marvels was okay when I’ve been ragging on the film pretty much throughout this entire review. Well, that’s because, for this review, I’m trying to be as objective as possible. I’m judging the movie based on its own merits and demerits. And with all that in mind, I can’t really say the Marvels is a good flick.

However, I did walk into the theater expecting a terrible movie and, well, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. So, yeah. I guess I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. That doesn’t mean it’s a well made movie and something I would recommend. I don’t think you need to watch the Marvels in the theaters nor should you even watch it on Disney+ when it becomes available on its first day. I say watch it when you feel like you have nothing to do. I mean, it’s just a little over an hour and a half. There are much worse ways to spend that amount of time, right?

Have you seen the Marvels? What did you think of it? Let me know in the comments section below!