I don’t like going to the cinema. Which may come as a surprise to many who know me, given that I really enjoy films. Sadly the experience has been gradually ruined over the years, the enjoyment whittled away by cinemas increasing prices, making seats less comfortable, locating cinemas miles away (I used to walk to the one where I grew up) and forcing us to pick our seats before walking in so we had no idea who we’d end up sat next to and couldn’t move if someone we didn’t like sat next to us. And don’t get me started on the huge push on 3D.
The last film I saw at the cinema was the vastly overrated Black Panther (Of all the superhero films, that was the one which swept the Oscars? Really) and I spent half the film trying not to be sick as the man I ended up sat next to stank. I mean, really bad. A stomach-churning odour as if he’d not washed in many months, and had been sleeping in his clothes for the entire time. If it wasn’t for the stupid “pick your seat before entry” policy, I’d not have sat next to him. Or I’d have moved.
Anyway, flash forward about a year to the holidays and the desire to spend some time with The Boy. Avengers End Game‘s arse-numbing 3+ hours is about to land in cinemas and I knew that Captain Marvel was the last film in sequence which needed to be seen before it. I didn’t fancy trying to dodge spoilers in two major films for months before DVD/streaming release so bit the bullet and headed in for an 11am performance. Thankfully the place was pretty much deserted so it was no problem getting seats nowhere near anyone else.
And I’m glad we did. What a great film. Initially a bit confusing with all the flashbacks (two segments full of them), it gradually came together and answered so many questions about the MCU / Avengers some of which we’d not even asked. The “stepped back in time” appearances from some characters we were already familiar with was good, the action sequences not overblown, there were plenty of humorous quotes and I even loved the opening Marvel montage made up of images of Stan Lee – a great tribute. It’ll be quite sad to see his final cameo in that upcoming Avengers film (though apparently he may somehow be in the next Spiderman one – maybe CGI?).
So, anyway. That’s why Captain Marvel is today’s picture. I would have taken a photo in the cinema but apparently they have an issue with that.
