The Marvels comes at a strange time for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The four-year gap since Captain Marvel, the fun but forgettable origin story for Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers, feels like an eternity. And for MCU fans, it has been, with the studio releasing 11 new movies and eight shows while superhero pandemonium gave way to superhero fatigue (those box office numbers don’t lie). But along the way, there have been a few undeniable bright spots, and, for its first 40 minutes or so, The Marvels looks like one of those bright spots. But the disarmingly funny and occasionally exciting team-up movie eventually succumbs to the many problems it’s inherited.
