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Date: 11/17/2023
New to Theaters: “The Marvels”
Years ago, a new Marvel superhero film signified a seismic cultural event. I will never forget witnessing bustling crowds and constant chatter in the lobby during the opening nights of “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: End Game.” A palpable excitement resonated beyond the brand’s die-hard comic book fan demographic. It was evident that these films and the Marvel Cinematic Universe had helped elevate superheroes into a new popularity stratosphere.
Fast forward to today, that rousing excitement has evaporated. I went this weekend to check out the 33rd MCU film, the superhero ensemble “The Marvels,” and was greeted by tumbleweeds and empty seats. Once the film began, there were no enthusiastic cheers or hearty laughs, but rather an uncomfortable stillness that lingered throughout the theater. By the time the credits rolled, the few audience members escaped their seats before Marvel’s quintessential post-credit scene even came on. It is clear at this point, and from “The Marvels’” lackluster box office performance, that Marvel’s once undeniable gravity has diminished.
While I often fill the role of Marvel cynic, “The Marvels” is receiving an unfair hand in my book - another film that falls victim to industry headlines and overarching audience sentiments rather than assessments of the end product on display. Does that mean this is a delightful superhero surprise?
Not quite.
“The Marvels” soars with infectious enthusiasm in spurts and sinks into an uninspired malaise in others. The film does showcase considerable improvement over recent MCU blunders (“Thor: Love and Thunder” and “Ant-Man: Quantumania” are two of the laziest hero features to date). Still, the final product endures several familiar MCU pitfalls and lacks a sense of impact within the franchise’s interconnected universe.
Designed as a Captain Marvel sequel meshed with a superhero ensemble featuring emerging heroes Monica Rambeau and Ms. Marvel, “The Marvels” carries worthwhile ambitions. I appreciate that this sequel forgoes forced attempts at self-important grandiosity in favor of a more contained narrative. 2019’s “Captain Marvel” served as a lame-duck superhero origin story, inserting character development sparingly throughout as the audience never grew close to its titular character.
With “The Marvels,” Captain Marvel finally grows out of the character’s rigid shell. Teaming Captain Marvel’s stern, emotionally reserved disposition with two vivacious new heroes helps tremendously to develop the character’s personality. The trio, played by Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris and Iman Vellani, effortlessly establishes an affectionate rapport, naturally bouncing campy one-liners and loving affirmations off each other as they grow into a well-balanced team. Director Nia DaCosta also infuses a new verve into the proceedings. Her dynamism behind the camera helps establish some of the franchise’s best action setpieces in recent memory, including an uptempo fight where characters teleport with one another across an unlikely suburban battleground.
At its best, “The Marvels” newfound buoyancy injects a refreshing change of pace for the MCU. That is until the film eventually traverses toward the franchise’s generic formula. Whether it is the painfully uninteresting villain, forced MCU references, the neglected, McGuffin-driven storyline or the same forced attempts at comedy, “The Marvels” reeks of tired contrivances. It almost feels like two films are enduring battle against each other, with one combatant lunging toward a fresh new vision while the other drags its opponent through the same old superhero morass. Eventually, Marvel and Disney will need to realize that audiences seek films that feel unique from one another rather than projects that recycle the same fatigued elements repeatedly.
Clocking in at a short and sweet 105-minute runtime, “The Marvels” is consistently tolerable yet rarely compelling. The film delivers a frustratingly uneven superhero adventure that is more content with going through the motions rather than embracing its promising strengths.
New to Theaters: “Next Goal Wins”
Self-loathing football coach Thomas Rogen has spiraled down a personal and professional nader. After flaming out as a coach and disconnecting from his family, Rogen receives one last lifeline - an offer to coach the underdog American Samoa national team, a unit so dismal that they have never scored a goal. This challenge forces Rogen to evolve in unexpected ways in the sports comedy “Next Goal Wins.”
If you’ve seen a sports film before, you can probably guess where this journey is heading. Regardless, “Next Goal Wins” boasts an elevated pedigree compared to most athletic tales. Oscar-winning writer/director Taika Waitti has imprinted his signature quirk in several crowdpleasing favorites (“Thor: Ragnarok” and “Jojo Rabbit”), while lead actor Michael Fassbender has delivered towering performances across the past decade (Steve Jobs and Shame).
Somehow, “Next Goal Wins” assembles this winning team for a pitful losing affair. What should land as an open net goal sails wide right in a contrived and confounding missed opportunity.
“Next Goal Wins” extenuates Waitti’s worst attributes as an auteur. Despite his illustrious status, the filmmaker’s wistful whimsy can often be counter-balanced by mawkish sentimentality and groan-inducing gags. These tacky tendencies are growing more apparent as Waitti stretches himself thin across a deep roster of film and TV productions. For instance, “Thor Ragnarok” imbued a fresh and visually alluring spin on comic book campiness, but its long-awaited sequel, “Thor: Love and Thunder,” showcased the creative apathy one would expect from a student submitting a big project mere seconds before its deadline.
With “Next Goal Wins,” Waitti’s sensibilities plummet down a similar artistic rabbit hole. The film wears its feel-good sports movie mold as a badge of honor while attempting several self-aware kicks at dated traditions plaguing the genre, such as the well-charted underdog story and the problematic “white savior” complex. Adding introspection to well-worn narrative devices is a much-needed inclusion for the sports genre. Unfortunately, the film never meaningfully engages with these pretenses. Aside from a half-hearted quip here and there, “Next Goal Wins” mainly meanders down the same well-traveled road audiences have endured far too frequently.
The glaring lack of nuance only exacerbates the hackneyed sports movie conditions Waitti is trying to confront. This is most apparent through the depiction of Jaiyah Saelua, a transgender athlete who tries to break through the sport’s toxic traditions. An authentic, three-dimensional approach to Jaiyah would serve as a welcomed condemnation of the rigid “boys club” customs fueling some of our culture’s most troubling conditions. Instead, the film serves up a clunky Disney Channel-esque after-school special, screaming insincere insights that only hamper worthwhile observations. The entire American Samona team is burdened with similarly lackluster execution. Everything is defined by a singular and somewhat obnoxious character trait, leaving little room for viewers to engrain themselves in the film’s fascinating cultural landscape.
To be fair, distributors Disney/Searchlight Pictures also played a significant role in the film’s failures. Following several delays, “Next Goal Win’s” roughshod execution screams of a film butchered in the editing process. Storylines are pursued one minute before becoming a bizarre afterthought the next.
Thomas’s central journey is mainly left unexplored, and the whole endeavor never discovers a comfortable pace to dribble at. “Next Goal Wins’” malformed nature truly punctuates Disney’s incompetent handling of Searchlight Pictures. The studio was a once-proud pioneer for independent cinema (“Slumdog Millionaire,” “12 Years a Slave” and “Juno”), but now exists as a dilapidated husk of its former glory days.
“Next Goal Wins” isn’t a complete blowout. There are glimmers where Waitti’s quintessential quirks shine through, and Fassbender’s sheer gravitas does enhance his portrayal of embattled coach Thomas Rogen. Sadly, these periodic bright spots will only leave audiences wishing for a far more cohesive experience.