If you want to know how much fun comic book storytelling was, if you want to check the girl-power in the Marvel universe, and if you want to see other desi parents act weird like yours, The Marvels has it all.

Since the day Captain Marvel/ Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) ended up in Ms Marvel’s room (Iman Vellani) in the climax of the TV miniseries Ms Marvel, kids wanted to see their favourite Pakistani-American superhero team up with her idol and fight the bad guys. With the conclusion of WandaVision and the obvious inclusion of Capt. Monica Rambeau (Teyonnah Parris) in the group, The Marvels became the most sought-after film for them.

Brie Larson successfully leads a trio of Light-Force Heroines in a sequel, way better than the original Captain Marvel. The three ‘super-girls’ are brought together by a malfunctioning jump point, where a beaming-eyed Pakistani-American teenager joins hands with a wise Capt. Monica — grownup daughter of Carol Danvers’ best friend and her idol herself. We also get to know why Monica avoided talking about Danvers in WandaVision, but soon that became a thing of the past. Danvers also had problems with her past and that led her back to Hala, a planet she had no fond memories of.

Somewhere in the middle, the film becomes a physics class with lectures on jump points, quantum bands, intergalactic theories and the sun’s importance in a planetary cycle. Zawe Ashton as Darr-Benn, happened to own a quantum band similar to the one used by Kamala and obviously, she goes for the possession of the second, to do good for her Kree people. She was less threatening than Josh Brolin’s Thanos from Avengers but powerful enough to tackle all three Marvels at once.

Another thing that could tackle any super-villain was also there, yes, the family of Kamala Khan, the alter ego of Ms Marvel. Just like typical Pakistani families, where mothers keep a sharp eye on kids’ movements, while the father’s advice is never-ending. After an opening fight scene with aliens, where Kamala’s parents try hard to be brave, they question their daughter later, but first they ask her to clean up the mess. The use of Urdu words like jahannum, paaji, jaan le loongi, and referring to Nick Fury as Nicolas reminds one of their parents.

Directed by Nia Dacosta, the 105-minute movie is fun for the entire family. Selecting a female director for an all-star female action movie was a wise decision by the MCU. More from the girls is needed!

Published in Dawn, Young World, January 13th, 2024