Story
Vers (Brie Larson) is an extra-terrestrial Kree soldier from the planet Hala. She’s thrown into the middle of an interplanetary war between the Kree and the shapeshifting Skrulls. After escaping capture by the Skrull leader, Talos (Ben Mendelsohn), Vers finds herself trapped on planet Earth in the year 1995.
As Vers battles the invading Skrulls, she begins to realise that the ‘dreams’ she has been having are in fact flashbacks from another life on Earth – life as US Air Force pilot, Carol Danvers. With the help of Shield agent, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), Vers tries to uncover what the Skrull are looking for and how to stop them, all the while trying to control her growing powers and find the key to unlocking her past.
Themes
Responsibility; empowerment; sexism against women
Violence
Captain Marvel has some violence. For example:
- There are hand-to-hand combat sequences throughout. Main characters tend to appear relatively unhurt, despite the intensity of the fighting.
- Characters use laser guns and normal guns against each other, sometimes with fatal results.
- There are frequent battle and fight sequences. For example, characters are thrown around, beaten, shot and so on.
Sexual references
Captain Marvel has some sexual references. For example:
- Nick Fury looks under a sheet covering a dead alien’s pelvic region to see whether it has genitals.
- A male character makes a suggestive joke about the cockpit.
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
Captain Marvel doesn’t show characters actually drinking alcohol, but it does show characters hanging out in a bar.
Nudity and sexual activity
Nothing of concern
Product placement
The following products are displayed or used in Captain Marvel:
- Blockbuster Video
- RadioShack
- AT&T
- Game Boy
- Sony computers
- Converse shoes
- Uno
- Ford cars
- Guinness beer
- Budweiser beer
- Miller beer
- Michelob beer.
Coarse language
Captain Marvel has some mild coarse language.
Ideas to discuss with your children
Captain Marvel is the action-packed origin story of the half-human, half-alien superhero, Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers. With strong performances and visuals, this story of female empowerment is an exciting watch for teenagers and adults alike.
We recommend parental guidance for children under 12 years, because of the movie’s supernatural themes, action violence and mild coarse language. Children under 8 years are likely to find aspects of this movie distressing or frightening.
Values in this movie that you could reinforce with your children include
- being responsible
- thinking for yourself
- not passing judgment based on other people’s opinions.
This movie could also give you the chance to talk with your children about real-life issues like:
- sexism toward women: this is a central theme of the movie
- stealing: Carol steals a motorbike from a man who is sexist toward her but the context makes the stealing seem justified.