Captain Marvel: Is it the endgame for desi trolls?

Women heroes clearly do bring the boys the yard

This Friday, while watching the first day first show of ‘Captain Marvel’, the desi boys did us proud.

In much of the western world, ‘Captain Marvel’ has been bringing out the grumpy keyboard ‘warriors’ – read: trolls – who decided long before the film was actually released that they hated the penultimate film in Marvel’s Avengers story because it was, they alleged, a feminist takeover. (Never mind the minor detail that Captain Marvel is the first female superhero in the Marvel universe and this is the only film in the 22-film franchise with a female co-director.) Within hours of ‘Captain Marvel’ opening in theatres around the world, more than 58,000 reviews had been posted on the website Rotten Tomatoes, all of them review-bombing the film. According to The Hollywood Reporter, that’s more than the total of audience score reviews for ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ in its entire theatrical run. Women heroes clearly do bring the boys the yard.

In Bandra, however, the scene was very different. The first time Carol Danvers, aka Vers, aka Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) appeared on screen, the boys and men (and women) whooped. When her fist turned into a fiery, gleaming weapon that slammed the commander of the Starforce to the wall, the boys unleashed admiring catcalls. Every logic-busting, science-defying development in her marvellous abilities was greeted with delight. When she delivered dialogues that cut male egos down to size, they whistled. And by the time ‘Captain Marvel’ was in its final act, I had to agree with the man sitting next to me when he whispered, “Thanos ki toh phatne waali hai.”

Written by Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck (who co-directed the film) and Geneva Robertson-Dworet, ‘Captain Marvel’ is thoroughly enjoyable even though it isn’t technically the best movie in the franchise. It’s funny but doesn’t offer the big laughs that the first Avengers or Guardians of the Galaxy films did. Neither is it as visually breathtaking as ‘Black Panther’ and occasionally, it feels like an earnest, well-made, public service announcement for women’s empowerment. All this is balanced out by stellar acting performances (particularly from Samuel L Jackson and Larson), a healthy reverence for cats and writing that is layered with complexity. And the fact that ‘Captain Marvel’ is a film without a bad guy.

As Vers, Captain Marvel is a warrior trained to follow orders in the militaristic society. Eventually, however, she learns to ask questions and in the process, realises that context decides whether someone is on the ‘right’ side. The takedown of the chain-of-command culture is subtle, but unmistakable. As Carol, she embraces her weaknesses and finds strength in the relationship she shares with Maria Rambeau, a mother and pilot who deserves her own film. As Captain Marvel, she realises the importance of failure and that humanity’s greatest quality is its ability to get back on its feet after a fall.

So it’s fitting that the overarching baddie turns out to be something that isn’t known for its appreciation of nuance.

SPOILER ALERT: The real villain in ‘Captain Marvel’ is artificial intelligence. (Alexa, Siri, cover your eyes and ears.) Artificial intelligence, the supreme authority in the Kree civilisation, is the equivalent of the divine and considered incapable of mistakes. Like religion in our societies, it requires you to follow rules, empowers warriors at one level and deludes them in others. Captain Marvel’s real fight is not the one in which she blows things up – though that one is pretty spectacular and makes Iron Man forcing a single nuclear missile to do a u-turn seem like a puny effort – but an intellectual tussle for autonomy.

No wonder the trolls, with their herd mentality, find ‘Captain Marvel’ unsettling.