The Marvels (2023)

  Finally got around to seeing this, long after it might have mattered.  It's officially considered a flop and it shouldn't be.  People talk about "superhero fatigue" but I've never bought that.  "Shitty story fatigue" in the case of DC, maybe.  "Shitty fandom rage-baiting over a move towards non-white, non-male superhero stories" combined with "multi-billion dollar studio having no faith in their non-white, non-male audiences" maybe.  Even though it's consistently proven again and again that Black-led and women-led films gross huge at the box office when they're not being condescended to.

Captain Marvel (Brie Larsen), Captain Monica "No Superhero Name" Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), and Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani) find themselves switching places through the galaxy whenever any of them use their powers at the same time.  For Carol and Monica, this is an awkward found-family reunion concerning things not said over the death of Monica's mother (Latasha Lynch), Monica's blipping, and Carol's guilt.  Kamala is just ecstatic to be included.  But the fan-girling will have to wait as the Kree empire has found a new leader in Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton) and she is on a mission to punish Captain Marvel for her crimes.  The three superheroes must put aside their issues and learn to work together to save billions of lives.

Maybe it sounds like feminist conspiracy theories but honestly, I do think a small contingent of terminally online incels deliberately started a smear campaign.  There's nothing wrong with this movie that isn't the same thing wrong with a half dozen other Marvel movies.  Yes, it relies on cuteness instead of making subtle political points but so what?  Not every Marvel entry can be The Winter Soldier.  Ragnarok was hilarious but it was hardly Shakespeare.  And maybe that is part of the problem.  The studio clearly didn't want to put a heavy-hitting storyline in a female-led film, which is why they tried to hamstring Black Widow.  

And The Marvels is super-cute!  Iman Vellani brings all of the heart from her TV show (and her whole family) to bear and I would have watched a full two-hours of Nick Fury patiently dealing with her exuberance.  Frankly, I appreciate Marvel using sequels to pay off jokes made in previous entries.  That works for me.

Your mileage may vary, however.  It's currently streaming on Disney+.