Top Ten #22 - Top Ten Characters in Captain Marvel

Top Ten #22 - Top Ten Characters in Captain Marvel

Captain Marvel continues Marvel's success of introducing great characters into the fray. But some are better than others. This list looks at ten important characters in the film and how they rank. This is completely my opinion and subjective; you are entitled to your own opinion, as you should be with all other lists of this nature. Let's get into it.

10. Ronan the Accuser: I'm not going to lie. There are no spoilers in this post, but Ronan the Accuser has a nothing role. He could have been taken out and you would've barely noticed. That's not to say that seeing him again wasn't nice; as much as I don't really like him in Guardians of the Galaxy, it's great to see MCU villains returning. But at the same time, what was the point of him being in the movie? Next to nothing, if you ask me. 

9. Annette Bening's Character: Continuing with the trend of no spoilers, we have Annette Bening. Her character is more important that I had originally thought, so it's not exactly the same criteria that I have with Ronan. I just thought that the performance was extremely bland and forgettable, and there wasn't much character arc invested in at all. There was so much that you could have gone into, and maybe in a future installment, there will be more backstory. But for this film? She was completely underwhelming.

8. Jude Law's Character: You know, with all the hype surrounding who Jude Law would be playing (no spoilers), regardless of his name, his character was of little consequence. Jude Law is a world class actor, make no mistake. So it surprised how incredibly one-note and boring his performance was. There was almost no subtlety with his performance. It's not entirely his fault, granted. The script and screenplay don't really do him any favors. BUT, judging the character on the whole, combining the performance and the character itself, I was even more underwhelmed than I was for the previous two. 

7. Monica Rambeau: The young daughter of Maria Rambeau, she doesn't have much to do in the film. The danger with child actors and children in film is that they usually are bad actors and can take you out of a movie. Luckily, the young girl playing Monica Rambeau was enjoyable. She had charm, wit, and energy, and was likable enough when she was onscreen. She will presumably have a much bigger role in the future, for those of you who know the comics, but for now, she was fun to watch bounce off Carol. 

6. Phil Coulson: Another character that we were looking forward to seeing again in Captain Marvel was Phil Coulson. We last saw him in the MCU films in The Avengers. And while when he was onscreen, he was great as usual, Clark Gregg wasn't given much to do either. This is really a movie of wasted potential. But then again, Coulson didn't really need to do much. It's the case of "why did it have to be Coulson? It could've been anyone" versus "if you had this type of character, might as well have been Coulson". Then again, am I ever going to complain about seeing Gregg play this character onscreen? Absolutely not.

5. Maria Rambeau: Surprisingly, Maria Rambeau, Carol's connection Earth, was a very emotionally satisfying and fulfilling character. She is Carol's connection to her life before space, and when she returns to Earth, Maria is what brings her back. It's refreshing to see a friendship be a connection between a powerful character and her humanity. Lynch's performance was strong, and just what it needed to be.  

4. Carol Danvers: For what it's worth, Larson's Carol Danvers is not fourth on the list as a discredit to her performance. Many argue that her performance was bland, dull, one-note, and even terrible. I argue that she brings the same sort of charisma that Chris Evans does to his role as Steve Rogers, and then some. That sass that she has, mixed with the stoic desire to do good makes for a compelling character, and a leader. You can easily see how she would be able to lead a team that even included A-list Avengers. She's going to ft right in to Avengers: Endgame and the future of the MCU.

3. Nick Fury: Nick Fury is a hardened character who has seen his fair share when we catch up with him in "present"-day, come the first Iron Man. But in the 1990s, Fury was a working man, moving his way up the ranks of SHIELD. Samuel L. Jackson doesn't just play Nick Fury, or even a caricature of himself. He plays Nick Fury thirty years ago. A young, jovial spirit who sees everything for the first time and is introduced to the world of superheroes and space. He and Larson play so incredibly well off of each other, and Jackson knows just went to put that little jaded edge to the character, before reverting back to the happy-go-lucky SHIELD agent. It's not the Nick Fury that we have come to know and love, but it's Nick Fury all the same. 

2. Goose: This cat might have single-handedly carried this movie up a few notches. The only reason that he's not number one was because there wasn't necessarily any character development, but can you blame the filmmakers? There's no need. Regardless, this cat stole every single scene he was in. That's all I'm going to say. Because that's all you need to know. 

1. Talos: What surprised me most about Talos was the subtlety of the character. Ben Mendelssohn does an amazing job with characters like this, broken characters who have a storied past that fuels their motivation. Talos is not your typical villain. Far from it. The way this character was written and the way he was performed was so different in the best possible way.  I don't know why I ever doubted that this character could be this good; I suppose it's the stigma of "Marvel villains" - but Talos stole the show. Hands down.