After all these years, the kind of anticipation and expectation because of the previous success with the last 20 something movies had made it hard for the Marvel Studio to keep reinventing itself. Not that their outings in Phase 4 are disappointing, in fact they are not for me, but then it seems to be getting harder and harder to quench the thirst of its fans, who keep wanting more, and at times, wanting things to go their way.
Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness was not bad at all. In fact I did enjoy it, even off the impact of my favorite WandaVision (I have watched it three times now) on Disney+, but it seemed to fall short of what everyone wants when it hit the theatres.
Therefore, I think it is great that now the Marvel Studio has a new platform - the Disney+, to continue exploring its creativity without the limits of the screening time in the theatres. As I mentioned, I totally love WandaVision, and then there were Loki, Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and Moon Knight. Now we have the completely different tone of Ms Marvel.
I haven’t followed Ms Marvel in the comics as closely, as it is a pretty new character, and I am kind of too busy in life to read new comics, but I do follow her stories generally. But for me, watching the show without the comic baggage, was a breath of fresh air for me, because I do not have specific expectations. I know enough without knowing too much, that’s how I enjoy watching Ms Marvel as a completely different experience.
Some people questioned whether Ms Marvel is just part of the ‘Woke Movement’ in the MCU, they questioned why we have to focus on Kamala Khan being Pakistani or Muslim. But they missed the point, it was who Kamala was, it is her naturally and nothing more and nothing less. Maybe the advertising was focusing on that, but that is also her point of difference, and that’s what I was expecting from the show.
And the show did not disappoint.
I think with directors and producers with the same cultural background to direct ‘cultural specific pieces’ in MCU is one of the strengths that Kevin Feige, who helms all the MCU projects has. In Shang-chi, I was surprised the details and accuracy it has in my culture, and I felt for the first time, not just liking a movie, but felt more associated with it. It is less impactful as Crazy Rich Asians, because it was a superhero movie after all, but the fact that it has actors I knew from childhood playing cultural roles that are not stereotypical made me feel a lot more at home while in the cinema.
And Ms Marvel has the same edge.
I personally have a lot of Indian and Pakistani friends, and I also studied Indian history when I was in high school comprehensively. So, the history and the tradition they were talking about, I was very aware and into it. I did not feel like I was Kamala, but I felt like I was her friend Bruno, not being one of them, but being accepted as one of them in their culture. All the Bollywood movies I watched with my friend’s mum, all the cooking and ‘speedy takeaways’ after dinner, were just so so familiar. And that’s part of the reason I really enjoyed it.
As an Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) entry, it also delivered a lot of core elements from the comics albeit several changes, which I think are reasonable from the story and adaptation point of view. For example, in the comics Kamala was an InHuman, and her powers were ‘unlocked’ by an event that happened in her city. Also her powers were not light based as shown in the show. However, that doesn't change who Kamala is a superhero. She is still a fan girl for Captain Marvel and she still wears a Captain Marvel inspired costume.
Iman Vanelli as the titular character was perfectly cast. The combination of teenage awkwardness and insecurity because of who she is in a prominently western world with first generation migrant parents was meticulously portrayed. A lot of us have been there, and some of us are still there despite being grown ups now. This kind of displaced feeling both at home and in the world is even stronger than the one in Shang-chi.
For me watching Ms Marvel is more than just watching a superhero series, but about identifying with who you are, and trying to fit into this world. The only additional complications are Kamala suddenly became a superhero and being wanted from all sides, for good reasons or not.
For the outsider, Bruno, it was played beautifully by Matt Lintz, as he didn't bring a stereotypical outsider view, but an insider outsider view, as he was fully adopted by Kamala's family. He also shows distinctive knowledge of the culture and was engrossed by it. It is a really change of tone that felt genuine and realistic.
I can go on and on about how a breath of fresh air Ms Marvel is, but it is hard to do it without spoiling it for others. As such, I strongly encourage everyone to watch it, experience it, instead of simply reading about it from me.
Ms Marvel is now streaming on Disney+.
