It’s been a few weeks since I first mentioned my intentions of reviewing the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) in chronological order.

It’s weirdly a happy accident that the second installment in the timeline — as it currently stands — is named “Captain Marvel.” My previous review, for those who may not recall, was for 2011’s “Captain America: The First Avenger.”

“Captain Marvel” was released in 2019 (not entirely a throwback but run with it) and stars Brie Larson as the titular character Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel.

However, our hero doesn’t exactly know who she is. We first meet Carol in 1995 on the planet Kree where she’s known as Starforce member Vers. Vers is being trained under the watchful eye of Commander Yon-Rogg (Jude Law) while combating recurring nightmares of an older woman and flashes of her sketchy past.

Vers’ past begins to take shape when she is on a mission to rescue undercover operatives infiltrating the Krees’ enemy, Skrulls — an alien race of shapeshifters — and is captured by one of their commanders.

During an interrogation where the Skrull are probing her mind, Vers’ memories lead them to Earth where she escapes and crash-lands in Los Angeles.

This attracts the attention of a young Nick Fury (Samuel Jackson) — a very integral part of the entire MCU franchise — from government agency SHIELD.

During a Skrull attack, Vers is able to retrieve a crystal from the enemy with her memories, which begins her journey into learning just who she was.

Along the way, Vers learns her true identity as Carol Danvers, meets past friends and begins to find her power… all while being hunted by her former friends and other enemies.

I won’t give much more away for those who may not have seen this movie.

As far as origin stories go, Captain Marvels was done extremely well in my opinion.

I wasn’t as familiar with this particular comic book character — unlike Captain America — so it was pretty cool to join Carol on her journey of self discovery.

The way the movie threads together Carol’s past with her present in dream sequences was extremely well done. And the big twist? Well… it wasn’t an earth shattering one since I’d seen the Marvel films before it, but it was still pretty good overall.

Larson was definitely a good fit for the role of Carol. This character is extremely no-nonsense on the outside, with a silly side for those closest to her that she portrays well.

Carol has been THROUGH it, that much no one can deny (most Marvel characters can’t escape without some amount of suffering). However, her character is deeply compelling.

She was a young woman in the 90s trying to make her way into a world that she was told wasn’t for her. But she never let the naysayers deter her. As far as this movie is concerned, it really does set up a positive role model for young women. (At least in my personal opinion.)

It also features well done action sequences and fight scenes that help inject some fast-paced adrenaline into the slower, dialogue related parts.

I also thought it was pretty neat how they were able to age regress Jackson to allow him the ability to play Nick Fury without the need of a new actor — though I’m sure Marvel would have found the right fit if it was necessary.

All in all, “Captain Marvel” was a great addition to the MCU. Not to mention, she was the first female character in the MCU to get a stand alone movie (followed two years later by “Black Widow”… an ever sought after origin for the first female superhero in the movie franchise).

“Captain Marvel” served as a good origin story for the hero and set up the seeds for many new characters to be introduced in a relatively seamless way later on in the timeline. Many of which have become some of my favorite characters.

The movie could also, I believe, be enjoyed on its own. There are some callbacks to past movies, but overall the focus remains pretty solidly on Carol and her journey in discovering her past. Though, it doesn’t hurt to possibly watch a few of the major Avengers movies to ensure you aren’t confused in parts.

“Captain Marvel” is rated PG-13 and may be watched on Disney+.

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Laura Jameson is Managing Editor of The Express.