The Marvels

An all-female team-up characterises this fitfully entertaining 33rd entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Jersey City teen Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani), aka Ms Marvel, joins fellow superheroes Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) and Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) when their "world lines" cross and they begin teleporting to each other's locations. As that set-up suggests, the film has plenty of quirky aspects, from a planet of people who speak in song to a tentacle-sporting ginger cat with a taste for humans. The interactions with Kamala's overprotective family are fun (Vellani herself is charmingly goofy), and there's an amusing moment that uses the song Memories from the musical Cats. Less successful is the uninvolving plot concerning rival alien races, the Kree and the Skrulls, and power-grabbing Kree leader Dar-Benn (Fresh Meat's Zawe Ashton). Throwing in seemingly endless FX-heavy fight scenes, director Nia DaCosta (Candyman) struggles to sustain interest, and the film ultimately fails to leave a lasting impression.