After all the controversy surrounding “Captain Marvel” (Brie Larson is not the right actress for the role and the trolls on Rotten Tomatoes to name a few), I kept my expectations low for the latest Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) addition. While the film had its faults, I did find myself pleasantly surprised with the outcome, but it was far from perfect.

“Captain Marvel” is the origin story of Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) as Captain Marvel. Carol starts off on the planet of Hala, home to the Kree where she’s being trained by Yon-Rogg (Jude Law) to be a hero and end the war between the Kree and the Skrulls. The catch: she has no recollection of who she was prior to six years ago. After a crash landing on Earth, the lines between good and evil are blurred. Just who was she before Yon-Rogg took her under his wing? Who can she trust?

Unlike its predecessors, excluding “Captain America: The First Avenger,” “Captain Marvel” takes place outside the timeline of the rest of the MCU, in the 1990s. Meaning, the usual suspects, Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, etc. were not present, but as the previews showed, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) certainly was–and yes folks, we finally learn how he got his eye patch! The fact that our favorite heroes weren’t present is not the reason “Captain Marvel” was just okay. The hackneyed character tropes and over-the-top comedy on the other hand, were.

Specifically, Law’s character was a bit trite for my taste. Although he played the part well, I was upset by how similar he was to past MCU villains. That’s all I’ll say to avoid spoilers. The other actors were equally marvelous (pun intended). As always, Jackson was able to make Fury come to life, and it was nice to see a lighter side of him. My favorite character was Talos (Ben Mendelsohn), a Scrull who’s hunting down Carol on Earth. Mendelsohn’s portrayal was laugh-out-loud humorous and heartwarming all at the same time. He did a nice job at making his character believably well-rounded.

Of course, I’ve saved Captain Marvel for last. Much like Tony Stark as Iron Man, Carol was an extremely comedic character. Larson was effortlessly able to pull off all the witty banter and jokes, yet remain serious when it called for it. Despite what people may have thought, Larson was an amazing Captain Marvel. Nevertheless, the entire movie was excessively funny. At some points, it seemed like the movie shied away from serious moments in exchange for a joke, ruining the film’s overall effect. It may have had a greater impact if the comedy had been dialed down a bit.

The music on the other hand helped. With a heavy use of rock music, the fighting scenes were amped up, and Carol came out looking tough as nails.

Another plus for the movie would have to be the Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI) and setting. The spaceships and planets were extremely realistic, giving me “Star Wars” vibes. Additionally, the portions of the movie where Goose, the stowaway cat that follows Carol and Fury around, were realistically CGI’d.

As usual, the costumes were exceptionally done. It was obvious they were designed with care, and the make up was no different. You have to give props to the makeup artists for making all the Scrulls so realistic.

And just in case you were wondering, Stan Lee does make an appearance. In fact, even if he hadn’t, the Marvel opening in which all the heroes are normally shown was replaced with shots of all the Stan Lee cameos.

Overall, “Captain Marvel” was a success. It’s certainly ranks lower than some of the other Marvel movies, but it’s not one to miss. More so, when you take the after-credits clips into account (by the way, make sure you stay until the very end, because there are actually two clips). It’ll be interesting to see what MCU has in store for Carol, but in the meantime, if you haven’t checked this movie out, it’s worth a trip to the theater.