I'm very mixed about this show. I went into it expecting to dislike it, I came out of the pilot optimistic, and by the end, I couldn't stand it.
It does start really great. I have to give the first 2 episodes props. A nice but Nickelodeon-feeling teen school-life sitcom that worked because of how likable Kamala and Bruno are and the cool Scott Pilgrim-esque style.
However, it quickly goes from being mostly inoffensive to the broader MCU to being a confusing mess. It tries to take itself seriously with a boring, confusing plot and awfully constructed villains. It feels like a low-budget CW show. The actions of Kamran, Najma, and the DODC make no sense. The dimensional travel and Noor stuff are so confusing that I don't understand why they wouldn't have just used her comic origin.
Characters like Waleed are there to exposition dump for a story that is so ridiculous, yet all the characters just accept what is going on and expect the audience to do the same.
Still, I must give credit where credit is due. Kamala and all her family and friends are really likable. The music is great, New Jersey feels so lively, and when it's not just a big cheap CGI fest the show is very stylistic.
There's a humble story about family and finding yourself here, but it's smothered beneath a hectic plot. There's too much going on. Kamala has 3 love interests within a 6 episode show and they all go nowhere. Bruno's story arc is set up and then he's sidelined for half the show. Nakia has a heavy presence at first, then does nothing. Whole plot lines feel overlooked or not fleshed out. It makes the show feel rushed.
And the kiddy nature of the show isn't an excuse for its quality. Kids already like the MCU at a quality level acceptable for all ages. It's especially not excusable when the show grounds itself in a universe that it actively contradicts the time travel logic of.
It just feels like they decided where Kamala was gonna end up first for her crossover with Captain Marvel and then backpedaled, making stuff up just to get from A to B. As a result, we get what I think is genuinely one of the worst main antagonists of a Marvel project ever among other issues.
Kamala's hero journey where, through her family, she discovers the superhero within her both literally and figuratively is the best part of the show. However, that actual journey is one that makes me really not want a Season 2.
Regardless, I still wish the best for this character going forward in the universe. She could bring some really-needed heart to The Marvels.
It does start really great. I have to give the first 2 episodes props. A nice but Nickelodeon-feeling teen school-life sitcom that worked because of how likable Kamala and Bruno are and the cool Scott Pilgrim-esque style.
However, it quickly goes from being mostly inoffensive to the broader MCU to being a confusing mess. It tries to take itself seriously with a boring, confusing plot and awfully constructed villains. It feels like a low-budget CW show. The actions of Kamran, Najma, and the DODC make no sense. The dimensional travel and Noor stuff are so confusing that I don't understand why they wouldn't have just used her comic origin.
Characters like Waleed are there to exposition dump for a story that is so ridiculous, yet all the characters just accept what is going on and expect the audience to do the same.
Still, I must give credit where credit is due. Kamala and all her family and friends are really likable. The music is great, New Jersey feels so lively, and when it's not just a big cheap CGI fest the show is very stylistic.
There's a humble story about family and finding yourself here, but it's smothered beneath a hectic plot. There's too much going on. Kamala has 3 love interests within a 6 episode show and they all go nowhere. Bruno's story arc is set up and then he's sidelined for half the show. Nakia has a heavy presence at first, then does nothing. Whole plot lines feel overlooked or not fleshed out. It makes the show feel rushed.
And the kiddy nature of the show isn't an excuse for its quality. Kids already like the MCU at a quality level acceptable for all ages. It's especially not excusable when the show grounds itself in a universe that it actively contradicts the time travel logic of.
It just feels like they decided where Kamala was gonna end up first for her crossover with Captain Marvel and then backpedaled, making stuff up just to get from A to B. As a result, we get what I think is genuinely one of the worst main antagonists of a Marvel project ever among other issues.
Kamala's hero journey where, through her family, she discovers the superhero within her both literally and figuratively is the best part of the show. However, that actual journey is one that makes me really not want a Season 2.
Regardless, I still wish the best for this character going forward in the universe. She could bring some really-needed heart to The Marvels.