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06-09-2022, 05:42 AM

With Ms. Marvel, the Marvel Cinematic Universe finally has a proper coming-of-age tale (https://www.vulture.com/article/ms-marvel-mcu-disney-series-review.html)

"What wave of capitalism is it when the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has gotten so big that its latest content is about worshiping itself? (Economists, assemble!)," says Roxana Hadadi of the Disney+ series. "And how much of a pleasant surprise is it that Ms. Marvel, despite being a product shaped by that self-adoration, is actually a pretty good time? Very! Premiering June 8, Disney+’s six-episode miniseries about Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani), a Pakistani American Muslim teenager who discovers she has superpowers, is an exuberant and vivid reminder that once upon a time, before these stories became the monoculture, they were primarily for adolescents. It has been a long time since the MCU had a proper coming-of-age tale — as soon as Tom Holland’s Spider-Man met Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man, his youth was over — but in the two episodes provided for review, that’s exactly what Ms. Marvel seems to be. Driver’s-license tests, college applications, first crushes: The high-school-set high jinks are so far a refreshing return to small-scale storytelling, and an exuberant production design that incorporates daydreams during class and doodles in notebook margins invigorates the series’ visual tableaux. Is it odd that these high-schoolers only reference other Disney IP, like Darth Vader and Mulan? Sure. But there’s an enthusiasm to Ms. Marvel that feels genuine, easily sold by Vellani’s winning half-grin."

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Whatever Ms. Marvel lacks in finesse, it makes up for in charm (https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-reviews/ms-marvel-tv-review-1235158289/): "The character’s boundless creativity is reflected in the show’s style, which grasps for (though does not quite reach) the playfulness of animated films like The Mitchells vs. The Machines or, especially, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Texts between Kamala and her friends are incorporated into their environs, so that a sad face emoji might show up in a neon store sign instead of in the usual floating text bubble," says Angie Han. "Ideas thrown around in a brainstorming session are illustrated in moving graffiti on the city walls behind the characters. When Kamala returns home after spending time with her crush, the lighting shifts into dreamy shades of gold and pink and purple as she dances through her house lip-synching to the Ronettes’ 'Be My Baby.'"
Ms. Marvel's protagonist is different in every way, and that’s why she, and the series, are such a joy to watch (https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2022-06-08/ms-marvel-kamala-khan-cast-powers-mcu-review): "While the majority of the streamer’s franchise TV series have had difficulty working Marvel’s mythology and tangled narratives into compelling stories that actually make sense, Ms. Marvel doesn’t struggle with that issue in the two episodes provided for review," says Lorraine Ali. "Kamala’s fandom adds just enough context to connect her with the Avenger timeline, even as the series marches to the beat of its own tabla. The six-episode show, from head writer Bisha K. Ali, is a young-adult, second-generation immigrant comedy, à la Netflix’s Never Have I Ever, and a superhero drama in which coming of age means stumbling into one’s powers, à la Miles Morales of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. It’s full of American pop culture references and Bollywood nods and witty commentary about the connections and chasms between East and West. Kamala (played with verve by newcomer Iman Vellani) moves between cosplay conventions and the mosque with ease. From its charming lead to its playful execution, Ms. Marvel turns superhero formulas on their heads while honoring the MCU pantheon."
Iman Vellani is perfectly cast as Kamala Khan (https://www.thewrap.com/ms-marvel-review-disney-plus-mcu/): "A joy to watch, her reactions and facial expressions are so honest you’ll wonder more than once if she’s acting," says Karama Horne. "Other cast members to keep your eye on are the mysterious transfer student Kamran (Rish Shah), who pops up in Episode 2, and actor Aramis Knight (Into the Badlands) slated to appear in later episodes as Red Dagger. At its core, Ms. Marvel is a coming-of-age story told through the lens of a Southeast Asian-American teenager. Although two out of six episodes are not enough to make a full assessment of the series, the creative visual storytelling, new power set and star-making performance from Villani certainly indicate Ms. Marvel is off to a fantastic start."
Vellani is nothing short of transcendent in the role she was born to play (https://www.indiewire.com/2022/06/ms-marvel-review-disney-plus-1234731233/): "Her Kamala Khan is disarmingly, consistently, potently endearing, a stand in for obsessive dreamers everywhere who long for adventure. Much of this is conveyed with secret smiles and giddy looks, or the abject sincerity of her friendships with Bruno (Matt Lintz) and Nakia (Yasmeen Fletcher)," says Proma Khosla. "It’s understandable that Kamala’s parents don’t want her to grow up when her childlike wonder is so winsome, but never diminishes the young woman she’s growing up to be. In Vellani’s hands, Kamala finds excitement everywhere; in sneaking off to AvengerCon, in testing out her new powers, in the prospect of seeing a crush — all with equal and glorious verisimilitude. The entire supporting cast bolster the best of Kamala while playing skillfully off Vellani’s energy — none more than Schroff, who brings a warm humor to Muneeba even when she’s stern and protective."
There's a natural chemistry in the entire Khan family dynamic that's evident in their every scene together (https://mashable.com/article/ms-marvel-disney-plus-premiere-review): "The traditions that shape their daily lives may not be familiar to every Ms. Marvel viewer, but there are universally applicable contours to Kamala's relationships with her mother, father, and brother," says Adam Rosenberg. "The magic of this series lies in the details most of all. When it comes to the Khan family and their tight-knit Muslim community in Jersey City, Ms. Marvel's portrayal of Islam is rooted in beauty and love. It's hardly idealized, as demonstrated in a plot thread involving Kamala's friend Nakia (Yasmeen Fletcher) which starts with the two grousing during a mosque service about men and women being forced to worship and observe in separate areas. The tension between progress and tradition is a central theme explored in Ms. Marvel's first hours — and it feels like one that's going to define the long arc of the series in the end — but that exploration never happens at Islam's expense."
So far Ms. Marvel ticks most of the boxes (https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/ustv/a40206900/ms-marvel-review-mcu/): "Engaging: check. Charismatic: check. Impressive powers: check. The only thing it's missing is a compelling storyline… so far," says Janet A. Leigh. "We have to say that as we are only two episodes deep, but 'so far' things are falling a little flat on the narrative side. With these types of limited series it's all about pace, pace, pace. Six episodes don't award filmmakers the luxury of slow-building, digestible storytelling. The expectation is that we will get to the action tout suite. Unfortunately by the close of episode two we're only just scratching the surface of what's to come. That doesn't mean we have a hankering for a sloppy, rushed unfolding of Kamala Khan's journey and, to be fair, Ms Marvel is at a slight disadvantage to its other MCU show counterparts."
Ms. Marvel has all the trappings of early 2000s teen TV (https://www.empireonline.com/tv/reviews/ms-marvel/): "There are witty visual gags and well-rounded, warmly funny, instantly likeable characters," says Destiny Jackson. "The series also has an authentic take on Pakistani-American culture; one memorable montage explains the different cliques within their close-knit community, and the show takes admirable care in explaining the rituals and realities of life as a modern Muslim. Sure, it’s a show with a target audience: designed more to appeal to teenagers than adults. But for those who can roll with the punches of the awkward-but-relatable approach, there is much promise here. Kamala clearly has a bright future mapped out for her in the MCU — we have the delightful prospect of a meeting with Carol Danvers in next year’s The Marvels — and these initial episodes are an encouraging start."
Ms. Marvel's use of animation makes it distinctive among Marvel's TV shows (https://variety.com/2022/tv/reviews/ms-marvel-review-kamala-khan-1235285767/): "Marvel’s Disney+ shows, from WandaVision to Loki to Moon Knight, have done their best to gently twist Marvel’s typical house style in terms of their overall aesthetics," says Caroline Framke. "Ms. Marvel, however, manages to explode it by cleverly incorporating animation throughout. Kamala fantasizes about her Captain Marvel cosplay as chalk renderings fly on the buildings behind her and reads texts that pop up in storefronts as neon-light emojis. She imagines herself saving the world and twirling around her dashing crush, Kamran (Rish Shah), in drawings that come to dancing life. So while it takes almost the full first episode for a mysterious family heirloom to activate Kamala’s powers, Ms. Marvel taps into a tangibly kinetic magic well beforehand."
What you need to know before watching Ms. Marvel (https://www.theringer.com/marvel-cinematic-universe/2022/6/6/23155542/ms-marvel-kamala-khan-origin-story-disney)
Director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy says Iman Vellani will have you believe anybody can be a superhero (https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/ms-marvel-tattoos-muslim-representation-red-carpet-1235158915/): “We’re finally beginning to believe that superheroes come in all shapes and forms, all colors and sizes,” says Obaid-Chinoy. “And that it’s important to tell a story, which resonates with a global audience. To birth a superhero that so many young people growing up around the world can see a reflection of themselves in.”
Executive producer Sana Amanat, who helped develop the comic book character, on how having an all-South Asian cast impacted filming (https://tvline.com/2022/06/07/ms-marvel-disney-plus-iman-vellani-representation-kamala-khan-powers/): "There was a shorthand to the way that we were communicating with one another," says Amanat. "It was just very easy. We can be very honest and frank with each other and just like, 'Does this make sense? Is this going to be controversial or not?' I think that shorthand is something that really helped to make the entire process a lot smoother and a lot more fun because we could throw in some random South Asian music that only some of us knew and we got into and we’re very excited about. It certainly helped to have all of those different voices bring their own authentic experiences to the table."
Iman Vellani got cast on her last day of high school (https://www.cnet.com/culture/entertainment/ms-marvel-star-iman-vellani-got-cast-on-her-last-day-of-high-school/): Vellani first learned of the casting call in February 2020 when her aunt forwarded it to her. At first, she thought it was a scam. But she realized it was real when she got the script for a self-taped audition and recognized the issues it was pulled from. I was like 'OK, this is real. I can't do it.' I was making excuses for myself out of fear of failure," the Pakistani Canadian Vellani said during an energetic press conference on Friday. "At like 3 a.m. the night it was due, I sent in my self-tape. I just thought my 10-year-old self is gonna hate me if I don't even try. And two days later, I got a call" (to audition in person).
Vellani showed off her Marvel collection during her Zoom audition (https://decider.com/2022/06/08/ms-marvel-iman-vellani-superfan-superhero-avengercon/): “She took me around her entire room via Zoom,” says executive producer Sana Amanat. “Me and Jenna Berger, my supervising producer, we were both in awe of (collection). Her room was just covered in Avengers paraphernalia and she opened up a closet and it was more Avengers paraphernalia.”
Vellani weighs in on the MCU Earth-616 vs. Earth-199999 debate (https://www.themarysue.com/iman-vellani-earth-616-vs-earth-199999-marvel/)
How filming Ms. Marvel helped Vellani reconnect with her heritage (https://www.npr.org/2022/06/04/1103087563/ms-marvel-star-iman-vellani-disney-plus): "I was born in Pakistan, and we moved to Canada when I was 1," she says. "But my parents really did try to make me as connected with my culture and religion as possible because they were in touch with that part of themselves. But growing up in Canada and being so enamored by American pop culture and Hollywood, I was super dismissive of being Pakistani. It was never something I saw value in up until filming the show, where my eyes were opened. I was meeting so many Muslims and South Asians that are so in touch with their roots, and that really made me go back and reconnect with mine. It's so cool (that) I can kind of find myself again."
Is it really true that Kamala Khan is Marvel’s first Muslim superhero? (https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/jun/06/iman-vellani-playing-marvels-first-muslim-superhero-ms-marvel): What about Scarlet Scarab from Moon Knight – an Egyptian protector played by the Egyptian-Palestinian actor May Calamawy? “She’s not specifically called Muslim,” says Vellani. “If she is, we have got to start labelling our show something else! We’re the first show that showcases religion, school-life balance – and it’s done so seamlessly, I feel. It’s very much like how it is in my real life: I go to school at this time, I have dinner at this time, I go to mosque at this time, I sleep at this time. It’s just a part of my schedule. And it feels like that when you watch the show, too."
Vellani says it was hard to connect her present-day self with the person she sees on the show (https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/06/arts/television/ms-marvel-iman-vellani.html): “I look so young,” says Vellani, who turned 18 during filming and who turns 20 in September. “I feel different now. I feel like I’ve matured 20 years.” Vellani has a rare fan’s unapologetic love for the franchise she has joined. “My entire world, everything I talked about was Marvel,” says Vellani. “And now people actually have to listen when I talk about it.” In fact, her three favorite people are Robert Downey Jr., Billy Joel, and the Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige. Head writer and executive producer Bisha K. Ali says she faced competing goals in trying to cast Ms. Marvel. “The challenge was really, what do we pick?” says Ali. “What do we choose that will set this person up for being in the MCU — being part of this huge, global media phenomenon, but also feels intimate and personal and vital?” Ali says she approached Ms. Marvel as the story of a person discovering who she is: “All superheroes have powers,” she says. “But if someone in their heart knows themselves, there’s so much empowerment in that, especially for someone from a historically marginalized group.”

Ms. Marvel review-bombed on IMDb after its premiere (https://thedirect.com/article/ms-marvel-review-bombed-imdb-disney-premiere)

Despite critical acclaim, the Disney+ Marvel entry received a massive number of "one" scores in IMDb's rating.