Captain Marvel Vs Wonder Woman: Which Is Better?
10. The Villains
Wonder Woman's period setting naturally forces it to defer to the most classic of historical baddies: the Germans.
Sadly General Ludendorff (Danny Huston) is a pretty one-note villain and his sidekick Doctor Poison (Elena Anaya) doesn't get nearly enough to do. The scene where they're both giggling like Scooby Doo villains after poisoning a room full of German officers is just embarrassing.
And then there's the third-act reveal of the real big bad, Ares (David Thewlis). Unfortunately Thewlis isn't a naturally intimidating actor and placing him behind a CGI suit of armour is just unintentionally hilarious. Not to forget all those Nigel Thornberry jokes (sorry David, we love you).
Captain Marvel meanwhile does surprisingly interesting and nuanced things with Skrull leader Talos (Ben Mendelsohn), in many ways subverting what audiences expect of Mendelsohn as an actor and proving far more of a character than the heavy makeup might suggest.
Sadly Captain Marvel's other antagonists - no spoilers here, remember - aren't up to a whole lot, despite the solid efforts of the cast.
WINNER: Neither movie is particularly outstanding in this regard, though Captain Marvel does deliver one genuinely good villain, so it takes the easy win here.