The ultimate verdict on this is that it is a fair-to-middling entry in the Marvel canon, which by default makes it a better than average action film. It has baggage, though. It has the undertone of a female empowerment message. All well and good, but we know what that means -- some significant minority will interpret it as a political statement and voice displeasure. In response another group will call them racists because that's what we call people we disagree with. So a small corner of the world with outsized visibility will be sniping at each other on Twitter and Reddit.
I blame Marvel for this. If the movie was good enough dramatically you wouldn't need to hype any sociological underpinnings. My guess is the folks at Marvel probably sensed that it wasn't up to their standards (I emphasize their) and providing a theme of female empowerment is a cheap way to cover up shortcomings. Resorting to current events and societal trends for good play is what a filmmaker does when he runs out of human ideas.
As a result the movie will not be able to be judged on its merits, but I'm going to try anyway. The plot is pretty much a standard origin story formula: Normal human experiences a freak occurrence which makes her super, overcomes many adversaries, obstacles, and reversals of fortune on the path to finding her heroic purpose. Marvel's characteristic ironic humor is on display, although no one in this film has the comic chops to carry it off like the Avengers. The action scenes are solid and the CGI -- especially with respect to Nick Fury -- is frankly amazing. No characters here, though, are particularly engaging and the villain is unmemorable.
So all-in-all, I would call it an average-to-slightly-below-average film for Marvel (again for Marvel). Still, I have concerns...
Captain Marvel is theoretically going to be a lynchpin in the next generation (the post-Avengers era, Phase 4 is it?) of Marvel films. It is not an auspicious start.
More importantly, Captain Marvel is being touted as the secret weapon that allows the Avengers to defeat Thanos. If that turns out to be the case, it will be enormously disappointing. We have spent ten years with the Avengers, gone through hell with them, shared their personal (personal -- not sociological, not political) conflicts and growth. To bring someone else in at the last minute to save the day would be a disaster, dramatically speaking. I still hold out hope that Fiege is smarter than that and doesn't believe setting up the next generation of films is worth spoiling the original story.
In any event, if you haven't seen Captain Marvel, it's likely you can safely pass on it. Other than her existence and her being very powerful, there is little in the movie that will have direct bearing on Endgame.
