The opening of the twenty-first installment of Marvel Studios ever growing universe is, in a series which constantly redefines “something I never thought I’d see rendered on film", something I never thought I’d saw on film.

After a brief credits sequence — including a very classy tribute to the late Stan Lee — directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, previously best known for the Ryan-Gossling-is-a-subsitute-teacher flick Full Nelson, toss us knee deep into the world of the Kree/Skrull War.

The Kree/Skrull War was always the deepest of deep nerd stuff. Set in the far off cosmic reaches of the Marvel Universe, it was the ongoing war between two races - the heroic Kree, and the shady, shapeshifting Skrulls. And yet here we are. It’s the focus of a $175 Million Dollar movie. And more than that, it’s the heroic on-screen debut of 1970’s also-ran turned modern day lead heroine, Captain Marvel.

Finally, Marvel has a strong lead female hero of their own, just twenty movies in, but as we know her at the start, she’s a spunky amnesic named Vers (Oscar winner Brie Larson), sparring with her fellow Kree, the wise and enigmatic Yon-Rogg, the leader of her troupe of soldiers.

Vers is looking to become a proper Kree warrior, and she’s about to embark on her first mission against the Skrulls. It’s a mission full of familiar faces from the Guardians of the Galaxy world (no, not those faces, think more obscure), but it’s also a mission which goes terribly wrong, and results in Vers…along with some pesky Skrulls, ending up on Earth, circa 1995.

How convenient it is then that Vers seems to have some connection to her planet — one which might help her restore her memory, and maybe even become a hero along the way.

Yes, we all know where this is going, it’s the Marvel Cinematic Universe for goodness sake! But what’s unique about Captain Marvel isn’t necessarily the destination, but the journey.

Captain Marvel is somehow equally a Hero’s Journey film, a smart-assed detective adventure (as Vers links up with a younger, two-eyed Nick Fury), and also an interstellar war film, all in one. And if that wasn’t enough, it also loves the 1990s.

It’s a delicate balancing act. One which is on less sturdy ground than past MCU films, but if you can get down to the idea of an action sequence set to No Doubt’s “Just a Girl", and love yourself some adorable cats, Captain Marvel is the flick for you.

Performances are, as usual for a Marvel Studios flick, pretty damn solid, a mixture of beloved character actors and relative unknowns. Ben Mendelsohn chews up scenery as the lead Skrull baddie, Talos - though he’s more than meets the eye. Samuel L. Jackson is as game as always as Nick Fury - though he seems to sink his teeth into this one particularly hard, playing opposite real-life pal Brie Larson. The CG work to de-age him is downright incredible, and is also used in a lesser degree to give us the return of Clark Gregg’s Agent Coulson, who basically is there to remind us how much Agents of SHIELD wastes him on a weekly basis.

The surprise standout of the movie is Lashana Lynch, playing Maria Rambeau, an ex-fighter pilot with a connection to Vers’ past, but it should come as no surprise that the movie lives and dies by the work of Brie Larson.

Larson has, for some reason — perhaps because of her wonderfully outspoken nature? — become a lightning rod for Internet turd criticism, but I think she’s absolutely wonderful in the lead here. She is a tour de force here, acting with humor and grace when the story allows, while also maintaining a quiet strength, important as she pieces herself together before her eyes.

Someone much smarter than I will get to write the essay of a lifetime about Vers in Captain Marvel, and how her role speaks to the struggles of many women. All I know is, she is every inch the hero the film needs, never saying die, and defying the odds before our eyes.

Yes, Marvel took forever to get a female hero out of the gate. But the fact is this - she’s here, she’s strong, she’s absolutely awesome. Captain Marvel will live alongside Wonder Woman in the lexicon of strong female role models, and now, she’s got a galaxy-spanning adventure worthy of her on the big screen.

Captain Marvel is in theaters now.