Marvel’s first female-led superhero movie, “Captain Marvel,” blasted through theaters on International Women’s Day, March 8, earning $61.4 million in just two days.

“Captain Marvel,” directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, stars Brie Larson as Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel. 

In the film, Danvers is a Kree warrior fighting in the war between two extraterrestrial species, the Kree and the Skrulls. 

Besides short flashes of past memories, Danvers is unable to remember anything before the time Yon-Rogg, her mentor played by Jude Law, saved her.  

But after crashing onto Earth, she befriends a young Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), who still has both his eyes.

The two take on a buddy-cop relationship as Danvers struggles to remember her past as a U.S. Air Force pilot and works to discover the true extent of her power. 

Despite its initial success, the movie originally received a lot of mixed reviews. 

While some critics and fans just found the movie mediocre and underwhelming, many found controversy with Larson’s strong feminist rhetoric. 

At a press conference, Larson made a comment about the need for more diversity among film critics. Although this was intended as a positive comment, many fans interpreted it as Larson saying she hates white men. In response, these fans boycotted the film since they believe that the movie had too much of a political agenda. 

Before the film was even released, these Internet trolls made a multitude of negative reviews on Rotten Tomatoes in an attempt to prevent others from seeing the movie.

The cast of “Captain Marvel,” however, did not let these fake reviews get to them. 

During an interview with “BadTaste,” actress Lashana Lynch, who plays Danver’s best friend Maria Rambeau in the film, said, “It’s very easy to hide behind a screen and say what you think. If people saw a filmmaker or an actress or a writer on the street, they may not be able to share their opinion to them face-to-face. So I think it’s an easy way out.” 

Despite the best efforts of these trolls, their boycotting and “review bombing” failed. 

The movie landed the sixth best global opening weekend of all time. Over just one weekend, the global debut earned up $455 million, surpassing the $430 million global debut of Marvel’s “Black Panther.” 

After seeing the movie, it’s not hard to understand where this success came from. “Captain Marvel” has all of the qualities that make a classic Marvel movie, from witty humor to adrenaline pumping fight sequences.  

But what helped set the movie apart, was its distinct time period. The film is set in the 1990s and, just like “Guardians of the Galaxy,” which was ‘80s themed, benefits from a fun soundtrack that ties back to the movie’s specific time period. 

During an epic fight scene between Captain Marvel and her enemies, “Just A Girl” by No Doubt blares in the background. While watching Danvers shoot energy beams out of her hands is already entertaining enough, the ’90s song helps create a more memorable and authentic scene. 

Although “Captain Marvel” may not have the same wow-factor as “Thor: Ragnarok,” it had a much stronger moral message than most Marvel movies. 

Despite being about a spacewoman with superpowers, the film speaks clearly to the female experience. Women have always been treated as inferiors to men and are constantly being told to be less emotional or to sit down and shut up. Danvers experiences this her whole life. 

But from all of the times she’s fallen down, she’s always stood right back up. 

This is a message that speaks to what it means to be human. 

She shows every little girl with wide eyes watching her in the movie theater, that it’s OK to fail, it’s OK to feel, and that females should never apologize for who they are.