PHOTO BY LAURA RADFORD / MARVEL

Don’t look now — Marvel Studios may have remembered what made them the titans they are.

“The Marvels,” the latest chapter in the comic-book imprint’s never-ending story, struggles to cram too much into its lean runtime; it’s a standalone romp, a convoluted continuation of a half-dozen storylines and a three-hander about guilt and influence. Yet it soars when its three central characters are allowed to shine — particularly when the humanity in these superhumans is given space to breathe.

Actor and character-driven spectacles with morality-play souls: That’s what this studio does. And, despite rumors to the contrary, they do it well with “The Marvels.”

The titular trio consists of Carol “Captain Marvel” Danvers (Brie Larson), brilliant SWORD agent Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) and teenage superhero Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani). Captain Marvel has been working on some intergalactic conflicts in the cold of space for a few decades while Rambeau — who looked up to Danvers as a child and is dealing with a boatload of intervening trauma — has become an essential peacekeeper on, and above, Earth. Khan, a devotee of Captain Marvel, has recently gained superpowers of her own, along with the sobriquet Ms. Marvel.

When a space-hopping baddie (Zawe Ashton) seeks revenge on Danvers and the planets she has called home, cosmic chaos ensues; the fabric of space-time splinters and our three heroes discover that they keep spontaneously teleporting to one another’s positions. The accidental trio will have to hop planets to prevent calamity — and figure out how to fight while constantly switching positions.

That latter challenge leads to one of the great Marvel fight scenes, as the three heroes brawl with some very confused goons while careening back and forth between a far-off planet, a near-Earth spaceship and the Khan living room. It’s one of several sequences in “The Marvels” that show a glimmer of the lighthearted fun that made the Marvel Cinematic Universe so dominant; the best of these movies blend comic-book action with exuberant visual wit, and director Nia DaCosta nails it on several occasions.

At other times, the film gets stuck in the mud of the series’ convoluted mythology. “The Marvels” has a half-dozen direct precedents, including several short-run streaming series. While some of those, such as the original “Captain Marvel” film and the charming “Ms. Marvel” series, are fine building blocks, others — including the maligned and dull “Secret Invasion” series, the most direct predecessor to this film in the series’ timeline — are little seen and coolly regarded.

Wisely, however, “The Marvels” tries to pack all that legacy into a few early-film exposition dumps. It’s clunky, and there are plenty of occasions when the script (by DaCosta with Megan McDonnell and Elissa Karasik) takes shortcuts. (The climax, for example, depends on the villain being alone and vulnerable for absolutely no reason.) But when “The Marvels” gets down to business, it’s very fun.

DaCosta deserves some of that credit, but the trio of actresses steal the show. Larson remains the MCU’s most potent weapon, a performer strong enough to both rise to her character’s mythic powers and ground her in reality. Parris, receiving room to stretch after a supporting role in the “WandaVision” series, rises to the challenge.

And Vellani, the series’ most charming and encouraging new performer in years, shows that she (and her plucky character) are ready to carry the Avengers for many films to come.

As long as Marvel remembers to build characters such as these and give them license to have a good time, the series will keep succeeding.

My Rating: 7/10

“The Marvels” is now playing in theaters.