In a relatively short amount of time on the Hollywood scene, writer-director James Gunn has left quite the mark on comic book cinema. With humble origins as a screenwriter for films like Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead remake and Raja Gosnell’s two live-action Scooby-Doo flicks, Gunn directed his first movie less than twenty years ago—the sci-fi horror cult classic Slither—which he followed up with the superhero black comedy Super (both of which bombed at the box office). Somehow, this moderately successful writing career (but honestly less-than-ideal start as a director) ultimately secured Gunn what became his big break as the writer-director of a Marvel Studios movie set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
And his career only got more interesting from there. After major critical and commercial success with both Guardians of the Galaxy and its sequel subtitled Vol. 2 (released in 2014 and 2017, respectively), the Walt Disney Company hastily parted ways with Gunn in July of 2018 over controversial jokes he made years prior that resurfaced on social media. While Gunn’s handling of the situation was admirably humble, several entertainment figures in film, television and music (including the main cast of the two Guardians movies) publicly & vocally supported Gunn and criticized Disney’s decision. Seven months later, after a meeting with Disney’s then-chairman and chief creative officer (CCO) Alan Horn, Gunn was brought back into the fold as the writer and director of a third Guardians movie. But, Gunn was already attached to direct a DC film for Warner Brothers—which ultimately became 2021’s The Suicide Squad—set in their superhero cinematic universe. Thus, the planned threequel in the Guardians series was delayed from its original May 1, 2020 release date to…TODAY!! After nearly a decade of introducing mass audiences to this lovable cast of misfit cosmic outlaws with complicated pasts & a desperate need for family, James Gunn’s final MCU movie (appropriately subtitled Vol. 3) premieres this weekend. As such, I figured what better time to take a look back at the story of the Guardians of the Galaxy in the MCU—and Gunn’s bittersweet departure from Marvel Studios as he shifts to co-chairing the future of DC Films—than right now. So, without further ado…LET’S GET STARTED! [NOTE #1: For my broader thoughts on Marvel Studios’ “Infinity Saga,” click here.] [NOTE #2: For my thoughts on every film, show, and special of Phase Four of the “Multiverse Saga,” click here and here.] Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) While I was not yet personally invested in the MCU as a cultural entity when the first Guardians film premiered in 2014, anyone who was can tell you that their reactions to Marvel Studios announcing a space opera flick starring a talking raccoon and a man-tree were a mixture of confounded puzzlement and intense dejection. Not only had many comic book movie fans (let alone general audiences) barely heard of these characters, but Gunn’s reputation as a writer-director of horror movies & indie comedies surprisingly did little to give the skeptical faith in his ability to make people emotionally invested in this story. And that lack of faith undeniably worked in Gunn’s favor. The cast and crew assembled under his creative control produced not just one of the best films in the MCU films or comic book movies to date, but (in my humble opinion) one of the best sci-fi comedies of the century. Why? If you ask me, that question can be answered with a lot of things. But let’s start with perhaps the most obvious strength of the movie: the characters. Our protagonist is Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), who proudly goes by the spacefaring nickname “Star-Lord” despite lacking much of an impressive criminal reputation of his own that gives the moniker any credence among law enforcement or fellow criminals alike. But, as the story reveals over the course of two hours, Quill’s identity possesses the heart & emotional weight of a man traumatized as the result of the death of his mother Meredith (Laura Haddock) his kidnapping at the hands of galactic criminals the Ravagers led by the blue-skinned bandit Yondu Udonta (Michael Rooker). Bear in mind that these two incredibly formative events occurred on the same day…minutes apart! 😊 In other words, Quill is our human entry point into Gunn’s zany take on Marvel Studios’ cosmic universe which works thanks to a relatable & fun performance from Pratt who gives Star-Lord enough “leading man energy” to keep the audience invested in his journey of finding a new family from start to finish. Without fail, every time I watch the first Guardians film, I get emotional (or straight-up cry) twice: the opening scene of Meredith’s death & Quill—in an Infinity Stone-powered hallucination—seeing his dying mother reach out her hand for him to grab in the third act. Obviously, both moments involve my caring about Quill’s struggle to forgive himself for being unable to save his mother’s life in order to accept new love into his life. While the entire cast is very good, I personally don’t think this movie (or the entire Guardians saga) would work as well as it does without Quill grounding us emotionally in his story (and Pratt’s portrayal of that inner turmoil & conflict). Needless to say, Guardians Vol. 1 is by no means a solo hero’s journey like many other superhero flicks. Quite the opposite; it relies on making you care about a team of reluctant heroes coming together to form an unlikely—but fitting—family unit. And that wouldn’t work at all if not for the other core members of the team doing just as good of a job as Pratt in the leading role. Perhaps the one that gets the least to do narratively (not in terms of dialogue) is the green-skinned fierce female lead Gamora (Zoë Saldaña). Despite being put into a role that could very easily turn into the “stoic, masculine action heroine” trope, Saldaña gives us just enough of a peak into Gamora’s softer side (particularly during her more intimate interactions with Quill) to humanize her beyond what’s necessarily on the page. While both of her primary relationships—the romantic dynamic that she has with Quill and her complex sibling relationship with Nebula (Karen Gillan)—get better fleshed out in her future appearances in the MCU, this character is a solid counterpart to Quill as a co-leader of the team. Arguably, the hidden gem of Vol. 1 is the all-brawns, no-brains “not-funny funny man” Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista). Despite the actor’s relatively limited film experience up to this point, Bautista exhibits incredibly comedic timing in virtually every scene that he’s in (which, undoubtedly, only gets better each time he shows up in the role). As a character who lacks any comprehension of metaphor or sarcasm, Drax plays off Quill’s quippy personality quite well. But it's the tragic undertones of the character—having lost his wife and daughter to the film’s villain Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace)—that, while underdeveloped, help keep Drax from simply being a one-note character. And the best gift this movie gave us is launching Bautista’s acting career who went on to have memorable appearances & roles in films like Blade Runner 2049 and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. The other two core members of the original Guardians team—the cybernetically enhanced, anthropomorphized Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper) and his humanoid, tree-like protector Groot (Vin Diesel)—serve as a lovable duo despite not having overly charming personalities on their own. While Rocket’s indiscriminately belligerent attitude contrasts sharply with Groot’s childlike spirit, their pairing as the brains and brawn, respectively, makes for some of the best action and comedic moments in the entire film (sometimes both!). And, of course, the chemistry of their relationship pays off well in the end with Groot’s sacrifice to save the team & Rocket’s wish for anything but. Thanks to Cooper and Diesel’s voice acting, these two computer-generated characters (one an animal & the other a tree) have won over the hearts of millions of moviegoers for nearly ten years now & become some peoples’ favorite MCU characters to date. All in all, this amazing cast of actors playing very well-written characters excel under James Gunn’s vibrant & unique directorial style. So much so that Kevin Feige’s incredibly risky bet on the movie actually delivering remains one of the biggest surprises of behind-the-scenes moviemaking of the last several years. But, I want to revisit my original question: what makes Guardians of the Galaxy a near-perfect cinematic blend of comedy, action, and emotion? To me, the answer is obvious yet crucial to understanding why these characters have resonated with us for so long… Heart. From the very first scene of Vol. 1, Gunn’s take on the Guardians is injected with so much compassion & humanity for five outcasted misfits (only one of them actually human) that it’s so hard not to love them. In spite of their often-clashing personalities & tragic backstories, this team of heroes with a less-than-admirable track record for doing the right thing on their own is lovable because they make each other better. A Star-Lord or Gamora or Rocket & Groot story just wouldn’t work as well. Simply put, the key ingredient for the success of Guardians of the Galaxy is in the name. And, in my humble opinion, this ensemble only gets better with age regardless of what film (or special) that they appear in. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) If the first Guardians movie excelled at establishing a lovable dynamic between its core cast of characters, the second one aims to get more personal & intimate with them by exploring what makes them tick as a dysfunctional family unit. While (in my humble opinion) it’s not done to the same effect as its predecessor, Vol. 2 is still a shining example of James Gunn’s strong writing and directing on display. Arguably, the weakest aspect of the film is its central plot involving Quill wrestling with his “daddy issues” upon having a chance encounter with Ego (Kurt Russell)—a god-like entity who lives on a planet of his own creation—and his personal aid Mantis (Pom Klementieff). With Gamora and Drax as company, Quill leaves with Ego and must confront both his (partially) divine ancestry/genetic makeup but also deal with his feelings towards Ego as they change from cynical skepticism to yearning admiration to primal rage for Ego’s role in Meredith Quill’s death. With such a personal story at the core of the film’s narrative, Vol. 2 should easily supersede the first Guardians movie. But, for some reason, the way this plot line comes together in the last forty or so minutes causes some uneven pacing to the point that when the Sovereign’s man-hunt for the Guardians is added on top of everything else going on the climactic action scene lacks some of the impact that it needed to really hit regarding the main story about fathers and sons. However, the characters themselves are by no means the problem thanks to Chris Pratt and Kurt Russell’s exceptional chemistry in the twisted father-son relationship that they share in the movie. Even on his own terms, though, Russell knows exactly the movie he’s in & rolls with it by teasing the more megalomaniacal tendencies of the character behind a thinly-veiled compassion for Quill that quickly evaporates once Quill turns on him. What I also appreciate about Quill’s journey is the way that it parallels Gamora’s heart-to-heart with her sister Nebula. Despite playing a stoic, glamorized henchman in Vol. 1, Karen Gillan gets more to chew on her & chooses subtlety for the most part. Combined with Zoë Saldaña building on what she started in the first movie regarding her sibling rivalry & the burgeoning affection that she has for Quill, the Gamora-Nebula storyline works almost better than the Quill-Ego one. Despite being given less screen time, these sisters facing their shared trauma together & laying the groundwork for reconciling their differences without violence feeds off of Quill’s “daddy issues.” More importantly, though, the two stories lift each other up. This is because the true emotional nugget of Quill’s story lies not with Ego but with Yondu. While a more zany and comedic character in Vol. 1, the blue-skinned space pirate gets a more tragic & weight presence in Vol. 2 (served all the better by Michael Rooker’s solid acting). In short, Yondu has to wrestle with his mistakes (specifically in how his flawed approach to parenting Quill)—which he does thanks to some quality time in jail with Rocket—and this properly & impactfully sets him up for a heroic sacrifice & redemption arc by saving Quill at the cost of his own life. By the time of Yondu’s funeral, the separate emotional journeys of Quill and Gamora pay off tremendously well. Whereas Quill honors Yondu’s memory by accepting him as a pretty good father figure, Gamora manages to set aside any ego & genuinely reach out to Nebula despite the latter’s struggle to accept such an embrace. If you ask me, it’s these four characters and the relationships they have with each that make Vol. 2 as good as it is. When it comes to our other team members, Dave Bautista is easily the “most improved” in how he brings Drax to life. Even doing as well as he did in Vol. 1 with his comedic timing, Bautista clearly took Gunn’s approach to writing the character for him & ran with it. The result? Some of the funniest line deliveries in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe which are only surpassed by Drax’s moments in other ensemble movies like Avengers: Infinity War…and Baby Groot. While Gunn clearly adjusted his writing of Drax to play to Bautista’s strengths, perhaps the best creative decision he made for Vol. 2 in terms of bringing the comedy was retaining the original Groot’s psychopathic bloodlust & preserving it in a toddler-like personality (both physically & emotionally). With a lack of care for consequences or stakes, Baby Groot’s use in the plot and his dynamics with all the Guardians really helps alleviate the tension when needed without feeling inconsistent with the Groot we met in the first movie. He's just SO CUTE! How can you ever punish him for the murders he commits?!? 😊 To be clear, I really like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. It just doesn’t hit the same emotional & thematic highs of its predecessor, but that doesn’t mean it fails in achieving the goals that it’s trying to accomplish. By fleshing out these characters & their relationships to one another while testing their resolve as a team and reluctant family, Vol. 2 sets up some great stuff to come with the Guardians (particularly Rocket with teases of his backstory readying him to be front and center in Vol. 3). But, by the end of this movie, the question now becomes: what would it be like to see the Guardians interact with other superheroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Avengers: Infinity War (2018) While there might’ve been worries among some fans about the Guardians being put in the creative hands of new storytellers—directors Joe and Anthony Russo & writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely—their first appearance in an Avengers flick somehow exceeded expectations (at least mine). With James Gunn’s presence still felt as an executive producer, this team of cosmic superheroes fit right in with Earth’s mightiest heroes in their biggest adventure yet while still having arcs of their own. One of my personal favorite aspects of how the Guardians are depicted in Infinity War is the intricacies of their relationships with one another. Both the awkwardly funny dynamic between Drax and Mantis & the more parental role that Rocket has with an irritable Teen Groot build upon what was set up in Vol. 2 (even though the former two lack a significant presence amongst the insanely massive cast that this movie has). More importantly, though, the “unspoken thing” between Quill and Gamora is finally paid off here with their romance out in the open for both their fellow Guardians and the audience to relish. All in all, since their adventure in this movie takes place four years after Vol. 2, the filmmakers of Infinity War deftly & expertly depict a realistic take on what this dysfunctional family would be like after so long traversing the galaxy together. Which makes their separation & ultimate disintegration by the end all the more tragic. But I’ll et to that later. 😊 It's not a controversial thing to say that the most important member of the Guardians to the emotional story of Infinity War is Gamora. With only teases of the trauma that she and Nebula experienced as adopted daughters/soldiers of Thanos (Josh Brolin), this movie puts that twisted father-son relationship front and center due to making the “Mad Titan” the secret protagonist of the narrative. As such, the Russo and their collaboration with Markus and McFeely ensures that the audience becomes invested in the complexities of Thanos’ warped sense of fatherly affection & protective instinct for Gamora despite her inability to reciprocate such feelings. This major subplot of the first two acts of the film about this relationship features a great performance from Saldaña who cannot accept that her genocidal megalomaniac of a father could ever truly love anyone…let alone her. This culminates in Thanos sacrificing Gamora’s life to come one step closer to his goal by acquiring the Soul Stone, which makes for the most emotionally affecting death in Infinity War (at least until the third act). Without touching on the future of the character in the MCU, I thought this end for this version of Gamora was fittingly tragic & a necessarily impactful loss at this point in the film. Combined with Quill failing to live up to his cryptic promise to take Gamora’s life if Thanos captures her, Infinity War plays on the irreverent rage that boils in Chris Pratt’s portrayal of Star-Lord so that…I’m gonna say it; maybe it’s a hot take, but I don’t care. Quill punching Thanos in the face on Titan upon learning that he killed Gamora WORKS. Not only does it work for the overall story of the movie, but it’s CONSISTENT WITH THE CHARACTER. Remember when Ego revealed in Vol. 2 that he was responsible for Meredith Quill’s cancer? Did Star-Lord yell in his face for a minute before lashing out?!? NOPE! He reacted offensively by pulling out his guns & SHOOTING HIM!! If anything, Quill should’ve been even more aggressive from the jump once he knew of Gamora’s sacrifice at Thanos’ hand. 😊 On a serious note, though, I appreciate how tragic the route that Quill and Gamora’s love goes in this movie. It fits the more serious & dramatic tone of Infinity War by injecting believable stakes for these characters that we’ve come to love. Not only can they die, but Thanos’ control of the all-powerful Infinity Stones can be used in such a way as to exert complete control over their selfless acts for one another (namely, Quill reluctantly & heartbreakingly trying to kill Gamora before the Reality Stone intervenes). But what about the other Guardians? Well, Thor and Groot have a fun side adventure with Thor (Chris Hemsworth) traveling to Nidavellir where—with the help of its sole surviving dwarf king Eitri (Peter Dinklage)—they forge a “Thanos-killing” weapon for the muscular God of Thunder. While this sometimes feels like unnecessarily stretched-out scenes that pack the already long runtime of Infinity War, I appreciate that both of our computer-generated Guardians get decent character moments here. For one thing, Rocket seems to have softened a bit during his time with the rest of the crew which is reflected in how sensitive he is (relatively speaking) with Thor as he wrestles with the emotional trauma of everyone that he cares about being dead (two of them at Thanos’ hand). Groot, on the other hand, is mostly depicted as a teenager with an attitude who could care less about what’s going on around him most of the time. But, at the pivotal moment that Thor needs his new weapon to survive the blast of a dying star, he echoes the selfless streak of the original Groot in Vol. 1 by cutting off his own arm to form the handle of the magical axe that is Stormbreaker. Together, their roles in Thor’s hero’s journey help serve the INCREDIBLE pay-off of the three of them using the Bifrost to land in Wakanda with a bang & wreak havoc against Thanos’ troops on Earth. Overall, their chemistry with Thor is one of many examples of why Infinity War is special: it allowed the audience that was invested in the MCU for a decade feel rewarded by seeing characters that were never in the same movie before share the same frame & be badass together. What more can you ask for? Which brings me to Nebula. Admittedly, her presence is much more important to the plot of the next Avengers flick. That being said, Karen Gillan does not disappoint here with what she’s given. By building off the humanizing story that James Gunn teased in Vol. 1 and built upon in Vol. 2, Infinity War pays that off by showing that Nebula has come to genuinely care for Gamora due to her intense concern for her well-being once Thanos takes her off to Vormir alone. And her realizing that her sister was killed by their father as part of his quest for the Infinity Stones makes for some solid character work that, fortunately, only gets better the next time around. All in all, I think you could watch just the first two Guardians of the Galaxy movies and then watch Avengers: Infinity War and be invested in the journeys of these cosmic characters just enough for the film to work as a whole. My confidence in that statement points not only to the strong work that Gunn did as the writer-director of his MCU movies, but also the care that the Russo Brothers and Markus and McFeely took in their ensemble flick to ensure that the Guardians earned the screen time that they deserved before playing on the fans’ love for them by dusting most of them in its fatal final minutes… Even though I only tear up when Tom Holland’s Spider-Man dies in the arms of his mentor Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.). 😊 Avengers: Endgame (2019) Admittedly, the Guardians don’t have too significant a presence in the most recent Avengers movie since the core of the narrative is focused on closing out the stories of the six original heroes who first united against an army of Thanos back in 2012. That being said, what we do get from our two surviving Guardians—Rocket and Nebula—offers a surprising amount of emotional weight to chew on. To begin with everybody’s favorite CG raccoon, Rocket’s small yet important arc in Endgame is a touching mirror on all of his experiences with the rest of the Guardians since they first teamed up. In other words, despite his quick-to-anger nature & biting sarcastic derision of characters like Peter Quill, Rocket seems to have been genuinely affected by losing almost all of his friends (like the “check with the antennae 😊”) and does not hesitate one bit committing to the “time heist” plan first conceptualized by Scott Lang/Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) if it means a chance of bringing them back. From the first shot of Rocket only minutes into the movie, this heartbreak is not told but shown in how warm he is to seeing Nebula—the only other surviving Guardian—as he puts his hand in hers & they mourn the loss of their family and friends together. Admittedly, this is one of the few emotional moments we get out of Rocket in Endgame. Most of the time, he’s still his wisecracking, asshole self in how he interacts with both Stark and Bruce Banner/Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) who he comes to somewhat appreciate as fellow “smart guys.” However, one of the more rewarding new relationships of Rocket’s established in Infinity War that pays off well here is with Thor. Having seen hints of his desire to mentor the god of thunder during his time of grief in the previous Avengers flick, I really enjoyed the pep talk that he gives “Fat Thor” during their mission to Asgard in the past. Not only is it a reminder of how personal the stakes are for all of our heroes, but Rocket in particular: without Quill, Drax, Mantis, and (most importantly) Groot, he has no real family. All in all, I think these emotional moments are merely a tease of the heartbreaking story to come with our cybernetically-enhanced psychopath of a raccoon in Vol. 3. However, even the fact that Rocket is perhaps my favorite Guardian by no means diminishes the undeniable truth that Karen Gillan’s Nebula plays a much more important role in this story. As a heartbroken character grieving the loss of Gamora at the hands of their father, Nebula’s slow-burn of a hero’s journey finally pays off fully in Endgame. First, she almost singlehandedly (with Rocket’s help) brings the surviving Avengers to Thanos’ retirement planet so they can take the Infinity Stones back and, ultimately, kill him. But her story only begins there. Once the heroes figure out the technology necessary to pull off the “time heist,” Nebula offers critical information about where the Soul Stone is (despite not knowing of how Thanos secured it in the prior film). More importantly, though, she is the key to 2014’s Thanos learning of what the Avengers are doing. Despite trying to warn them, Nebula is captured by her alternate-timeline father’s two adopted daughters—including an angrier & more frightened version of herself. Admittedly, Nebula killing her other self to save Gamora is a bit on the nose thematically: pulling that trigger symbolizes her ridding herself of the “old Nebula” and committing fully to the path of a hero. But, I still appreciate what she has to do to get there. Whereas the original Gamora was the one who had to reach out to her in Vol. 2, Nebula must be the one to get that ball rolling in Endgame so that she can win the other Gamora’s trust & they can work together to stop the evil version of Nebula from helping 2014’s Thanos carry out his diabolical plan. Thus, her emotional arc that James Gunn started in his films finally comes to fruition in Endgame which helps her be a far more interesting & enjoyable character than what she started out as in the original Guardians of the Galaxy movie. That’s a majority of the character work for the Guardians in Endgame. By the third act, the main event happens—the dusted heroes come back, including the Guardians that “died” at the very end of Infinity War. The most significant pay-off of this series of events is watching a resurrected Peter Quill reunite with a different version of Gamora who lacks any personal connection to him (which makes Gamora kicking Quill in the genitals all the more hilarious). On a serious note, though, I’m very interested to see what James Gunn does with the Quill-Gamora relationship in Vol. 3 since I don’t believe that it would be realistic for them to fall in love again by the end of the movie…but a man can hope. 😊 Thus, the “Infinity Saga” and the Russo Brothers send off the Guardians in a fittingly comedic fashion. Preoccupied with finding the 2014 Gamora trapped in this new reality, Quill butts heads with Thor who eagerly takes up the offer of a ride after abdicating his rule over Asgard to Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson). While it’s a funny scene, I can’t help but think that such an opportunity of making the Guardians pivotal to the story of the next Thor movie (or vice-versa) ultimately went to waste with their glorified cameo appearances in Taika Waititi’s Thor: Love and Thunder. But, I still have faith that the Guardians will get a fitting conclusion to their story with James Gunn’s third and final Marvel Studios film. The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (2022) But before getting to Vol. 3, James Gunn decided to give us a small dose of the Guardians in Phase Four of the MCU with a Christmas special on Disney+. Coming in at a breezy forty-minute runtime, the Holiday Special works on its own terms as a sufficiently enjoyable opportunity for fans of this dysfunctional cosmic family to “check in” and how they’ve been holding up since the events of Avengers: Endgame. Unlike the first two Guardians movies or the two Avengers movies involving these characters, the Holiday Special isn’t trying to tell a sweeping, big-stakes space opera adventure. Rather, it’s a relatively intimate look at the emotional state of the Guardians since taking over Knowhere from its previous owner—the Collector (Benicio del Toro)—to allow the audience to ground ourselves in where their stories might be going in Vol. 3. Primarily, Peter Quill is clearly lonely with Gamora gone (whether it be his Gamora who was killed in Infinity War or the 2014 Gamora who reunited with him in Endgame). This sets up the central narrative of this special involving Mantis’ first big spotlight as a veteran member of the team wanting to console Quill out of a familial sense of duty. With the reveal that Mantis is Quill’s half-sister (being the biological product of Ego), James Gunn injects much of the heart of the Holiday Special. Having lost the love of his life, Quill is reminded by Mantis’ selfless kindness the amount of love he’s still surrounded by with the surviving members of the Guardians which (hopefully) will help bring him out of his funk heading into Vol. 3. Overall, I appreciated Pom Klementieff (with a very capable scene partner in Dave Bautista as Drax) being given center stage here since she has clearly found the comedic & emotional sweet spots of the character of Mantis. Needless to say, I’m excited to see more of her and Quill’s burgeoning sibling relationship in Vol. 3. Unsurprisingly, the Holiday Special has no shortage of funny lines & hilarious antics. Being a James Gunn-written MCU project, its central plot device of Mantis and Drax traveling to Earth so they can kidnap Quill’s childhood hero—Kevin Bacon (Kevin Bacon)—as a Christmas present makes for some really funny scenes & zany action set pieces. Clearly, the budget of the Holiday Special is not on par with a theatrical MCU movie but this does little to detract from the special’s sheer entertainment value. Fortunately, the strong clash of personalities between Drax and Mantis more than makes up for the low-budget filmmaking on display (especially when a brainwashed Kevin Bacon is added into the mix). Admittedly, the rest of the Guardians get few moments but certainly leave a lasting impression with the limited screen time they have. The scene involving Rocket bickering with the Guardians’ newest member—Cosmo the Spacedog (Maria Bakalova)—makes me very excited to see more of the telekinetic canine interacting with all of the Guardians in Vol. 3. Furthermore, Karen Gillan nails her comedic timing & cadence with her delivering the robotic arm of Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) to Rocket as a Christmas present as well as her absurdly ridiculous quip about actors. And, of course, I can’t mention the laugh-out-loud moments of the Holiday Special without giving a shout-out to…SWOLE GROOT! With a few lines, Vin Diesel does not fail in reminding us why Groot is great in all forms (especially when he’s dancing like a bumbling child without inhibition or shame). Again, I don’t think the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is a must-watch piece of comic book entertainment. But, as part of my look back at the journey of the Guardians heading into Vol. 3, it serves as a super fun & easy-to-watch prologue to their final MCU outing as one of the best superhero ensembles ever made for the silver screen. Simply put, with six years separating Vol. 2 and Vol. 3, I think fans are more than ready to see how the Guardians’ story ends with James Gunn at the helm of the ship. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023) [NOTE: This blog contains spoilers for “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.” You have been warned.] Walking out of the theater this weekend, I was pretty confident that I really enjoyed Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 while also being quite certain that I didn’t love it. Did that leave me feeling disappointed by the film? No, but I also wouldn’t be honest if I said that I felt no slight annoyance at the fact that James Gunn’s conclusion to this franchise fell short of absolutely blowing my mind. Given the nature of the movie being the final appearance of this version of the Guardians in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I think it did a lot of things right in that respect while also being arguably the weakest movie that Gunn has made for Marvel Studios. It's difficult to dissect both the admirable strengths & noticeable flaws of Vol. 3 without addressing its central narrative focused on fleshing out Rocket Raccoon’s backstory. Without question, the most consistent criticism that people seem to have for the movie—especially compared to its two predecessors—is how dark it is (specifically with regards to the inclusion of animal cruelty in explaining Rocket’s origins). Honestly, I’m somewhat torn. On the one hand, this didn’t greatly diminish my viewing experience for a number of reasons. Gunn teased this horrific backstory prior (especially in Vol. 1) so I wasn’t shocked to see it come to fruition in Vol. 3. Also, the other Guardians movies feature some pretty heavy material (i.e. Quill’s mom dying in the first five minutes of Vol. 1, Ego murdering his hundreds of children in Vol. 2). Thus, this storytelling device felt rather on brand for Gunn’s take on these characters. That being said, I can understand how many people would be overwhelmed by the rather explicit imagery depicting the sheer devastating lives imposed upon Rocket and his friends by the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji). Especially given our society’s incredibly powerful attachment to our furry friends (which, as a dog owner myself, I am by no means excluded from). Ultimately, though, this aspect of Rocket’s backstory felt tonally consistent with other aspects of the darker side of the Guardians’ storylines while also doing its job of being (for me) the source of most emotionally affecting moments in the whole movie. Namely, the tragic end of Rocket’s friends—Lylla the otter (Linda Cardellini), Teefs the walrus (Asim Chaudhry), and Floor the rabbit (Mikaela Hoover)—which forces him to escape Counter-Earth alone and, by doing so, carrying the weight of the guilt he feels for their deaths throughout his whole life up to and including the duration of Vol. 3. This is why, in my humble opinion, Gunn’s inclusion of these flashbacks to Rocket’s past work in the end. He pays them off by having them service Rocket’s arc that began all the way back in Vol. 1 when he relied on his hyper-intelligence and intensely crude sarcasm to push people away & bury his past to keep him from truly accepting & loving himself for who he is. A leader, and a good raccoon. I see why it didn’t work for some viewers. And, honestly, I think there’s more room to criticize the extent of the role of these flashbacks in the film’s two-and-a-half-hour runtime. For me, the worst part of this creative choice by Gunn is the fact that we got so little of Bradley Cooper’s incredibly talented voice work for much of this movie (let alone compared to Vol. 1 and Vol. 2) which I selfishly wanted so much more of. Not only could Vol. 3 have showcased Cooper’s best work yet, but I think it sours my viewing of the movie a little if this indeed is Rocket’s final appearance in the MCU (fingers crossed it isn’t!!). Setting Rocket aside for a moment, I think Gunn ensures that he maximizes the runtime of Vol. 3 to give every single member of the Guardians at least a couple of moments to shine. That being said, some of them get more significant arcs than others (mostly deservedly so). In some ways, Peter Quill/Star-Lord—arguably the original protagonist of this franchise (or, at the very least, Vol. 2)—is a little sidelined but still gets a surprisingly grounded & emotional arc here. Not only does he spent most of the movie trying to redeem himself for not being fit to defend Rocket from Adam Warlock (Will Poulter) attacking Knowhere early on, but he comes to terms with the fact that his love for “his Gamora” from the first two Guardians films and Infinity War simply will not be reciprocated by the “new Gamora.” Given the fact that the Gamora that Zoë Saldaña plays in Vol. 3 is (in MCU lingo) a variant from another timeline who has no memory of her time with the Guardians (let alone her romance with Quill), I appreciated the fact that James Gunn avoided the trap of forcing a romance with these characters just to service the fan base who were invested in their dynamic from earlier films. If anything, it’s one of the subtler narrative choices of Vol. 3 that I think services both of their characters. Whereas Gamora (despite remaining with her new family, the Ravagers) comes to respect Quill & appreciate the love that the Guardians share with one another, Quill comes to terms with how his obsession with Gamora in this movie debilitated his leadership of the family that he still has. Thus, it makes sense that he steps down from leading the Guardians at the end & returns to Earth to reconnect with his grandfather Jason (Gregg Henry). Again, I can understand some people’s criticism that Gamora’s antagonistic dynamic with the Guardians for two-thirds of the film due to her not being the same Gamora from before somewhat diminishes the finality of Saldaña being done with the role after Vol. 3. I want to remind these folks that James Gunn agreed to the creative decision made in Infinity War and Endgame. Beyond that, though, Gamora has always had a less-than-friendly rapport with most of the Guardians (even Quill at times). Therefore, I think that if any of these characters were to end their journey as something of an outsider from the rest of the team it would be her. Regarding the other core team members, Nebula and Mantis have arguably more to do emotionally than Quill or Gamora. In the midst of the two characters constantly butting heads with each other, the former comes to terms with the angry part of her personality as a by-product of her tortured past as a daughter-servant of Thanos & must reconcile that aspect of herself to embrace what she was always meant to be: a hero and a Guardian of the Galaxy. Mantis, meanwhile, tries her damnedest to hold this dysfunctional family together despite their best efforts to rip it apart. In that respect, Mantis’ role in the narrative embodies a pretty risky choice by Gunn to emphasize the “dysfunction” of this group of oddballs and misfits. Granted, it ties well back to Vol. 1 & works to reinforce the notion that these characters each have their own shit-stained interpersonal baggage that they’ve been largely ignoring in order to make the Guardians work. If that sentiment is taken to its logical conclusion, I think Gunn always meant to break up the Guardians in this kind of bittersweet fashion. Reflecting how great rock bands throughout history have parted ways, only to experience successful solo careers or discover themselves without sharing an identity with fellow musicians, each member of the Guardians ends Vol. 3 on pretty unique paths of their own: Quill relinquishes leadership of the team to live something of a normal life on Earth, Nebula and Drax accept the responsibility of leading Knowhere & raising the children they saved from the High Evolutionary, Mantis sets out on her own to figure out who she is without Ego or the Guardians telling her what to do, and Rocket fulfills the leadership role that he was meant for as the head of a new iteration of the Guardians. Simply put, there’s a lot of poetic perfection tied up in these endings. In the vein of other reluctant heroes like Bilbo Baggins, Quill would rather live the rest of his days with his sole surviving blood relative than gallivanting around the cosmos without Gamora at his side. Conversely, Rocket and his muscular tree companion Groot live for the action so it makes sense that they stick around to carry on the Guardians’ legacy. Nebula, meanwhile, gets the chance to be the parental figure that Thanos never was by creating a safe & loving environment for the displaced child-experiments of the High Evolutionary (thus saving them from a similar fate that she suffered for years). At her side is Drax, the widowed loner who turned to violence & anger out of the grief of losing his wife and daughter. Now, he not only has a plutonic partner in Nebula to lead Knowhere but also gets a second chance to do what he always wanted to do with his life: be a father. Ultimately, Vol. 3 ends the saga of James Gunn’s Guardians in pretty satisfying fashion. While the ending he chose for this team was unexpected & not as emotional as it could’ve been for me, I do think it feels right for the story that Gunn set out to tell ten years ago. Will some of them return in future MCU projects? Well, if you’ve seen Vol. 3 in theaters you know that at least one of them will. And while I’d be fine with pretty much any of them showing up again, I do think that it’ll be difficult to recapture the magic of these characters all sharing the screen together under Gunn’s apt direction & creative vision. At the end of the day, how will I remember the journey of James Gunn’s rag-tag team of destructive misfits in the MCU? As a whole, very fondly. These characters have more than earned a special place in my heart as one of the best superhero teams ever assembled for the silver screen. Furthermore, the mix of action, humor, drama, emotion, and (OF COURSE!) banger soundtracks that James Gunn melded into this comic book movie franchise will forever live on in the hearts of movie fans even long after the MCU ends (which may not be for some time). In my humble opinion, I don’t think that we can ask much more from a creator than that. What movie has your favorite appearance of the Guardians of the Galaxy? After the events of Vol. 3, do you want to see any of the original Guardians appear in future MCU projects or would you prefer that their journeys end here? What opinions of mine do you find absolutely ridiculous? Let me know in the comments below. Until next time, this has been… Yours Truly, Amateur Analyst
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Austin McManusI have no academic or professional background in film production or criticism; I simply love watching and talking about movies. Archives
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