My Review of Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)

 

Written And Directed by James Gunn

Rocket: "We'll all fly away together ... one last time ... into the forever and beautiful sky."

With James Gunn's cinematic future due to be the DCU for the foreseeable future and the chain of events that led to such a thing, we're damn lucky he even got to round off the concluding part to this very definitive side of the MCU. All things come to an end and there's no denying that this movie definitely served as an ending for this specific group of characters. Well, mostly.

If Peter Quill/Star Lord (Chris Pratt) drove the main narrative for the first two movies, then it was Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper) who definitely drove it here. The movie opened with a flashback to his origin and in the present day an encounter with the newly born and slightly dim witted Adam Warlock (Will Poulter) led to his life in danger and everyone else banding together in order to save him.

Through flashbacks and beautifully done ones I might we learned that Rocket's evolution came courtesy of the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji) who merely viewed Rocket as an experiment before becoming incensed by the latter's superior intelligence. Yup, if there was an award for a truly despicable baddie, it would be this guy.

The High Evolutionary was so threatened by Rocket, he ended up killing the latter's friends, Lylla (Linda Cardellini), Teefs (Asim Chaudhry) and Floor the Rabbit (Mikaela Hoover) in order to get his point across and that was just in flashbacks. In the present day he had no issue with destroying other planets and threatening the Sovereign (whom he created) in order to get what he wanted. Hence the returning Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki) trying to get Adam to get Rocket for the High Evolutionary. A task which ADam repeatedly failed at.

Character wise, Adam Warlock might be the most divisive aspect of the movie. He's a bit too dumb for his own good, though his affection for a cute little creature does endear him before he ultimately changed sides during the third act. Not to mention becoming a part of a group that in this movie alone went through quite the evolution of it's own.

The group being the Guardians, united in wanting to help Rocket but all having different ways of handling the growing threat of the High Evolutionary. Nebula (Karen Gillan) had no problem with contacting Gamora (Zoe Saldana) and the Ravagers for help. However she did have a problem with Peter and Gamora's more strained dynamic and often lost her patience with both Drax (Dave Bautista) and Mantis (Pom Klementieff) although as the movie progressed, the three of them really stepped up as a team and and as individuals while the now swole version of Groot (Vin Diesel) was also given some rather cool moments on screen.

As for Kraglin (Sean Gunn) and Cosmo the Spacedog (Maria Bakalova), they had their own strange dynamic and were largely kept out of the main action until the last half hour when both their individual skill sets came in handy. There are a lot of characters in this movie, but James Gunn fortunately knows how to handle large cast members with nearly everyone faring well for this final saga.

As for the Guardians themselves, I'm surprised this movie didn't straight up kill any of them, because there were definitely moments throughout where it looked like every character was about to get it. However where every character ended up felt right for all of them and after nearly a decade of them on the big screen and Disney+, this was a great place to end this journey.

- Some of James Gunn's faves such as Michael Rosenbaum, Nathan Fillion as well as Daniela Melchior and Jennifer Holland all popped up in very small roles here. As did Howard the Duck (Seth Green) and Stakar Ogord (Sylvester Stallone). 

- The mid and post credit scenes had Rocket leading a new team and Peter on Earth with his grandfather, played by Gregg Henry.

- Going by one final credit, perhaps we should expect the return of The Legendary Star Lord? I'm betting he'll appear in Secret Wars. 

- Was anyone surprised when Yondu (Michael Rooker) showed up? I would've been surprised if he hadn't.

- Standout music: Come And Get Your Love by Redbone, Creep by Radiohead, Dog Days Are Over by Florence And The Machine and No Sleep Til Brooklyn by Beastie Boys.

- Chronology: Around 2023 or past that point. Mostly on Knowhere, Counter-Earth and Orgocorp.

Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 marked the end of a journey and it's been a wild one. The weirdest corner of the MCU came to an end and did it in style. Every one of the characters got the best and in some cases bittersweet ending and we got a really despicable baddie with the High Evolutionary. James Gunn definitely ended his time with the MCU on a high note.

Rating: 9 out of 10

My Review of Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)

 

Written And Directed by James Gunn

Ego: "Listen to me! You are a god. If you kill me, you'll be just like everybody else!"

Peter: "What's so wrong with that?"

Ah, the middle part in a trilogy. Where everyone has gotten to know one another and their respective flaws and yet, there's a deep love there. That's exactly where the Guardians are with each as a team. They have a reputation to uphold and have made a name for themselves. Saying that, there's still some teething problems.

Anyways our group consisting of  Star Lord/Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Rocket (Bradley Cooper), Baby Groot (Vin Diesel) and Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista) open the movie by getting some batteries for a golden species named the Sovereign as led by Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki). A simple transaction that went pear shaped due to Rocket stealing back the batteries in question, incurring Ayesha's wrath in the process.

Stealing from the Sovereign turns out to be a galactic no no and pretty soon, Ayesha enlisted the Ravagers led by Yondu (Michael Rooker) but pretty soon the latter's softening resolve for Quill had right hand man Kraglin (Sean Gunn) accidentally leading to a revolt against Yondu. This led to the rather unfortunately named Taserface (Chris Sullivan) taking control and Roxket largely taking the piss out of his name. Taserface didn't make it out of the first half alive either.

As for the majority of the players themselves, there was the problem of a returning and initially captured Nebula (Karen Gillan), who was still determined to get the better of Gamora but the biggest obstacle was of course the arrival of Peter's father, a Celestial named Ego (Kurt Russell), who somewhat lived up to his name and then some. He's also a living planet.

On top of answering the mystery of Peter's daddy and Quill getting to know his father, there was also the motive of destroying the universe. It turned out that Ego lacked the paternal instinct and was more determined to use Peter to fulfill his agenda, forcing all of the team together along with Nebula and Yondu with the latter making something of a poignant sacrifice. Thus proving that for all of his flaws, Yondu really did see himself as a father to Peter after all.

Along with the Ego of a baddie, we were introduced to empath Mantis (Pom Klementieff), who largely sparked off with Drax, in spite of his insistence that he found her physically unattractive. Not to mention the growing attraction between both Peter and Gamora who definitely acted like a married couple throughout the movie. Of course, their love remained unspoken, in spite of Peter trying to speak it into reality quite a team.

As a team up movie, there was definitely growth among the characters. We saw both Gamora and Nebula reach an impasse in their sibling rivalry while Rocket might have spent the movie being a jerk but Yondu was quick to point out how much Rocket really cared about everyone, including Peter and that's not forgetting how much Rocket loved arguing with Peter. 

- Laura Haddock briefly appeared in flashbacks as part of Ego's backstory. Peter was understandably furious when he learned that Ego caused Meredith's tumour.

- We had appearances from both Sylvester Stallone and Michelle Yeoh as rival Ravagers, both of whom showed respect for Yondu, following the latter's sacrifice. Howard the Duck also popped upmas did Stan Lee.

- Peter was a fan of Knight Rider and idolised David Hasselhoff. Guess which form Ego took at one point in the movie to mess with Peter?

- The mid and post credits scenes had Kraglin testing Yondu's arrow fin, teenage Groot, Stakar Ogord (Sylvester Stallone), Ayesha creating Adam and a group of Watchers ditching their informant.

- Standout music: Fleetwood Mac's The Chain, ELO's Mr Blue Sky and Cat Stevens Father And Son. 

- Chronology: Still 2014 funnily enough and mostly on Ego the Living Planet. Also 1980s flashbacks too. 

Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 was a pretty wild second ride for this group and I largely enjoyed the hell out of it. Fantastic storyline, great character moments, strong action sequences , a killer soundtrack and a lovely commentary on family to boot. Great stuff.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Guardians Of The Galaxy (2014)

 

Written by James Gunn And Nicole Perlman

Directed by James Gunn

Peter (to the team): "So here we are: a thief, two thugs, an assassin and a maniac. But we're not gonna stand by as evil wipes out the galaxy. I guess we're stuck together, partners."

At this point in the MCU, there had been enough hijinks on planet Earth (with the exception of the Thor movies), so it was definitely time to take things on a more cosmic level and this was certainly  great start to that.

Opening with a young Peter Quill (Wyatt Oleff) who witnessed the death of his mother but before he could process his loss, he's abducted by Yondu (Michael Rooker) and his life takes something of a different turn. A turn for the shadier to be perfectly honest.

Cut to twenty six years later and a much older and rather promiscuous Peter (Chris Pratt) was stealing a much sought after orb containing an Infinity Stone and getting himself into all kinds of trouble. Even Yondu was starting to get annoyed with him.

However Yondu was only the tip of his worries as the movie quickly had duo Rocket (Bradley Cooper) and Groot (Vin Diesel) along with trained assassin Gamora (Zoe Saldana) battling Peter to get that orb at the behest of dangerous Kree leader Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace) and her adopted father, Thanos (Josh Brolin).

Except when all four characters met and clashed on Xandar, they immediately ended up in prison, managed to escape and even got an all in Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista) who had his own mason against Ronan and initial dislike for Gamora to boot.

As a rag tag team, the movie depicted the five leads as people with their own demons who struggled to get along with each other at first before the event of Knowhere and Ronan's possession of the Infinity Stone forced them all to step up as a team. It also didn't hurt that Yondu could be easily reasoned with and that characters at Nova Corps such as Irani Rael (Glenn Close) and Rhomann Dey (John C. Reilly) were more receptive to outside help.

The third act of the movie does have some great battle scenes, including Gamora sparring with half sister, Nebula (Karen Gillan), Groot really showcasing his power set along with a heroic sacrifice but it's Peter's "dance off" with Ronan before the group effort to defeat him that proved to be a strong conclusion to the big problem. 

As a team, these guys might be A-holes but they certainly got the job done and made for a rather good team nonetheless. Well, they did manage to stop a planet from getting destroyed, which ain't bad for a first mission. 

- Peter learned that he's half human and it was his other half that made him able to withstand touching the stone. Yondu was also meant to deliver Peter to his father but didn't.

- Josh Brolin had replaced Damion Poitier as Thanos with this movie. Nebula resented his favouritism towards Gamora.

- Rocket was not a fan of Stan Lee with a younger woman and we had Djimon Hounsou as Korath in a supporting role.

- A post credit scene showed Howard the Duck (Seth Green) disgusted at Cosmo the Spacedog licking the Collector (Benicio Del Toro).

 - Standout music: The highlights were Come And Get Your Love, Cherry Bomb, Ain't No Mountain High Enough and Hooked On A Feeling. 

- Chronology: The movie opens in 1988 but is largely set in 2014, the year of its release.

Guardians Of The Galaxy marked an impressive debut for James Gunn in the world of comic book movies and definitely was one of the biggest high points of the early-ish days of the MCU. Pretty much everything in this movie comes together perfectly. One of my favourites in this franchise.

Rating: 9 out of 10

My Review of The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special (2022)

 

Written And Directed by James Gunn

Drax (to Mantis): "We've ruined Christmas worse than Yondu."

2022 has certainly been the year for James Gunn. From a critical and successful hit for HBO Max with Peacemaker to getting the keys to DC Studios with Peter Safran, the guy has had quite the career boost. Of course before Gunn fully gets on board with mapping out the future of DC, there's still his work for Marvel and here's the first of two projects surrounding the Guardians Of The Galaxy.

It's Christmas time and Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) doesn't seem to be in the festive cheer mode. Animated flashbacks point to a previous experience ruined by Yondu (Michael Roooker) half told by Kraglin (Sean Gunn). As a result, both Mantis (Pom Klementieff) and Drax (Dave Bautista) take it upon themselves to bring Christmas spirit to Peter.

Their great idea of course was to go to Earth and bring Kevin Bacon to Peter, which turned out to be a bit of a challenge. Not that a challenge deterred either Mantis or Drax. Nope, they got drunk with locals at a bars, chased Kevin Bacon out of his house and even managed to take out some cops at the same time before succeeding in their mission.

Then as they made their way back to Peter, both Mantis and Drax found themselves disappointed upon realising that Kevin Bacon was an actor and that the events of movies such as Footloose and Friday The 13th really didn't happen after all. Once they got past their disgust of Kevin being an actor, they did bring him to Peter, who freaked out a bit over his crew members kidnapping a real life person.

I have to admit it was rather funny watching Kevin Bacon sending himself up a bit and his scenes with the Guardians in question were nothing short of delightful. We even got a rather lovely singing moment too with him, which made Kevin endearing to Nebula (Karen Gillan) who also doesn't have a very high opinion of actors.

However I think the best moment of the entire special was the lovely final scene where Mantis revealed that she was Peter's half-sister and he completely embraced that. It was a lovely touching moment along with the full reveal of the animated Christmas flashback with Yondu's real reaction to Christmas with Peter. 

- New crew member Cosmo the Spacedog (Maria Bakalova) appeared here and even factored in the post credit sequence with Groot (Vin Diesel) and Rocket (Bradley Cooper). Both Flula Borg and Mark Hamill had cameo appearances here too.

- Yes, we got a Bat,an reference here and the discourse surrounding it has been amusing to watch over the last few days.

- Standout music: The Pogue's & Kirsty McColl's Fairytale Of New York, Kevin Bacon and Old 97's Here It Is Christmastime and Fountains Of Wayne's I Want An Alien For Christmas.

- Chronology: Effectively this felt like a prelude to Guardians Of The Galaxy Volume 3.

The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special was an absolute delight to watch. A fun, breezy 40 minute special that was genuinely funny, genuinely heartfelt and touching and very Christmassy to boot. Excellent performances from Dave Bautista, Pom Klementieff, Chris Pratt and Kevin Bacon. Disney+ really should do more of these specials for the MCU.

Rating: 9 out of 10