When I look at James Gunn’s filmography, I see one thing in particular Director of The Outsiders. What seems strange and different at first glance, he embraces with contagious warmth. No wonder that Marvel boss Kevin Feige brought him on board when it came to bringing the Marvel film with the rowdy killer raccoon and talking tree to the cinema.
Guardians of the Galaxy was far from a surefire hit for Marvel. Who on earth are Star-Lord, Drax and Gamora? Gunn made the strange characters seem so approachable and cool that the film became the biggest superhero blockbuster of 2014 became. With just three words (“I’m Groot”), the talking tree conquered the hearts of fans. And even the killer raccoon turned out to be a cute creature.
Not in a good mood in the MCU: Guardians of the Galaxy 3 strikes an unusually gloomy tone
With lovable characters and the perfect mixtape soundtrack, Gunn has transformed the Guardians of the Galaxy films into the ultimate feel-good adventures of superhero cinema. But Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 told me in the first few minutes that the story would end in a completely different direction goes. With Creep by Radiohead, much darker tones are struck.
You can watch the trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 here:
Guardians of the Galaxy 3 – Trailer (German) HD
Not much remains of the cheerful Guardians team, but this is just the beginning. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 introduces with flashbacks in Rocket’s gruesome past, where he is misused along with other animals for scientific experiments. The High Evolutionary, the film’s big villain, wants to create a perfect world and goes over countless (animal) corpses to do so.
In these scenes, Gunn leaves the motley world of the Guardians and descends into a filthy dungeon where mutilated animals fear for their lives. They are told stories of a utopia, that they will never see. Despite genetic modifications, the High Evolutionary has no interest in taking the animals with him to his brave new world. He despises her because of her flaws.
The Guardians of the Galaxy ultimate boss takes Rocket apart
Gunn consistently spins the outsider story that he has been telling since the first Guardians part. In the end, the unconventional characters with all their flaws meet an opponent whose pursuit of perfection goes so far that he obliterates everything around, which does not correspond to his ideal. As soon as one of his experiments goes wrong, the next planet is simply pulverized with all its living beings.
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The High Evolutionary in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
The analytical cruelty that underlies the villain’s motivation is one of the most brutal aspects of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Where Adam Warlock crashes haphazardly into the Guardians family, the High Evolutionary waits with the scalpel. He wants to slash Rocket and dem traumatized raccoons extract the valuable brain before throwing it away with the other failed experiments.
That was one of the most devastating moments for me. Gunn is actually very open about his abysmal themes, which quickly makes it clear where the film is headed. But as the young Rocket’s innocent eyes realizing that the supposed savior is actually an unscrupulous tormentor who never stops adding pain, it tore me up. I wasn’t prepared for that.
Despite all the cuteness that tries to mask the horror of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, there is something hiding in this film unexpectedly unruly. Gunn keeps coming back to the uncomfortable dungeon because he knows he’ll find a good story here that hasn’t been told in the MCU before.
Guardians of the Galaxy 3 is a great finale to Gunn’s Marvel trilogy and so much more
Over the past few years, we’ve witnessed many apocalypses in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Always there: larger-than-life villains doing bad things. But it has been a long time since a film has managed to link the devastating roar so coherently with the fate of individual characters. Gunn thinks his film about emotions and does not rely blindly on interchangeable spectacle images.
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The Guardians of the Galaxy reunited one last time
At this point in MCU history, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 not only stands as a great conclusion to the best trilogy the franchise has produced to date. Much more Gunn says goodbye with an important impulse from the Marvel cosmos: There are still many exciting things to discover here! Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is the best argument to look to the future of Marvel again with more hope.
The Guardians finale doesn’t feel like one of the many half-hearted winners’ rounds like most MCU projects since the Multiverse saga began. like at that we last experienced in the MCU. Of course, Gunn also put the greatest hits on his latest Marvel mixtape. But more importantly, he created a film that want to tell a real story. In which it’s finally about something again.
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