Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Review

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Dir: James Gunn

Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Sean Gunn, Vin Diesel, and Bradley Cooper

2h 30m

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has its fair share of inspiring champions who perform superhuman feats. And they also have the Guardians of the Galaxy, a ragtag group of oddball personalities who may not have the flash and flare of their counterparts in the Marvel Universe, but, what separates and stands them shoulder-to-shoulder with other heroes, is the huge heart and humor they bring with their heroics. Director James Gunn completes his Marvel trilogy with "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3", crafting a fitting finale for an unlikely family of heroes.

"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" continues its exploration of its eccentric characters, delving deeper into the specifics that have brought each character to the current moment, ultimately motivation, in time. Where the first and second films began with lively, musically driven introductions, "Vol. 3" takes a decidedly different, darker tone with its beginnings. This film is about Rocket (Bradley Cooper) and the bleak trauma experienced as an experiment of the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji), a villain playing god to create a perfect society. The High Evolutionary is a well-conceived menace who exerts threatening power throughout the film, and actor Chukwudi Iwuji is exceptional in the role. 

Rocket is seriously injured after an attack on the mobile home planet of Knowhere by a cosmic golden being named Adam Warlock (Will Poulter). While the other Guardians search to find a cure for Rocket's unique physically altered composition, the Guardian raccoon teeters between life and death. Through flashbacks, Rocket's origin story unfolds. It's emotional and affecting, a rare quality for the Marvel storylines of recent. Gunn does a great job of emphasizing the qualities that make the Guardians unique among the Marvel characters. The unconventional designs for locations and character creations that utilize practical effects instead of CGI, the composition of multilayered characters who consistently exceed expectations with their humanity, and that James Gunn quality of humor that can be deadpan, silly, or simply slapstick, it's the defining characteristics that have always made these films feel distinct and unique.

"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" suffers in moments with weaving too many storylines and characters into the mix, which stalls its momentum and leaves characters in places where they don't have much to do. However, each character is allowed a moment to shine throughout the film. Gunn creates a detached dynamic for the Guardians from the film's beginning. Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) struggles over the loss of Gamora (Zoe Saldana), the group camaraderie feels non-existent, and there is a consistent feeling that the Guardians may be going in separate directions. It's a nice place to start a story for a final installment. While the film struggles to service its overstuffed story, writer/director James Gunn rarely misses a step in delivering what Marvel fans have grown to love from these characters.

"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" is a fond farewell that is both emotional and fun. James Gunn composes a film that continues to implement its unique spin on the Marvel cinematic formula of hero storytelling while demonstrating his professional skillset as one of the best world-building storytellers working in movies.

Monte's Rating

3.50 out of 5.00

The Suicide Squad Review

Suicide Squad

Dir: James Gunn

Starring: Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, John Cena, Viola Davis, Joel Kinnaman, David Dastmalchian, Daniela Melchior, and Sylvester Stallone

2h 12m

 

The modern superhero movie has allowed audiences to grow familiar with strange, odd, and unusual sights. Like an underwater kingdom where an aqua man telepathically controls marine life. Or a young boy who turns into a powerful being just by saying the words "Shazam." It's commonplace to see superhumans battle giant creatures, massive monsters, or ancient gods on the big screen at least once a month these days. 

 

Director James Gunn, who is responsible for producing a specific brand of strange and silly to the Marvel Cinematic Universe with two "Guardians of the Galaxy" films, tackles the reboot/sequel of the bad-guys-gone-good 2016 movie "Suicide Squad." Leave it to James Gunn, the director of some horribly beautiful cinema like "Slither" and "Super" who also got his start in the Troma Entertainment brand, to make the best kind of silly and perverse comic book movie to date. 

 

The mix of dark and mindless humor, gory and unflinching violence, and the odd and quirky heart he gives the characters we shouldn't care about is a combination of everything the writer/director has tailored over all these years. "The Suicide Squad" forms a pitch-perfect comic book movie with a new stance to the saturated market of world-saving heroes. And yes, he also contributes more strange, odd, and usual sights, like a walking, talking shark who sounds like Sylvester Stallone. 

 

Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) organizes a group of outcast bad guys who do covert operations that the world's superheroes can't do. The Suicide Squad, as they call themselves, is assigned to invade the fictional Corto Maltese to stop a government coup with plans to unleash a secret weapon on the rest of the world. The team is led by the reluctant Bloodsport (Idris Elba), a marksman who is touted as putting Superman in the hospital with a kryptonite bullet. The rest of the team features Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) and Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman), both from the previous “Suicide Squad”, and new teammates like the rodent controlling Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchoir), the demoralized Polka-Dot Man (David Dastmalchian), the homicidal justice seeker Peacemaker (John Cena), and a giant walking shark named Nanaue (voiced by Sylvester Stallone). In true comic book fashion, the ragtag team must accomplish their mission before the world is destroyed. 

 

James Gunn takes absurdist humor to incredible extremes throughout the film, taking a bloody or violent moment and undercutting it with some comedy element. Whether dark, deadpan, silly, or sometimes all of them at once, it's within this humor-driven sensibility that "The Suicide Squad" finds its footing for the composition of the characters that range from unredeemable to misguided. 

 

Gunn is an accomplished screenwriter, bringing straight tension and horror with the remake of "Dawn of the Dead" or modernizing the live-action follies of the ghost hunting gang in "Scooby-Doo." Gunn finds the unusual beats and abnormal rhythms in storytelling. It's what separates and defines his unique style. 

 

Throughout "The Suicide Squad," Gunn takes the formulaic structure of the superhero film and modifies it just enough to make it feel out of rhythm. With a character like Harley Quinn, who fans would assume might be front and center in this film, Gunn places the well-known character in a supporting role while giving her the best fight scene the character has in any film. The arrogant Peacemaker is perfectly cast with John Cena, who is doing the charming bad guy wrestler character, even at one time showing up in a mock pair of "tights."  Gunn abrupts the accustomed structure with characters like Nanaue, also known as King Shark, and Ratcather 2, providing them with a piece of the strange heart that grounds the film with emotion amidst the chaos and mayhem that happens consistently on-screen. 

 

  "The Suicide Squad" combines heart, humor, and heroics in fun, ingenious, and gruesome ways. It's the most fun film of all the summer blockbuster films in 2021. 

 

Monte's Rating

4.00 out of 5.00

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Review

 

Guardians of Galaxy Vol. 2

Director: James Gunn

Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Michael Rooker, Kurt Russell, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Elizabeth Debicki, Sean Gunn, and Sylvester Stallone

Have you ever made a mixtape? Those of us from the cassette days probably understand this concept best. It can be a complicated process depending on the kind of theme you want the music to have. Do you start the mix off with something that gets your adrenaline flowing? Do you slowly build the mix towards a climactic final song? For those experienced in this process, you know that there is always a standout mixtape that all other mixtapes will be judged by.

"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2" is like a mixtape in regards to how it handles composing all the good feelings and emotions in order to match the quality that made the first film so excellent. Happy to say that director James Gunn has made a pretty good mixtape of a film here, one that has more emotion and feel good moments than expected, though a few choices keep the film from reaching the heights of its predecessor.

The Guardians of the Galaxy, lead by Peter "Star-Lord" Quill (Chris Pratt), are introduced in preparation to fight a new foe, a blobby, tentacled beast with pulverizing rows of razor sharp teeth. Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper), and Drax (Dave Bautista) fly around chopping and blasting at the beast while an adorable Baby Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel) upstages the entire action set piece with a dance number. From the early moments of the film you can feel the playfulness and silliness that made the first film so unique in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Mr. Gunn, who also penned the script, enjoys moments of levity in his films. When another film would bask in a tension filled action scene, Mr. Gunn instead opts for well placed sight gag or a verbal jab. Many times in his films, it's a welcome moment, however in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" it undercuts some of the nice emotional content that he builds.

The emotional content here was an unexpected surprise, there are more than a few moments that will tug at the heartstrings. It provides an opportunity for the talented cast to display some insight into their characters. There are familial themes strung throughout the entire film, fathers and sons, the bond of siblings, the abandonment and loss of family are a few. Mr. Gunn does a good job of utilizing these narrative elements to add some structure to the characters, which is necessary considering there is no true origin story for the world that these characters operate in. While little elements continue to become clear concerning the core Guardians' team stories, the focus is clearly on Peter Quill's backstory and family. This allows a welcome surprise from veteran actor Kurt Russell playing Peter's father Ego with the kind of charm and laid back demeanor that has made Mr. Russell so appealing for all these years. It's great casting because it's not too big of a stretch to see Mr. Pratt follow in the same career path as Mr. Russell.

 The team in the "Guardians of the Galaxy" film are a near perfect mix for a ragtag team of heroes, even though they aren't the original team from the comic books. While the spotlight was evenly distributed in the first film, some characters are given lesser or too much attention in the sequel. Gamora is trying to patch up her past quarrel with her sister Nebulla (Karen Gillan) but the conflict is never given much time to fully have the impact that it should and Drax's vengeance-fueled emotional quality is substituted for comedy that sometimes hits but mostly misses the target.

There are fan surprises throughout the film, a quality that this franchise completely understands how to incorporate without ruining a scene. But the surprises aren't limited to Marvel world connecting or one-off references to lesser known comics, it's also how Mr. Gunn makes a digital character like Rocket Raccoon the heart of the film or how he takes the talented abilities of Michael Rooker and provides the actor with a character and material that displays why he is such a great actor. While this film may not compose the combination of elements that made the first film so impressive, it's still consistently fun and filled with heart. A good mixtape is a good mixtape.

Monte's Rating

3.50 out of 5.00