Stubs - Superman (2025)

Superman (2025) starring David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion, Isabela Merced Directed by James Gunn Screenplay by James Gunn. Based on characters created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Produced by Peter Safran, James Gunn Run time: 129 minutes. Color. USA. Superhero

When launching a new DC Universe, James Gunn started with Superman, a logical place to begin. Superman is not the first superhero, but he is perhaps the best known. And since Gunn didn’t feel the need to retell Superman’s origin story, the film feels somewhat like a sequel rather than a starting place. We’re given a little bit of exposition in text at the beginning, but I couldn’t help but feel like I was coming in the middle of a story that was already in progress. And there are a lot of things that are never explained, like his Fortress of Solitude.

Stubs - Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol 3 - Best MCU Since Endgame?

Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 (2023) starring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Sean Gunn, Chukwudi Iwuji, Will Poulter, Elizabeth Debicki, Maria Bakalova, Sylvester Stallone. Directed by James Gunn. Screenplay by James Gunn. Based on Marvel Comics. Produced by Kevin Feige. Run time: 150 minutes. USA. Superhero, MCU

As he departs for DC, James Gunn leaves the MCU and Guardians of the Galaxy with what may be the best MCU film since Endgame (2019), which is four years and approximately one and a half phases later. This says something about Gunn's prowess, as well as the relative weakness of MCU fare of late. As it is, this sequel comes about six years after Vol. 2, which itself was not one of the greats.

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special

I’m not the first to admit to losing interest in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) following the ending of Phase 3, thanks to the seeming lack of an obvious end goal and the overwhelming amount of content Marvel Studios expects fans to keep up with. As a result, I’ve ended up being very selective with what I watch going forward, no longer caring as much about continuity, though I haven’t really enjoyed whatever I chose to watch from Phase 4 aside from Spider-Man: No Way Home. As a fan of the Guardians of the Galaxy sub-series, I did have an interest in two projects that were announced for the MCU, those being the recently-released The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (Holiday Special) and the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, the former being billed as the conclusion to Phase 4. Although I wasn’t able to watch the former right away when it released on Disney+, due to being away on a Thanksgiving trip at the time, I did watch it as soon as I got back and overall found it to be one of the few things actually worth watching from Phase 4.

The Suicide Squad

Of the DCEU films that I’ve seen, the Academy Award winning 2016 film Suicide Squad is easily one of the worst, which was sort of a misguided attempt to emulate Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, only with a haphazard and forgettable story thanks to heavy executive meddling. When I heard the announcement of a sequel known as The Suicide Squad, I already wasn’t sure about it since I had been burned the first time, however my hopes were raised when I learned James Gunn himself was attached to direct, during the brief period in which he was not working for Disney (I will not get into why). Though it was one of several movies affected by the ongoing pandemic, I awaited this movie as the release date approached in the hopes that Gunn would be able to salvage the original film. After watching it on HBO Max as part of their day-and-date programming, I found the movie to exceed my expectations, even being a vast improvement over the original.

Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed

After a viewing of Scooby-Doo (2002), we noticed that the sequel, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, was also available for free streaming and decided we may as well give it a watch. Like the previous film, I remember seeing ads for it at the time, but nine-year-old me had no interest. Watching it now, we noticed immediate improvements over the original and I think I might’ve liked it as a kid, but it’s still not a great film.

Scooby-Doo

Note: This review contains spoilers for Scooby-Doo.

As we delved into other animated Scooby-Doo movies, we decided to also take a look at the 2002 live-action film, Scooby-Doo. One major aspect of this decision was the knowledge that James Gunn wrote the screenplay years before he got big with Guardians of the Galaxy. I remember the advertising not clicking with me when I was a kid, plus I also wasn’t that into Scooby-Doo at the time, but we decided to take advantage of a free Amazon Prime stream to actually watch it. As it turns out, nine-year-old me was smarter than 27-year-old me.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Elizabeth Debicki, Chris Sullivan, Sean Gunn, Sylvester Stallone, Kurt Russell. Directed by James Gunn. Screenplay by James Gunn. Based on Guardians of the Galaxy by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning. Produced by Kevin Feige. Color. Runtime 136 minutes. U.S.A. Science Fiction, Fantasy, 3D.

One of the more pleasant surprises and there have been several from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, was the Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) film that dropped onto the scene and was an enormous hit. Some would go so far as to claim that it was the best the MCU had offered so far. And as promised at the end of the first movie, the Guardians are back, as well as director James Gunn, and in the best Marvel sequel tradition, bigger than ever. Notice how I didn’t say better, just bigger. Not that the film is necessarily bad, just that it doesn’t quite reach the same level that the first one did.

Two months has passed since the last film ended and all of the main characters return: Peter Quill / Star-Lord (Chris Pratt); Gamora (Zoe Saldana); Drax the Destroyer (David Bautista); Baby Groot (Vin Diesel); Rocket (Bradley Cooper); Yondu Udonta (Michael Rooker); and Nebula (Karen Gillan). They are supplemented by new characters, most importantly Ego (Kurt Russell), a celestial who turns out to be Peter’s father. Along with Ego comes Mantis (Pom Klementieff), an empath. There are even a few cameos including Sylvester Stallone as Stakar Ogord, a high-ranking Ravager with a history with Yondu and even David Hasselhoff playing, who else, himself. There are even smaller appearances by Ving Rhames and Michelle Yeoh, perhaps hinting at a future spin-off of sorts.

Baby Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel) is cute.

As with most sequels, the story is not only a continuation of the storyline, but it also ramps up everything. Relationships are the glue that holds the Guardians together, whether it is friendship or love or some combination of the two. Those are further explored here as well, though for the most part the characters don’t change drastically from how they’re presented in the first film. But the biggest relationship in this film is between Peter Quill and Ego, though of all of them that get re-examined perhaps more interestingly is Yondu’s with just about everyone. There is more to him revealed in this film than just about anyone else.

Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) finally meets his biological father, Ego (Kurt Russell).

In addition to the main story of Peter meeting his father, the Guardians do work for and betray the Sovereigns, a race of supposedly perfect people with golden skin and very, very high opinions of themselves. To cross them is punishable by death and guess what, the Guardians cross them. While their pursuit of the Guardians takes a somewhat back seat to the main action in the film, we’re not done with them as they promise to be back in Guardians 3, which no doubt we’ll see in a few years’ time.

Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki), the High Priestess of the Sovereigns.

Music plays a major role in the sequel as well as it did in the first film, though I would say not as effectively. While Vol. 1 had been mostly one-hit wonders, Vol. 2 represents much larger acts, including George Harrison, Cat Stevens, ELO and Sam Cooke. Sometimes the music makes the right impact, Stevens’ Father and Son off his Tea for The Tillerman album, but sometimes it misses the mark including the use of Harrison’s My Sweet Lord.

As with any Marvel sequel, the special effects are ratcheted up, too. Bigger and more impressive being the goal. But as with any film reliant on FX sometimes the story gets a little muddled along the way. It is clear that Quill must stop the goals of his father, but what’s not really clear is what or why his father feels compelled to carry out his evil plans. There are some also some, I’ll say, funky uses of special effects, like a series of tableaux’s we’re led to believe Ego has at the ready depicting his life and relationship with Peter’s mother. And, as with the Star Wars prequel, Rogue One and Tron Legacy, older actors have younger versions of themselves plastered over the faces of stand-in actors, in this case, Kurt Russell. Just as it didn’t work in Tron Legacy, it still looks less like a face and more like a plastic mask.

One of the hallmarks of the original film was the use of humor to keep the film from getting too grim or taking itself too seriously. That is present here as well, though it sometimes feels a little more forced and, as is the trend, the humor goes low. Rocket is still the foul-mouthed raccoon that he was in the first film and as such helps to carry the load of the put-down humor that dominates. But there is talk about poop and penises that I could have done without. And let it be known, I don’t ever need to see or hear another man take a whizz again on film. It never really makes things better or funnier.

A lot of the humor comes from Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper).

The film has its good points. The actors seem very comfortable with their characters and Kurt Russell seems to have been a good choice to play Peter’s father. But it is the ensemble cast that seems to make these films enjoyable. Diverse characters from different worlds thrown together into a makeshift family of sorts. The adventure they go on is almost secondary to their interactions with each other as they may fight, but they join together when they have to. These are characters that you want to follow wherever they go. Quite an accomplishment in and of itself.

Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Mantis (Pom Klementieff), Drax the Destroyer
(David Bautista) and Nebula (Karen Gillan) come to help Peter.

While the calculation was to make a film that you’d want to see again and right away, I can’t say that I’d be rushing back to see this one. As with most Marvel films of late, I will see it again, but maybe when it comes to home video (and yes, I still buy discs). That said, if you’re a fan of the Guardians or want to keep up with the MCU, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is worth seeing, but just don’t expect to like it quite as much as you did the first one.

Guardians of the Galaxy

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has thus far explored a few of Marvel’s properties, though mainly B-list characters like Iron Man or Thor, characters who aren’t as recognizable as Spider-Man or the X-Men, but would be for those who had been reading comic books for a while. However, in a surprising move, Marvel has decided to give the spotlight to the Guardians of the Galaxy, a team of D-list characters who only the more hardcore readers would know about, yet still might be unable to remember. Even if someone did hear about the Guardians of the Galaxy through the marketing for this movie, they probably also wouldn’t know that the spotlight is on the 2008 team as opposed to the 1969 team (even I had to look that up). Still, the marketing push led to a new Guardians of the Galaxy ongoing comic series in 2012 as well as comics focusing solely on Star-Lord and Rocket Raccoon in 2014, the latter of which is perhaps the only member with prior exposure (largely thanks to Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds) and is now, along with Groot, a breakout star.

While I had no idea who the any of the team members were, I did gain an interest when I heard that James Gunn was working on it, as he had previously written Lollipop Chainsaw, a game which I had given a positive review of on this blog (I know about some of his other work, but have not seen any of the movies he was involved in). This interest increased further thanks to the trailers and the one-time-only theatrical 17-minute preview meant to get audiences familiar with the characters. Having now seen the movie during its opening weekend, in 3D IMAX no less, I’m proud to say that not only is it a good movie, but it’s perhaps one of the best MCU movies to date.

Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), aka “Star-Lord”, goes to the planet Morag for the purpose of stealing an orb-like artifact with the intent of selling it for a high price. Just as he obtains it however, he is intercepted by Korath (Djimon Hounsou), a subordinate for a Kree named Ronan (Lee Pace). Quill manages to escape, but Korath places a bounty on him, which in turn gets Ronan to send an assassin named Gamora (Zoe Saldana) to collect it. Once on Xandar, homeworld of the Nova Corps (i.e. space cops), Quill unsuccessfully tries to sell the orb, only to have it stolen by Gamora. As the two fight over possession of the orb, two bounty hunters, a genetically altered raccoon named Rocket (Bradley Cooper) and a sentient tree-like being named Groot (Vin Diesel) decide to join in for the purpose of collecting Quill’s bounty. In the middle of the collective struggle however, all four are arrested by the Nova Corps for various crimes and imprisoned in the Kyln (i.e. space jail). During their stay, Gamora is attacked by a group of prisoners due to her association with Ronan, who had killed their families. Just as one of the prisoners, Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista), is about to kill her at knifepoint, Quill convinces him that Ronan is the one he should be after instead of Gamora; Drax lets go of Gamora and leaves. The next day, Quill, Gamora, Rocket, Groot and Drax all decide to work together to escape the Kryl and figure out what to do with the orb, as well as deal with Ronan and the Nova Corps upon a successful escape.

Left to right: Gamora, Peter Quill ("Star-Lord"), Rocket, Drax the Destroyer, Groot

When watching the trailers, it’s easy to not be entirely sure how the story of Guardians of the Galaxy would work. Once you watch it however, everything falls into place very easily and each point flows very well into the next in a fairly straightforward manner. Since the story deals with the more cosmic elements of the MCU, there is sometimes a bit of exposition each time the characters visit a new world, but this is only when the location is very important to the story and is, mercifully, just enough that you understand its significance and why they have to be there. Despite the number of locations they visit and the characters the ragtag group comes across, it’s very easy to piece the details together and follow along with the narrative. The pacing is done very well, not too fast yet not too slow, and the humor is very well executed, with plenty of moments that will make the viewer laugh out loud. As the plot unfolds however, there are actually a good number of serious moments, none of which really feel out of place. In these moments, the characters actually display a greater range of emotion and often bare their soul to the other members, with kudos to the fact that they are slipped in pretty naturally instead of feeling out of place. As a result, I was able to connect with everyone on a more emotional level and actually feel bad along with them; you may or may not be surprised by how much you can empathize with a cybernetic raccoon by the end.

Ronan the Accuser, the main antagonist of the film.

The ability to empathize with so many characters goes hand-in-hand with the acting and just how good it ends up being. Due in part to a well-written script, each of the actors is able to convey their characters’ emotions and personality very well. Chris Pratt, known for his roles in Parks and Recreation or The LEGO Movie, does a good job portraying a character who takes himself seriously to a hilarious degree. Zoe Saldana, probably best known, by those paying attention to her, as the current Uhura in the Star Trek films, actually does an impressive job as Gamora, sometimes coming off as genuinely threatening as she goes though a nice character arc that sees her connecting more with her teammates. Dave Bautista, a professional wrestler turned actor, is also very capable as Drax, as he is not only physically built for the role, but he displays a good amount of humor and emotion from the loss of his family at the hands of Ronan.

Bradley Cooper, known for the Hangover movies as well as Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle, shows off his talent as a voice actor through his portrayal of Rocket, who has an odd sense of humor and penchant for snarky dialogue, though even he has his more emotional moments that you can’t help but empathize with. Perhaps the most interesting of all the main actors though is Vin Diesel, known best for his roles in the Chronicles of Riddick and The Fast and the Furious franchises, as well as his role as the title character of The Iron Giant. His role in this film as Groot has the most in common with The Iron Giant, since, despite having very little dialogue (in this case only being able to say “I Am Groot”), he is capable of a very dynamic range of emotions through different inflections. It’s not hard to see why Groot is expected to be, and probably already is, a breakout character from the film.

The side characters also help bring the story to life, as they do more than just act as scenery. One of these characters, for instance, is The Collector, who previously appeared during the mid-credits sequence from Thor: The Dark World. Unfortunately his role ends up being a little shorter than expected, but his presence is still very important to the plot and Benicio del Toro, his actor, does a lot with his limited screen time, like he was really having fun with the role. However, the villains were also a little flat, in the sense that they weren’t developed as much as the five main characters. Though Lee Pace does a good job in his role as Ronan the Accuser, there ultimately isn’t too much we can gain from the character. Of course, this could be excused by the fact that five main characters are already being set up and fleshed out, so something probably had to be sacrificed and they had more priority. I’d also like to give credit to John C. Reilly and Glenn Close respectively as Rhomann Dey and Nova Prime, both from the Nova Corps, since their characters, though small in their role, are important to the story and they play them well, yet they don’t distract from the lead roles.

I’ve always liked the visuals in the MCU, but Guardians of the Galaxy is a good candidate for having the best of them all. The way space is depicted, you can see a lot of swirling colors and very diverse beings and systems. Every alien is detailed in such a unique way that’s it’s simply amazing they were able to create so much life. I also liked that the film overall had a bright color palette, which aids the more comedic atmosphere. I’d like to give special props to the alien battles, which show off a lot of dedication in making it look totally awesome and unlike anything I’ve seen before. Two of the most impressive individuals to be animated however are Rocket and Groot. Rocket is very lifelike, down to the hair, moving like an actual raccoon and performing certain actions as if they were totally natural, including his very convincing emotional states. Since Groot is a tree-like being, I liked seeing the detail in the wood as well as how individual parts of his body would move or grow; it’s easy in this way to get lost in the details during a first viewing.

Rocket is very detailed (and loves big guns).

As for the music, the score by Tyler Bates is pretty well done and properly aids every scene. In fact, I’ve read that James Gunn actually had some of the score recorded beforehand so that he could film to the music; a little unconventional, but it really did get the job done effectively. What will be most remembered though are the licensed songs, mostly heard via Peter Quill’s mix tape, the most known via ads being Hooked on a Feeling by Blue Swede, which actually saw a 700% increase in sales on iTunes; other songs include Moonage Daydream by David Bowie and Cherry Bomb by The Runaways. These songs help to establish the cultural frame of reference that Quill has throughout his story, but they are also strangely appropriate to the situation, as though only a ‘70s or ‘80s song would have worked as opposed to a modern recording.

Guardians of the Galaxy is a very good movie. The story is well-written, with plenty of character development and more humor than usual for an MCU movie, but there are still a few serious moments that are pulled off very well and sometimes very subtly. Though the villains are a little flat, their performances are still very good and help them serve their purpose for the story. Visually, this movie is one of the best in the MCU thanks to a powerful mixture of practical and digital effects, plus the score and licensed tracks are well-chosen. Though the movie may not be directly relevant to the overall MCU story just yet, this is still a must-see for Marvel fans, especially since it’s a very good change of pace between the very serious Captain America: The Winter Soldier and the upcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron. However, I would also highly recommend it to fans of space opera flicks, as without the MCU connections, the movie is otherwise pretty self-contained and very enjoyable on its own. Really, there should be nothing stopping anyone from seeing this wonderful movie.

Also, be sure to stay for the end-credits sequence. I virtually guarantee that you really won’t see it coming.