GUARDIANS 3 -- Is Depression MARVEL's New Formula?

GUARDIANS 3 -- Is Depression MARVEL's New Formula?

(No Spoilers) Guardians 3 tells the tragic story of hero Rocket in numerous flashbacks throughout the course of the film - and it's not the first Marvel movie to use this now-tiresome formula.

Editorial Opinion
By Phlegmbot - May 10, 2023 09:05 PM EST

No Spoilers.

Let's start here: James Gunn, the director of Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3, is an expert filmmaker. And whereas fans were annoyed with Taika because Thor: Love & Thunder may have, in their estimation, disrespected characters, comics storylines, etc., Gunn has an advantage by mostly within his own (& original Guardians' scribe Nicole Perlman's) world, with only inspiration from the comics. That means comics fans don't go in with a set of rules and expectations on Guardians. Well, save for maybe it'll be a PG-rated (it wasn't) romp (it isn't, really). Which is why I'm surprised we've now seen a particular formula in at least three Marvel movies.

And, for me, it doesn't work.

And, no, it's not that thing where a movie starts with a song that's meant to set the tone for the whole film...although, yes, Gunn does that in this flick (By the way, can we talk about the overuse of the song "Creep" on film and in TV? Honestly, in the last few years, I think I've heard it in at least a half-dozen different things).

In Shang-Chi, Captain Marvel, and now Guardians 3, the tragic flashback story of a hero is told in bits and pieces throughout the film. And, with the exception of Guardians, it would've truly been helpful to know these characters by the end of Act 1 (your 30-minute mark, more or less, in most films) in order to truly care about them.

(Yes, that's right, I didn't find a reason to care about Shang-Chi or Carol throughout their films. And, on screen, there really isn't one. That doesn't mean you, as a fan of either the [definitely important] representation those films brought to the big screen or of the comics themselves didn't go in already caring about the characters, but in terms of the scripts, there's very little there to care about until we're well into the film's 2nd act and have seen the tragedy or problems of their past...which apparently had to play out throughout the film. For no discernible reason, outside of "We don't want to tell an origin story at the start of the movie.")

Guardians, however, didn't have to worry about that. But, as mentioned, Gunn is an expert: In true Screenwriting 101 form, if you go into GotGvol3 NOT knowing or caring about Rocket, Gunn makes certain you do within five minutes. But then the tragic and sad story of Rocket is stretched throughout the film. So, before I get to my editorial, lets's think about practical and structural reasons for this...

1. More time for the villain
2. Gotta be sure we see all them cool Guardians and Guardians-adjacent characters

3. (Very Minor & Vague Spoiler, highlight to view [in daylight mode]) Justify the Guardians' otherwise unnecessary murder of another character.

Honestly, I can't think of a fourth reason. There might be a fourth reason...but I can't think of one. Because, you see, one could tell Rocket's entire story in about 10 minutes, and with no dialogue. Here's proof:

QUICK CUTS:
- A group of scared raccoons huddle in the corner of a nasty, old (and clearly alien) cage as a hand reaches in, grabs one.
- We see the hand place the creature on an operating table

- Reveal: Our villain and two scientist henchmen flanking him, ready to operate
- Young Rocket, post-op, is thrown into a cage, in pain, crying, other experimented-on creatures come out of the shadows and comfort him
- We see one in particular, a mechanized otter, hug him close, looking like she's going to cry
- It's later, and they're all playing together...when a henchmen, treating him roughly, takes him to the villain...


Let's imagine, reader, that, what follows here, is the first scene of talking (NO SPOILERS), and it's a scene in the film where Rocket and High Evolutionary talk -- we learn about H.E. and his goals and his insanity. In this same scene, Rocket does the amazing thing that makes him the enemy of High Evolutionary in the picture...and the rest of this story can go back to visuals per the above.

See, we just covered virtually Rocket's entire story, and the above is maybe five minutes of screen time.

So what's my point? My point is this: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 didn't need to be and a two-and-a-half hour drama-fest of tortured animals and sadness. Don't get me wrong, I think it's a great story, and it was smartly told, but if I wanted a movie that was 90 minutes of sadness, death, destruction, depression, and resentment, I'd go see one of those DCEU movies. Pretty much any of them, really. (Yes, I know, there are 2 or 3 exceptions...)

Guardians reminded me of M. Night Shyamalan's Unbreakable in this way: That film, as great as it is, suffers from never allowng its heroes to escape from their own dismal, depressing life...and just when it looks like they're going to, the film ends.

Now, that's not quite what happens in Guardians, but the film seemed to suffer because of the drawn-out melodrama: Every time we got back to the FUN-HAPPY-YAY-YAY Guardians, and a song from Heart of The Flaming Lips played, it felt out of place and forced. Same with the humor. Almost none of it worked for me (to my surprise, the funniest moments this time out were those involving Mantis), always feeling out place in a movie about a dying racoon who, in flashback, is being tortured and watching other random creatures die, a movie about a woman who tragically doesn't recall her true love, a movie about a man drinking himself into oblivion for that same love, and a movie about a group of heroes who, this time out, seem to be bickering far more than usual.

All of the film's third-act payoffs would have worked the same if you shortened Rocket's story, and the film would have been a good 25 minutes shorter without losing anything. This approach to telling tragic stories over the course of 120 minutes would be perfectly fine if I was seeing another Martin McDonagh piece of utter brilliance, but this was a superhero movie about aliens and giant skulls floating in space. I was there for a story about The Legendary Starlord...and what I got was a depressing slog, which, to be fair, ended in a heckuva final battle (quick aside: There was something, a lot of somethings, missing in the film's final moments of celebration. Did you notice what was missing? Try to be careful with spoilers, but tell me if you noticed!).

Many people loved Guardians 3. What did you think? And, even if you loved the movie, do you agree or disagree with the above? I'd love to know! Thanks for reading! Please share it!!

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