Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

CJ kicks us off with a story about a bunch of cops and a helicopter outside his apartment. Eventually, we get around to talking Guardians 3, which gives us plenty of goodies -- Chris Pratt's performance, Drax, a whole slew of "poster moments" -- but also tends toward excess and indulgence in plotting and emotional rule setting (and not keeping). We also discuss the potential future of the MCU, poster moments, the George Lucas effect, and the state of Disney's IP empire.

CJ, quoted

Some stuff James Gunn gets right: "There was some cheap shots in that they used cute baby animals to inspire emotion, but it was, like, genuine. This was a character that went through some crap, and there was an arc and there was a reason, and it was friendship and there was heart."

The challenge of making Marvel sequels: "They have to be the same movie, but different while still fitting in this box. And it's like this impossible task of, like, Guardians, okay, let's make it big and colorful and kind of 80s-ish, and make it fit the brand."

Poster moments: "You could screenshot almost any action sequence in a Zack Snyder movie and make it into a poster, and it's beautiful, but all the story around it doesn't make any sense."

Jordan, quoted

James Gunn's style points: "Whatever you want to say about James Gunn, at least the man has some style. Whereas a number of the previous Marvel movie installments totally have been just absolutely bankrupt of style, to the point that they sort of feel like they've been churned out by AI algorithms."

Rules: "What's happened is that the rules have slowly changed, and then they've become amorphous, and now they're sort of not rules anymore."

Marvel’s recent track record: "Lately, I walk away from a Marvel movie with nothing. Just nothing. It's like a blank slate. It's like I might as well not have watched a movie.”

Timestamps!

A hilariously non-comprehensive sampling:

[8:03] James Gunn's distinct style is a breath of fresh air

[12:44] Can Gunn do DC?

[20:06] Ham-fisted jokes, and Chris Pratt's redemption

[24:12] Emotional rules! Why the first Guardians worked pretty well, and why this one maybe not quite so much.

[30:29] Even not-great movies can deliver some kind of emotional impact, but Marvel has been biffing it hard on this front for years now.

[00:33:25] Disney's precipitous decline is alarming and unusual. Are they OK over there? Someone should give them a call.

[00:38:26] The George Lucas effect.