THIS PAST FRIDAY WITNESSED THE PREMIERE OF GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOLUME 3, THE THIRD INSTALLMENT IN THE POPULAR MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE FRANCHISE. AND IT’S CLEAR THAT DESPITE HOW MUCH CAN CHANGE IN THE MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE, GOOD STORYTELLING CAN MAKE ANYTHING FEEL FAMILIAR.
IN TERMS OF THE BOX OFFICE, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOLUME 3 WAS TENTATIVE SUCCESS FOR MARVEL, WHICH HAS STUMBLED AS OF LATE. RELEASED BACK IN FEBRUARY OF THIS YEAR, ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA FELL FAR SHORT OF WHAT WAS NEEDED TO MATCH ITS 200 MILLION DOLLAR BUDGET. AND ACCORDING TO VARIETY, ANTMAN’S FLOP CAME ALONGSIDE OTHER DISAPPOINTING PERFORMANCES FOR THE MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE, SUCH AS THOR BACK IN 2022 AND DR. STRANGE AND THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS, ALSO FROM 2022. HERE’S DIRECTOR QUENTIN TARANTINO ON THE PODCAST 2 BEARS 1 CAVE.
BUT WITH AN OPENING WEEKEND GROSS OF 118 MILLION, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY HAS EMERGED AS ONE OF MARVEL’S BIGGEST BLOCKBUSTERS OF THE YEAR. THIS PAST MONDAY AFTERNOON AT THE AMC EVANSTON 12, SOME AUDIENCE MEMBERS TOOK THE TIME TO TALK ABOUT HOW GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY MANAGES TO STAND OUT AS SOMETHING SINGULAR AND UNIQUE.
FIRST, IT’S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOLUME 3 COMES SIX YEARS AFTER VOLUME TWO. AND MARVEL RELEASED TWO PRETTY CONSEQUENTIAL FILMS IN BETWEEN: AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR AND AVENGERS: ENDGAME. HERE’S IAN, WHO ATTENDED THE MONDAY MATINEE.
JOE, ANOTHER MONDAY AFTERNOON ATTENDEE, FELT GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY ACTUALLY TOLD A MORE COMPELLING STORY THAN EITHER ENDGAME OR INFINITY WAR.
IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOLUME 3 WAS ATTEMPTING AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT FEAT THAN ENDGAME, INFINITY WAR, AND EVEN THE PRECEDING GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOLUMES.
WHAT IAN’S REFERRING TO, IS THE FILM’S HEAVY FOCUS ON ROCKET, THE RACOON MEMBER OF THE GUARDIANS. A LOT OF SCREEN TIME IS SPENT UNPACKING ROCKET’S BACKSTORY, SPECIFICALLY, THE SHOCKING CRUELTY HE EXPERIENCED IN HIS YOUTH AS A SUBJECT OF ANIMAL TESTING AND EXPERIMENTATION. THE FILM’S PORTRAYAL OF ROCKET’S BACKSTORY EVEN COMPELLED PETA TO RELEASE A STATEMENT, SAYING THAT THE FILM QUOTE “Tells a beautiful and compassionate story about testing on animals to a Marvel-size audience” END QUOTE.
FOR CONTEXT, PETA IS AN ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVIST GROUP, SOMEWHAT INFAMOUS FOR SPEARHEADING SHOCKING AND SOMETIMES UPSETTING AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS. DESPITE THEIR INFAMY, THEY WERE QUICK TO ENDORSE MUCH OF THE FILM’S CENTRAL MESSAGE. THEY EVEN AWARDED DIRECTOR JAMES GUNN WITH A “NOT A NUMBER” AWARD, A NOD TO THE NUMBERS ASSIGNED TO ANIMALS BEING TESTED ON.
IT’S CLEAR THAT ROCKET’S STORYLINE HAD A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON HOW AUDIENCES VALUED THE FILM.
ONE OF THE MOST ICONIC SCENES IN THE WHOLE FRANCHISE IS PERHAPS THE OPENING SCENE, WHERE PETER QUILL (PLAYED BY CHRIS PRATT) CAN BE SEEN KICKING MONSTERS ALONG TO THE BEAT OF COME AND GET YOUR LOVE BY LOLLY VEGAS. VOLUME 1’s SOUNDTRACK (CALLED AWESOME MIX VOL. 1) EVEN HIT NUMBER ONE ON THE BILLBOARD HOT 200.
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOLUME 3 EXPANDS ON THIS ETHOS OF CLASSIC AMERICAN MUSIC. STARTING WITH AN ACOUSTIC RENDITION OF RADIOHEAD’S CREEP, OTHER SIGNIFICANT CHOICES INCLUDE THE FLAMING LIPS’ “DO YOU REALIZE??” AND FLORENCE + THE MACHINE’S “DOG DAYS ARE OVER.”
IT’S NO SECRET THAT THE OLD STRUCTURES OF THE MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE ARE FADING. EVEN AS MOVIE THEATER ATTENDANCE CONTINUES TO RISE BACK TO PRE-PANDEMIC LEVELS, IT’S BEEN DIFFICULT FOR MARVEL TO MAINTAIN A STEADY SOURCE OF INTEREST. HOWEVER, CONSISTENT ENTHUSIASM FOR FRANCHISES LIKE GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY REVEAL A LOT ABOUT WHAT AUDIENCES ARE REALLY INTERESTED IN.
