Here is why Guardians of The Galaxy will be missed after they are gone
Here is why Guardians of The Galaxy will be missed after they are gone
In the climax from The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2, Star Lord played by the immensely likeable, Chris Pratt, launches himself face first like a torpedo towards his evil dad (played here by a grumpy Kurt Russell). Now this is a sequence – the head-first slow-motion coming together of two rivals – that Marvel studios has come to use with delirious, at times, tiresome abandon. Every studio film, or series, features at least a couple of these, symbolic of the epic battle two equally powerful foes. In a nutshell, it’s a scene that has been done to death. But in the second instalment of the Guardians franchise that came out six years ago, we see an alternative view. While his father transforms into a sheet of rock mid-flight, Star Lord turns into the playful Pac-Man, establishing just how uninhibitedly wonky the franchise can be. Ahead of the release of Vol 3 and what could be the last Guardians film, there is probably cause to celebrate just how quirky, mischievous and authentic this franchise has been.
Compared to other characters in the Marvel universe, the Guardians have always held a low profile. At least global markets, including India, weren’t as familiar with them as opposed to say an Iron Man or a Hulk. The first film therefore set out to establish some sort of social moat to get to know these characters, while the second one merely built on the goofiness of the first. It’s miraculous and absurd that Vin Diesel’s second most popular role is the voice of a tree that only says the one dialogue – I am Groot. It’s one of those bizarre modern phenomenons, like social media pages that publish the same thing every Thursday and yet have millions of followers. But there is more to the Guardians than the churlish theatrics or Drax’s (Dave Bautista) silliness that eventually reels you in.
The Guardians are also the only franchise that operates on familial principles. It’s a family of awkward, relatively foul-mouthed, bitter upkeeps who can’t seem to get along, unless they absolutely have to. It’s an echo of the modern family, the frictional many-ness of modern existence that tells you everything you hate before it also hints at things you might love. It’s what makes this franchise, possibly, the most relatable despite its eccentric, almost overindulgent design. The Guardians represent a family dynamic that is fast becoming common in modern times, and in doing so it perhaps resonates with those looking for sensibilities as opposed to sensation.
But the franchise, thanks to the idiosyncrasies of Director James Gunn – who has jumped ship to DC to rescue that sinking ship – has also felt creatively unhinged, liberated from the traditional patterns of the Marvel Universe. Sure there are terrible father figures, grumpy overlords, but there is also the life-affirming presence of wackiness that takes you back to the days when science fiction wasn’t just brooding, woke apocalyptic speculation (think Back to the Future) but a whole lot of imaginative fun. From absurd gadgets, to goofy, preposterous character quirks to a general abandonment of masculine overtones, Gunn’s vision has propelled, if nothing else, a franchise that is not afraid to embrace the colourful side, as opposed to a rehearsed dark one.
Gunn has never been an exceptional storyteller, for his creative whims undercut the potential of deeper, more sensitive storytelling. He can create emotion but he can’t fit it to the wider conscript of complex battles between good and evil. Thankfully, it’s also a preoccupation he has resisted. And it has given us a funnel of ecstasy mixed with the unassuming, often chaotic charms of a rag-tag bunch of anarchists who can never look like they are good at the things they believe they are good in. They just get it done, somehow. Understandably that ‘somehow’ is literalised by some of the most startling, brave and wacky visual aesthetics that the Marvel studio has practiced. Part Wes Anderson, part comic book Barbie and part superhero shtick, the Guardians have flirted with everything but broody boredom.
To doubters of the franchise, like me, the franchise has eventually grown into the Marvel ecosystem, through their sheer screwball-ishness. In the sombre, overlong, Avengers films, they were the brightest, most fun bits and in the larger paradigm of things they represent an era – not just through Star Lord’s musical choices by the way – of absurdism unmasked as science and space fiction. No wonder these guys echo a certain cartoonish charisma, a self-deprecatory streak that makes them heroes with softer, jovial interiors. They have secrets, dark pasts, but within their films at least, they have defied the conformist tendency of this age to think of intergalactic fiction as an omen, as opposed to a whimsical opportunity. It’s this whimsy that will be sorely missed once it is gone.
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