James Gunn was fired from directing Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 because he criticised Donald Trump.
There's a lot of context and additional information behind this whole shitty situation that I'm hoping to get to in a second, but ultimately, that's exactly what has happened here. After repeatedly speaking out against Trump on Twitter, known alt-right (read: Neo-Nazi) Internet personality Mike Cernovich dug out some old, bad taste tweets made by Gunn and screamed about it until someone was stupid enough to listen. The people stupid enough to listen were Disney, and Gunn was fired. He's the latest victim of a culture war that's been particularly ugly since 2014, all because Cernovich, a self-confessed rapist and all-round piece of shit, didn't like someone speaking out against an equally awful human being.
After just under a decade of consistently producing some of the best blockbuster entertainment each year, you can be pretty sure that you're in for a good time if you go to see a movie with the Marvel Studios title card in front of it, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 - the fifteenth(!) film in the ever expanding franchise experiment that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe - offers no exception to that. Fans of the first film are going to find a lot to enjoy here, and while this review may come across as very critical at times, it's important to take that alongside the knowledge that despite being noticeably more flawed than its predecessor, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is still an entertaining, engaging film in its own right, and one that I personally enjoyed very much.
The comparisons that you might have seen made between Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back are apt, and not just thanks to this films status as a space opera sequel. It too makes the decision to split up its core characters for much of the film's running time, allowing it to tackle its two main threads at once - one following Peter Quill and some of the Guardians as they meet Peter's biological father for the first time, and the other following Yondu Udonta and the rest of the Guardians as he re-examines his life (and his relationship with Peter) following a chance encounter with an old ally.
To say that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is anything less than a resounding success is to deny the billions of pounds taken at the box office, the vocal critical acclaim many of these films have received and the over-whelmingly positive reception audiences have had to this universe. If that somehow doesn't convince you, take a look at the number of studios that are now attempting to set up their own cinematic universe - they say that imitation is the highest form of flattery, after all.
Now that Phase 2 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is completed, I've decided to rank the Marvel Cinematic Universe films in order of quality. This list is by no means anything other than a subjective list of which Marvel films I like the most, from worst to best. As such, it is 100% correct and if your opinion differs even in the slightest then you are wrong, scientifically. Do with that what you will.
12. Iron Man 2
The worst of the Marvel Cinematic Universe films so far, Iron Man 2 suffered from poor pacing, a badly written story and a need to "set up" the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which led to an overly long middle section that just about gets by on the charm of Tony Stark alone (and an admittedly strong opening). Devoid of much of what made Iron Man so good, Iron Man 2 remains Marvels only major misstep to date.
At long last, 2014 fades to a close as 2015 looms ominously before us, the passing seasons and changing of calendars alerting you to the ever quickening journey of life itself, the end of which is only getting closer every minute of your continuing existence. You start asking questions - did 2014 really last as long as other years? Have I achieved anything this year? What percentage of my life remains? Will anyone remember me when I die? Has time started speeding up as my responsibilities grow, burdening me like an ever-expanding weight on my soul? What good films came out this year?
Well it turns out that actually, 2014 has
been a pretty good year for cinema - despite a few
disappointments, the majority of anticipated pictures have lived up or
even exceeded the hype surrounding them, a situation that comes around just once a blue moon. So I've made a list of the films released in 2014 in the UK that I would consider the ones you need to see.
This is by no means a
definitive list - there are a fair few films that have been making the
rounds in other lists that I never got round to seeing or haven't been released in the
UK yet, but of the films I have seen, these are the ones I would most
recommend, the films that for one reason or another I would consider 'required viewing'.
So, in the order that I saw them;
The Wolf of Wall Street
The Wolf of Wall Street follows the life of Jordan Belfort, a real life stockbroker who lived a life of excess using the money of those he conned and lied to. A return to the biopic-esque structure of his previous films, Martin Scorsese once again proves he is a master of cinema in a confident, superbly directed film with a fantastic cast including Leonardo DiCaprio, Margot Robbie and Jonah Hill, each giving excellent performances in career defining roles. A film of ridiculous highs and crushing lows, The Wolf of Wall Street perfectly encapsulates both the lure of power and the destruction it can cause in the wrong hands, and despite being based on a story 30 years old, still feels surprisingly relevant today.
It's a well know fact that Marvel Studios take risks, a tradition that started during production of Iron Man. Based on a second tier superhero that few people had heard of, starring an actor that was still trying to get his career back on track after highly publicised substance abuse problems, the script hadn't been completed when filming began and much of what you see in the finished product is improvisation. The result? A critical and financial success, paving the way for Marvel Studios to create some of the highest grossing films ever made. The risk had paid off.
This, however, feels like a bigger risk than Iron Man was. With James Gunn at the helm, Guardians of the Galaxy takes the action of the Marvel Cinematic Universe into deep space, following Peter "Star Lord" Quill, Gamora, Drax the Destoyer, Groot and Rocket Racoon as they attempt to save the galaxy from Ronan the Accuser, a Kree supremacist who is attempting to destroy Xander, home of the Nova Corps, an intergalactic peace keeping force.
