Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3

FX has been showing a slew of Marvel movies this summer. I've recently seen Eternals and I've got a couple other films coming up in my queue. Whatever the programming campaign by Disney is, it's really helping me to catch up on my superhero movie deficits. I just don't have the money to see these films new for the prices theaters are asking for these days.

My latest watch was the third, and perhaps final, entry in the Guardians of the Galaxy series. If you've been wanting to get all the details on the origin of Rocket Raccoon, this is the film you've been waiting for. The movie has some pretty heartbreaking moments and that's not just because of the ending which seems to wrap things up for the Guardians. It's also because of just how freaking tragic Rocket's origin story was.

I'm that sort of softie that I will absolutely hate a movie if a lovable animal is killed. So, YES- once I realized that we were finding out about how Rocket and his friends were early experiments of the High Evolutionary, I made sure to go to Wikipedia and find out who lives and who dies so that I wasn't stunned by the death of a furry friend. It's a good thing I did, because several adorable animals buy the farm in this film. But what really surprises me is that because of that treatment of animals, Vol. 3 actually won an award of praise from PETA! It must have been because director James Gunn used CGI animals instead of the real McCoy. 

As for James Gunn, I've seemingly made my peace with him. His scandal of dressing up as a pedophile priest really stung me because I am a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. I was pretty pissed off at him at first and it did factor in me not watching this 2023 film when it first came out. But I've learned that if I want to be an opponent of cancel culture, what I have to do is forgive. It's also a tenant of being a follower of Christ. I'm not perfect. FARRRRRRRR from it and I've got to practice the forgiveness I was given by Jesus on others. Even if I've never met them in person. James Gunn in his escapades was trying to be funny. It wasn't a good joke. But it's not worth holding a grudge against someone. He apologized and deserved a second chance.

I wouldn't say that Vol. 3 was a bad movie. I also can't say that its the weakest of the trilogy. But it is long. At exactly 150 minutes in length, I think we could have cut out about 20 minutes, which is pretty much the length of time the Guardians visit the Evolutionary's counter-Earth. What I was initially thinking was going to be the funniest part of the film just felt unnecessary to me. Based on the clip where Star Lord is trying to help Nebula open a car door, I was expecting much more of this movie to take place on our Earth and not a anthropomorphic duplicate created by the film's main antagonist.  The animal hybrids were pretty cool looking but I don't think we needed to see how they lived. I would have been totally fine with seeing these creatures walking about on the High Evolutionary's ship. 

As for the High Evolutionary, in comics, he's never been a character that appealed to me. But I thought actor Chukwudi Iwuji was great as the very unhinged bio-scientist. Another character that won me over in the film despite not being one I care much about in the books was Will Poulter as Adam Warlock. The British actor brought a naivety to the character for some much needed comic relief since Rocket spends about 2/3 of the movie in a coma. And I just love the Soviet era pooch with psychic powers, Cosmo. That dog stole every scene!

Although the film was very long, I didn't want the excitement to end. I really have grown to love these characters. As I don't have Disney+, I've never seen the Holiday Special. Maybe I will have that to look forward to this Christmas season. FX is showing streaming series such as Daredevil: Born Again. So maybe we'll get lucky! 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

The Infinity Gauntlet

I'm not sure why it took me this long to read The Infinity Gauntlet. 

Well, maybe I do. I know that I am going to rile up some feathers with this opinion but I am just not that big a fan of Jim Starlin. Starlin is known for his cosmic odysseys and let's face it when it comes to some of his favorite characters, in this case Adam Warlock and Thanos, I am just not that interested in either. 

When I was very young, Thanos was a second rate villain who flew a yellow helicopter and once was arrested by Spidey and the NYPD. As for Adam Warlock, his origin was so mired in confusion; all in thanks to writers not really caring much about the character in the first place. There was so many contradictions in how Warlock came to be and what his purpose was that I gave up caring. 

That all being said, I will commend what Jim Starlin attempted (and pretty much succeeded in) to make this pair of cosmic foes relevant for the Marvel Universe.

Many consider Secret Wars to be Marvel's answer to Crisis on Infinite Earths. After reading this, I would have to disagree. I think Secret Wars I and II were the mini-crises that the Justice League and Justice Society would have annually in the pages of Justice League of America. It's actually The Infinity Gauntlet that would be Marvel's CRISIS. 

Infinity Gauntlet starts out beautifully. George Perez, one of my favorite artists and an all-around hell of a nice guy, covered the artwork for the first 3 and a half issues. But the pressures of completing this mega crossover along with DC's War of the Amazons at the very same time kinda burned Perez out. So much, that he quit the big-two for lower level penciling duties for many years in order to recover. 

What Starlin and Perez do in those few issues is mind boggling. The level of destruction and chaos brought about by Thanos' snap are some of the most impressive pages of destruction and choas I have ever seen in comics. But Starlin does not do enough. 

In this book, he's got both the Kree and Skrull ready to go to war. But he never follows through. Instead, Jim Starlin's sweeping focus on the entire Marvel Universe gets narrowed down to maybe a dozen players by the last 2 issues. 

Another thing that Starlin doesn't do right is properly set-up Adam Warlock's rebirth on Earth. It took me several re-reads before I figured out that he doesn't kill a liquor store clerk. But instead, Adam Warlock uses the recently dead body of the murderer to return to life. That just seemed so out of character for the generally peace loving Warlock and it was. But Jim Starlin didn't do a good enough job making that notion clear. 

I did love the final 5 or so pages of Infinity Gauntlet. It was rather perfect and ties into 2018's Avengers: Inifinity War quite well. (Actually, I am amazed at a lot of similarities between this miniseries and that film. It's a same that Marvel Studios weren't able to get the rights to Adam Warlock or the Silver Surfer hashed out in order to be in the movie.)

Infinity Gauntlet is one of the best Marvel epic crossovers. But it could have been the greatest if not for the writer losing focus. The main artist leaving didn't help matters either. Ron Lim is a talented artist. But he's no George Perez. 

A good read. But it didn't do enough for me to feel like I've got to rush out and procure the second and third acts of The Infinity Trilogy. (Not like I can just rush out right now thanks to COVID. But I think you get what I mean.)

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Thanos: The Infinity Revelation

 

    I've normally viewed Thanos as an unbeatable (and uninteresting) force. But despite his might and power, the Mad Titan is perhaps the most flawed character in the Marvel Universe. It actually makes him more intriguing too. I mean why would I care about his pursuit of the secrets of the universe if Thanos was omnipotent? It would be like having God searching for meaning in Himself and that just doesn't make sense.

    Thanos could beat the combined might of the Avengers with the snap of a finger and he's literally done that more than once. But when the rogue finds what he's looking for, on more than one occasion, he fails in his pursuit of knowledge and power as his quests often leave him unsatisfied. Like the kid who got everything his wanted and then saddened because there was nothing else to desire, Thanos frequently undoes everything he's accomplished and is his own worse enemy.

 This cosmic offering in Marvel's Original Graphic Novel series is penned by Thanos creator Jim Starlin. Starlin's more recent take on Thanos has the villain a little more wiser and a little more vunerable as his record of defeats have put him on the outs with his true love, Death. As the living embodiments of Infinity and Eternity are preparing for a new era of foretold change to the cosmos, Thanos is given a chance to finally redeem himself. Joining Thanos in his quest is the mysterious Adam Warlock who's recently returned from the dead once again. His return will assist Thanos in locating a beacon that points the way to Thanos' preordained rebirth.
 
 Their journey takes them to a planet that houses a long dead civilization. Upon their arrival, the duo are challenged by a squad of peacekeepers called the Annihilators. The battle is fortuitous as it leads Thanos to the dimensional gateway he's been hunting for. But the villain and his travelling companion aren't alone as they discover another Thanos and Adam Warlock from an alternate dimension and they happen to be on the same reality changing crusade. But which team will usher in the next age of the Marvel Universe?

   There's so much going on in this graphic novel that I feared giving away too much. The quest has a major impact on the forthcoming Secret Wars reboot to the Marvel Universe due later this year. If you are a fan of Marvel and you're eagerly awaiting the major crossover event, you must read this book. The art is amazing, but the most important aspect of the Infinity Revelation is the story itself. It very meta and somewhat hard to explain.

  I'll admit, my synopsis did not do justice to the plot or the excellence contained within this books covers. Starlin is a master and thanks to him, I'm even more interested in Thanos and Adam Warlock, two characters that I've had very little use for in the past, than ever before.

   Add 'The Infinity Gauntlet' and it's numerous sequels to my wishlist.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.