The opening of Guardians of the Galaxy to this day remains my favorite introduction of a character. Once the music kicked in and Star-Lord started dancing, I knew it was not only something unexpected, but also special
@@JaguarBST I think he's specifically talking about 'hero introductions' but yes, I also agree that the Joker/bank scene was hands down the best 'villain introduction'.
This was the blueprint as to what the MCU has been after this movie. They thought that jokes after jokes are the reason why this movie was great for what it was when it was the emotional moments that made this movie a great experience. Talk about caring about a tree and a raccoon.
So very true. It is unfortunate how humour has become a painful staple in the MCU at this point and it was because they didn't learn the lesson as to what and why people loved it. Yes, it was funny and had tons of jokes, but it had heart, it had character development, and it had just in general characters that you wanted to continue watching.
@@Mr.Septon Agreed, it's the reason why there never was a superhero fatigue as the public calls it, but just that the public were tired of the same formula that's been around for years. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and Across the Spider-Verse proves that, and best of hopes that The Flash does too.
What makes the beginning scene of GotG even better I feel, is when we revisit it in Endgame. It's fun to watch Peter dance around and just be a goofball, and then we return to the scene without the music for Nebula and Rody watching him, and you realize that's actually how the scene would look to anyone else there. Peter doing a goofy dance to music in his headphones, so no one else hears and just looks like a weirdo. I think we all do that though lol-
After we've been introduced to the genius, playboy, billionaire with his suit of armor, the Norse god of thunder, and the World War II super soldier, it's a fresh air that our next hero would be a some guy who was kidnapped by aliens from 1988 Missouri when he was ten years old. This was when MCU still remembered that the best world-building starts with character.
Although the great thing is that the MCU managed to make all those different characters interesting in their own right. (Well, except arguably Thor. Arguably he was the weak link until Ragnarok finally did something interesting with him).
Oh please. There have been some lame MCU films lately, but plenty of great ones too (No Way Home, Shang-Chi, Guardians 3, etc). You don’t think WandaVision was thinking outside the box, or Moon Knight, or freakin’ Werewolf by Night?! Lose the fashionable cynicism, it’s as cringy as it is undeserved.
@@alexanderwinn9407 I see your points, and raise you She Hulk, Ant man and Quantum Garbage, Wandavisions ending, Dr. Strange 2 Electric Boogaloo, Hawkeye (who? Exactly) Black Widows movie (she deserved better) Eternals, and Ms. Marvel Mary Sue. It’s not “fashionable criticism” it’s called “applying critical thinking”
@@blitzskitz Wes Anderson is able to but I find that Gunn and Wes are some of the most unique directors and their ideas are what make their movies so much better
After learning about more of Gunn's filmography, the fact that he made a phenomenal family-friendly cast of characters just speaks to his range and skill as a filmmaker. So many directors seem pigeonholed into either family-friendly or rated R, but Gunn is great at both.
James Gunn: *manages to blend comedy with serious and emotional storytelling* The rest of the MCU: *tries to copy Gunn's formula but fails by overshadowing emotional storytelling with comedy*
@@harryfleutv666 yeah a lot of writers are insecure and use humor because they think people will criticize them less. “Laughing with them instead of being laughed at” but the reality is the opposite
There's also the idea that among all this wreckage and decay, in this dour setting, Star Lord is just dancing through it. Not only showing the tonal shift from dour to comedic, but showing that Star Lord himself is someone who, even in the face of very grim circumstances remains fairly blaze and often uses humor/playfulness as a sort of defense mechanism to help get through it. Probably because he's forever stuck being a kid--the same kid we just saw being abducted in 1988.
it also shows us that despite the world being dark and grimm, people still live in it, making the best out of it that they can. It's a piece of world building that makes it so we aren't suprised to see the brutal living conditions of the prison and all the murder later on but the characters don't break from that, because after all for them it's just life.
I can tell you this. As an indigenous person here on the reservations we always love Redbone's Come and get your love. My theater erupted in cheers, laughing and singing along once the needle drop came in. Flash to today and it puts a smile on face knowing everyone vibes to a song from a previous obscured indigenous rock group. James Gunn sure can make obscure things famous.
I honestly only know about this because the CBC Radio promo they use for the show Reclaimed--which covers Indigenous music, btw--has a very brief clip of it. It's good to see Indigenous people getting the deserved recognition.
When this movie was made, no one thought it was gonna be hit. That's why James Gunn had more creative freedom. Not even Gunn himself thought it was gonna be a hit. So he made the movie as if it was his last one
It had a budget of over $230 Million, they were ABSOLUTELY betting on it being a hit. Don’t undersell the creative risk they took: they gave Gunn tons of creative freedom despite having MASSIVE expectations.
@@alexanderwinn9407 I think a better way to put it is that they believed in him, however, crowds can be weird and this was a bold decision at the time. Disney/Marvel more accurately felt like this was kind of their first big gamble and to what extent it would succeed was questionable. Gunn succeeded though in introducing and making a huge success out of, what at the time was the most unknown, obscure, and weird collective of characters to be put into a near quarter-billion blockbuster.
@@Mr.Septon All the early MCU was a gamble. No-one knew if Iron Man with famed problem child Robert Downey Jr would do well. No-one knew if relative unknown Chris Hemsworth could bring in audiences. And Ant-Man? It's Ant-Man. The MCU played a very bold hand in general, they played that hand smart and it paid off for them. EDIT: One thing the DCEU vs MCU has shown us is that producing consistently good films with engaging characters is more important in selling an audience on a superhero movie than having pre-existing big name characters. Going into this thing everyone assumed the opposite.
The thing that fascinates me about Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 1 is that they are able to introduce multiple important characters, with individual powers and skills AND make them all memorable. Now, compare that to the drab and boring Eternals. IT also introduced multiple important character, with individual powers and skills.... but I honestly can't remember the name or powers of a single character. I am not a comic book reader. I had never heard of a single character in either movie before. One worked. The other didn't. I'm sure the visual differences were easier to handle when you have a talking tree and a genetically modified raccoon. But there are ways to distinguish characters even if they all are just human-looking. And Eternals didn't do that at all.
Having just seen Eternals a few days ago, I'd say the sterile introduction is rather fitting when you learn of their origins, and gave the film a sort of 1960s/70s British scifi film vibe. Also it was pretty obvious how to distinguish them once you figured out their powers; Sersi; matter manipulation chick, Gilgamesh: Mr Punch a monster in the face, Thena: Angelina Jolie's knock off Wonder Woman, Ikaris: Technically not Superman as he only can fly and has laser beam eyes, Phastos: Builder and comical relief who also had real character development despite having only really appearing in the 2nd half of the movie and was probably put in gay relationship to meet movie's LGBTQ quota and get that sweet CA tax break for putting it in the movie. Granted, the names are easier to remember if you're fan mythology. That being said GotG had given exposition dumps on the characters during the first trailer so we were already somewhat informed about them.
@@ryanbauer3680 Yes, I am not saying it's "impossible" to learn the names and powers of the Eternals. I'm just saying that for me, who is not into comic books, Guardians was much more accessible.
@@Antares2 Fair point, and I was just saying James Gunn is better at marketing a not common super hero group into an established franchise better then whoever was behind the Eternals.
When Quill takes down the mask, presses play on his tape, the music kicks in and then that title drop, that is when I knew we were in for something truly special
@@barney7822 Indeed. He's a complete 180 from Snyder. For Snyder everything was slo-mo epicness and he couldn't get to the heart of these characters. Gunn can definitely bring out heart but the entire DCEU can't be done with the comedy of GotG or The Suicide Squad. We'll see.
@@irrevenant3he is putting other directors in chargers of other movies. He going for a different style for each movie. But he good at being comedy and serious. The GOTG movies show that. He also knows how to make the characters human and likeable. He will give Superman a personality unlike Cavil version. Seriously he just reacts.
Considering how disastrous The Flash is (which he promoted so hard, already comparing it to the greatest superhero films of all time), he's on hot water with DCEU.
@Sarah McDonald apparently he follows a lot of people who dislike or out right hate lgbt people. Also when he had a child with his second wife he made a post which was seen as a insult to his first wife who had a child with disabilities. Edit: just remembered that his church believes in gay conversion.
Find it interesting watching this video considering how I watch the third film today on the big screen and I thought. Wow, Guardians of the galaxy has tragedy and suffering at every single turn. Galaxy 1-2-3 definitely has some of the straight up the saddest moments in the MCU but also some of the silliest. That is a very difficult line to walk.
i still remember when Guardians released and most people had no idea who they were (including myself) but then i went to see it and it was so good from the beginning, probably the best first movie of the MCU
James Gunn is the only reason why I have hope for the dcu his ability to introduce the known less known and all round wacky characters of any franchise is honestly masterful
A fresh take is exactly what the DCU needs rn; Clark, Bruce, Diana, Barry… they can wait a few years while the universe is explored from other perspectives.
I would love to see Henry reprise his role as Superman under James Gunn. I personally feel that he is such an underrated actor and he could honestly play such a good Superman with the right Director.
@@irrevenant3 I actually liked Man of Steel, and a lot of that movie revolves around him just starting out as a super hero. As for stoic, he definitely did not appear stoic when the other Kryptonians threatened his mom. That was pure rage. XD
@@allamericanslacker2378 I haven't seen _Man of Steel._ I understand it's the best film for Cavill's Superman. I've only seen him in the other two and it's deeply underwhelming. I'm glad to hear that MoS does him more justice (no pun intended. :P)
@@irrevenant3 It's got some scenes that I really think should have been written differently but, only a few, and there were other scenes I thought were great, like the scene I mentioned earlier. That fight looked exactly how I always thought a live action fight between Kryptonians should look. If you ever watch it, keep in mind that, at it's heart MoS is an exploration of whether or not someone with power like Superman has even has the right to his own code of morality. None of my friends got that when we watched it, so they didn't care for it as much I did but, that's exactly the kind of thing I think a Superman movie should be about.
I saw Guardians of the Galaxy on opening night, and the energy of the huge crowd was electric! It was almost as if everyone knew something I didn't quite pick up on. I wondered if they'd somehow seen it earlier in the day, but No. That wasn't it. They like myself had gone from wondering if I'd wait until GoTG came out on video, to being in a theater on opening night! That was mostly due to the PERFECT TRAILER for this movie! And we were NOT disappointed! I'm still surprised how so many people of different ages and backgrounds could be so in-sync the instant Starlord started dancing!
The guardians of the galaxy franchise was one of the few mcu franchises that I’ve seen the entirety of in theatres, my dad and I were bored and saw that a group of friends were going to see the first one and we thought what the heck let’s give it a shot. EVERY joke landed in the audience, EVERY dramatic moment landed in the audience, EVERYONE LOVED EVERYTHING, from there we basically agreed that this was the best thing to come out of marvel. Me and him aren’t on good terms this year, but I guarantee you if I called him and asked him right now if he’d seen 3, he’d light up for a brief moment and say yes
They really nailed the payoff and gave us an incredibly satisfying ending to not just Peter Quill's ark throughout the MCU, but also give all the Guardians a satisfying end to their stories that simultaneously feels fulfilling and yet leaves room for more potential stories with a new roster of characters
GotG's opening is one of my favorites in the MCU. Sucks to lose Gunn to DC but I'm hopeful he can turn things around there. Then, with better competition, I hope the MCU will improve in quality as well.
THANK YOU, THANKKKK YOOUUUU!!! This scene was my favorite ever to an introduction to a character. God, it's what got me into cassette culture and guardians of the galaxy restarted cassette tape culture
I'm a Gunn believer. He's a director who approaches movies from a place of sincerity and genuine wonder. I bet the Jurassic Park sequel trilogy would've been sure hits had they asked him to write and direct.
@@kalebgamez808 I would agree with the first one. It was great 👍🏿 the other two failed to capture my full attention so I’m afraid I can’t fairly assess them lol
One of my favourite movie intros, directors often doesn't use opening sequences well IMHO. Another good one is from Baby Driver. Perfect start to a movie
He might be the perfect person to make DC actually rival Marvel's movies. Most of the heroes from DC are extremely weird when you stop to think about it, but they are mostly wholesome when they interact with each other or with people they save. They're mostly serious and dark, yes, because they take their job seriously (unlike how marvel portrays its own heroes as standup comedians), but they do have moments of levity when time allows for it. Making a joke here and there during the off-time, reminiscing about the past, or even having deep meaningful conversations about what they're doing. An example comes to mind of the animated show where batman has a contingency plan for every hero in case they go rogue, and it's stolen and used against the heroes. They're somber about it, serious, judgmental of Batman, even, but at the end, Superman and Batman have a heart to heart moment. Even though they more or less understand Batman's point of view, they don't necessarily agree with it, and Superman quips, "And what contingency do we have if you go bad someday, batman?" to which Batman replies both wholesomely and as irony, "You are the contingency". I may be paraphrasing here, but those kinds of moments are sorely missed from the DC movies. It's like marvel decided to be the clown and dc decided to be the fun police. Here's hoping for a middle ground going forward, if not from marvel, at least from dc.
James Gunn has the great ability of taking obscure comic characters and making them loved by a much wider audience, and I really appreciate that. I love that he doesn't just play it safe and go for comic characters that are already well known.
The three Gaurdian movies are my all time favorite MCU films, for the brilliantly chosen cast, to the humor to the perfect chemistry between the actor. You have it all, joy, sadness, humor, these three films really are nearly perfect.
First video in a long time I watched at regular speed all the way to the end without scrolling down once to check the comments. Great video man. I think I'm watching Guardians of the Galaxy again this year.
The movie that almost every mcu movie following tried and failed replicating. This trilogy is also why my trust for Gun for the DCU is pretty high, never really understood the Snyder hype tbh. I did love the watchmen though.
For those who don't know, the "People also know me by another name, Starlordz" only to be met by "who?" is a nod to the comics where at one point Starlords name was so famous that enemies literally would put down their arms and didn't even want to fight him just from the legends about him alone.
It was definitely an incredibly strong opening to a movie and introduction to the main character, the heart and soul of the movie. In just a few short minutes, you learn so much about what type of character Quill is. The comparison of Snyder treating heroes like God's, who you cannot relate to, versus James Gunn's way of treating them, it is night and day. The amount that he made me feel for that king shark because he couldn't go inside the bar with the rest of them, even though he was really good at disguises, that made me feel. Rat Catcher 2, similar situation. Not exactly a type of character I have any history with as someone who never knew of any of these characters, aside from obviously like Harley Quinn. I won't guarantee that the Gunn-verse will be great, or that DC and Warner are going to win big on this one, but this is the most confident that I have been in terms of expecting a good franchise to come out of this since... maybe the Dark Knight Trilogy? Whatever belief I had was quickly disappointed by Man of Steel. It is interesting to see that there are going to be tons of lesser known characters that are going to get a chance to shine, but also going to be interesting to see how he tackles the more well known characters. I really feel like we're going to see the heart put back into a lot of DC characters who have been lacking it.
I remember when I was 13 years old not knowing anything about this film and going in blind. I was so concerned and scared how it would turn out. That was when the music started playing. The song was something my family and I listened to forever, and afterwards I knew I was in safe hands! 😊
The problem with Gunn’s love of subverting expectations is it ceases to be surprising. And when Gunn isn’t limited by the rating he goes overboard on the gruesomeness.
So this is gonna sound like a small criticism I have about the video but I feel like you ended the video softer than you should have. Granted this is the first one I’ve seen however I feel throughout the video was perfect in introducing things like James Gunn and the timeline of how he became to the praise and helm he is today, the graphics and transitions were awesome and really had me engaged. But at the end it felt like a middle schoolers conclusion paragraph restating what you’ve done and throwing it back to us the audience and asking what we’re excited for. Something along the lines of, “ and with how many movies James gun has the helm over, I can’t wait to see more heros under such love and care as we’ve seen already” follows the videos tone and consistency rather than comment engagement and buzzfeed writing. Hope I didn’t come off to hard but I genuinely believe this was awesome and I know you have better things in store
Didn't know Gunn made Brightburn, that's my favourite superhero movie. If I think of someone that powerful that is how they would be in this messed up world tbh.
He did a great job by making Dark Superman like a movie as Brightburn. Now he's actually going to make DCU Superman Legacy what perfect opportunity he got 😂😂
PLEASE make a good Swamp Thing movie. He's such an amazing character, he's dark, he's fucked up, and he's complex. You can tell a few great stories with him.
Best thing I like about GOG is the show knows when to not take itself seriously and just do things completely ironically Like some of the slow-moed fight scenes. They don't feel cringey because you know it's intentionally directed that way to be funny. And it fits the theme and nature of the story and cast.
Disney: superheroes Every other company: Fun weirdos you can relate to. Shrek told that lesson to Disney and Disney didn't listen and that's why MCU is now becoming Disney2.0. Hope Gunn will bring something good with DCU the same way DreamWorks SKG brought good cartoon films that are not just remakes for kids.
I was already a Marvel-fan before Gotg1 dropped in 2014 and I was never a comic-book nerd so the Guardians was totally unheard of and I had honestly only "mid" expectations. But the character-introductions of not only Star-Lord but the whole squad was so well-done. As soon as they revealed Chris Pratt's face in the beginning and dropped the title, you could already know it was going to be a fun movie. Well done to James Gunn for character creation, development and introduction!
The MCU is in a tricky place. They brought us 20ish superhero films, ranging from decentish to amazing, culminating in Infinity War/Endgame. Where are they supposed to go from there? IMO they're doing the right thing by getting experimental and trying everything from WandaVision to Ms Marvel to She-Hulk to Eternals. When you do that there are going to be both hits and misses but they gotta do it, because the alternative is to just keep growing increasingly stale.
@@irrevenant3While a good point, that there is a chance of having another big hit film, so far they still have been "growing increasingly stale" even when trying out new superheroes. Some things are better off just ending them on a good, strong note, instead of trying to milk it for all it's worth until the cow is dry. Think of how many TV, film, or book series started out great and had a huge fan base, but by the end, they ruined things somehow and lost a lot of fans. It leaves a bitter taste in their mouth that ruins their enjoyment of even the early films/books and they aren't interested anymore.
@@faolan2174 While true, the MCU is based on a comics universe that is still going strong after 60 years. There should still be quite a lot of good stories to be told. Especially if they're willing to explore stuff like _Werewolf by Night._
I personally think the problem was that they had such a very clear, or as clear as can be, view of what they were doing building up to Infinity War and End Game. I personally said at the time, and everyone hated me saying it, that End Game should have just been the end, the absolute conclusion to not just the Infinity Saga, but the MCU. I figured if they took about five years off from making them and focus on building a large blueprint, and building strong scripts, and just really getting the big picture all figured out. I also figured five years would be just enough where End Game would still be recent enough in memory that it hasn't fallen to obscurity, and then now with hindsight, it turns out that 2019-2023 would have been the perfect years to take off from making movies and shows and focusing on the overall gameplan, considering how the pandemic was pretty immediate after End Game. Honestly, going even further, what I thought would have been a truly epic and baller move, would have been to make Infinity War the final movie in the Infinity Saga. No one, absolutely no one would see it coming that Thanos would actually get to snap away not just half of life, but of our heroes, and for him to get away, watch the sunset, and boom, over. If they were going to continue afterward, then I thought the snap should have been what killed off any actors that were leaving, like Captain America and Iron Man, and that whatever heroes survived the snap, would be the ones going forward.
I just realized that the introduction movies of marvel characters in the MCU are almost always better than all of the follow up movies. The first Iron Man movie, the first Thor movie, The Incredible Hulk (also think Norton is a much better Banner than Ruffalo), Guardians of the Galaxy. Those I can watch multiple times.
Gunn’s MCU movies always stood out from the rest. So I worry that multiple DCEU movies made in his particular style can possibly begin to feel the same.
I mean, Gunn's own filmography, from his R-rated gorefests to his sentimental schlocky space operas (and hell, even his writing for SCOOBY DOO lol), are all so different from one another tonally that I don't think him helming an entire universe is gonna have that issue. I at least expect him to have more versatility than another Kevin Feige lol
I watched Guardians of the Galaxy for the first time, then I had to re-watch it immediatelly. That is how I felt. That movie has been among the 10 movies I had to re-watch after watching it. I was compelled.
Also, In Infinity War, The Guardians of the Galaxy intro was the best thing ever. The sun shining on Starlord through the starship window as he and Gamora vibe out to rubberband man
If Gunn announced that he was directing a 24-hour real-time streamed performance of Days of our Lives, all acted on a normal size chess board with monopoly prices, I'll be excited. That guy is a genius
I'm dying to see Gunn's take on Superman... his love for comics should bring him up like never before... I just wish A Superman that is kind and caring
I personally love and respect both Snyder's and Gunn's visions Snyder's way of showing the drama and huge spectacles with God-like beings who should not exist and Gunn's way of showing emotion and how these God-like beings are no different from humans
The opening of Guardians of the Galaxy to this day remains my favorite introduction of a character. Once the music kicked in and Star-Lord started dancing, I knew it was not only something unexpected, but also special
There's only one character introduction I like even more, which is the one of Captain Jack Sparrow in the very first Pirates of the Caribbean.
For me nothing beats the Joker introduction in dark knight.
@@JaguarBST I think he's specifically talking about 'hero introductions' but yes, I also agree that the Joker/bank scene was hands down the best 'villain introduction'.
1:53 @@lonestarr1490 1:56
The title card on the giant IMAX screen was quite impressive.
This was the blueprint as to what the MCU has been after this movie. They thought that jokes after jokes are the reason why this movie was great for what it was when it was the emotional moments that made this movie a great experience. Talk about caring about a tree and a raccoon.
So very true. It is unfortunate how humour has become a painful staple in the MCU at this point and it was because they didn't learn the lesson as to what and why people loved it. Yes, it was funny and had tons of jokes, but it had heart, it had character development, and it had just in general characters that you wanted to continue watching.
@@Mr.Septon Agreed, it's the reason why there never was a superhero fatigue as the public calls it, but just that the public were tired of the same formula that's been around for years. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and Across the Spider-Verse proves that, and best of hopes that The Flash does too.
Along with two green people and an alien cyborg
To be fair the jokes were a very important aspect, and still are. It just gotta actually be good and not forced
NOT A RACCOON!
Fun Fact: Chris Pratt cited heroes Han Solo and Marty McFly as influences on his performance as Star-Lord.
The walkman makes so much sense now.
That definitely explains a lot.
I imagine Han Solo was Pratt’s idea of who Peter wanted to be but was definitely not
I can see the Marty influence for sure.
FAVES
What makes the beginning scene of GotG even better I feel, is when we revisit it in Endgame. It's fun to watch Peter dance around and just be a goofball, and then we return to the scene without the music for Nebula and Rody watching him, and you realize that's actually how the scene would look to anyone else there. Peter doing a goofy dance to music in his headphones, so no one else hears and just looks like a weirdo.
I think we all do that though lol-
_"Peter doing a goofy dance to music in his headphones, so no one else hears and just looks like a weirdo."_ Which, to be fair, he is. xD
After watching endgame I know always remember that side too 😂😂😂😂
probably one of the best scene in endgame... just because the scene is awesome
''So, he's an idiot??''
We really do😂.
After we've been introduced to the genius, playboy, billionaire with his suit of armor, the Norse god of thunder, and the World War II super soldier, it's a fresh air that our next hero would be a some guy who was kidnapped by aliens from 1988 Missouri when he was ten years old.
This was when MCU still remembered that the best world-building starts with character.
Although the great thing is that the MCU managed to make all those different characters interesting in their own right. (Well, except arguably Thor. Arguably he was the weak link until Ragnarok finally did something interesting with him).
@@irrevenant3 Thor 1 is pretty good tho.
@@Indeeee It's a pretty decent story. Personally I find the character of Thor himself fairly dull in it.
Back when the MCU was willing to think outside the box
Oh please. There have been some lame MCU films lately, but plenty of great ones too (No Way Home, Shang-Chi, Guardians 3, etc). You don’t think WandaVision was thinking outside the box, or Moon Knight, or freakin’ Werewolf by Night?!
Lose the fashionable cynicism, it’s as cringy as it is undeserved.
@@alexanderwinn9407
I see your points, and raise you She Hulk, Ant man and Quantum Garbage, Wandavisions ending, Dr. Strange 2 Electric Boogaloo, Hawkeye (who? Exactly) Black Widows movie (she deserved better) Eternals, and Ms. Marvel Mary Sue.
It’s not “fashionable criticism” it’s called “applying critical thinking”
@@alexanderwinn9407 GOTG 3 was the pinnacle of lack creativity in marvel. Ruined even the most unique trilogy in the franchise.
James Gun could had do a better intruduction to Adam Warlock. It's my Only niptick with Guardians 3. Good movie
But if you close your eyes
The way they used music to make a connection with the audience and how they built it into the story was something very unique and special!
@@blitzskitz Wes Anderson is able to but I find that Gunn and Wes are some of the most unique directors and their ideas are what make their movies so much better
1k likes!
1k likes!
After learning about more of Gunn's filmography, the fact that he made a phenomenal family-friendly cast of characters just speaks to his range and skill as a filmmaker. So many directors seem pigeonholed into either family-friendly or rated R, but Gunn is great at both.
until GotG 3 lmao
@@sleufffffyou mean the best GotG movie?
@@CarnerioTostado the worst by far, it's God awful
@@sleufffff hard disagree
@@CarnerioTostado fair enough
This movie is so groundbreaking that it reshaped the MCU into what we later came to know and hate
James Gunn: *manages to blend comedy with serious and emotional storytelling*
The rest of the MCU: *tries to copy Gunn's formula but fails by overshadowing emotional storytelling with comedy*
@@harryfleutv666 Yeah it doesn't fit everyone, or every character.
Iron Man invented the MCU storytelling style.
@@harryfleutv666 yeah a lot of writers are insecure and use humor because they think people will criticize them less. “Laughing with them instead of being laughed at” but the reality is the opposite
Groundbreaking how? Can we all just pay a little more attention we use to discribe what we like
There's also the idea that among all this wreckage and decay, in this dour setting, Star Lord is just dancing through it. Not only showing the tonal shift from dour to comedic, but showing that Star Lord himself is someone who, even in the face of very grim circumstances remains fairly blaze and often uses humor/playfulness as a sort of defense mechanism to help get through it. Probably because he's forever stuck being a kid--the same kid we just saw being abducted in 1988.
it also shows us that despite the world being dark and grimm, people still live in it, making the best out of it that they can. It's a piece of world building that makes it so we aren't suprised to see the brutal living conditions of the prison and all the murder later on but the characters don't break from that, because after all for them it's just life.
Coldest ending sentence
I can tell you this. As an indigenous person here on the reservations we always love Redbone's Come and get your love. My theater erupted in cheers, laughing and singing along once the needle drop came in. Flash to today and it puts a smile on face knowing everyone vibes to a song from a previous obscured indigenous rock group. James Gunn sure can make obscure things famous.
My native cousin goes crazy when he hears Redbone i dont blame him tho they make some pretty good music
I honestly only know about this because the CBC Radio promo they use for the show Reclaimed--which covers Indigenous music, btw--has a very brief clip of it. It's good to see Indigenous people getting the deserved recognition.
he’s so good even at redemption arcs, imagine nebula or even peacrmaker, that series was a banger and just showcases his incredible talent
😂
When this movie was made, no one thought it was gonna be hit. That's why James Gunn had more creative freedom.
Not even Gunn himself thought it was gonna be a hit. So he made the movie as if it was his last one
It had a budget of over $230 Million, they were ABSOLUTELY betting on it being a hit. Don’t undersell the creative risk they took: they gave Gunn tons of creative freedom despite having MASSIVE expectations.
@@alexanderwinn9407 I think a better way to put it is that they believed in him, however, crowds can be weird and this was a bold decision at the time. Disney/Marvel more accurately felt like this was kind of their first big gamble and to what extent it would succeed was questionable.
Gunn succeeded though in introducing and making a huge success out of, what at the time was the most unknown, obscure, and weird collective of characters to be put into a near quarter-billion blockbuster.
@@Mr.Septon that's a good way of putting it
Same attitude George Lucas had towards Star Wars
Little did either know both franchise were gonna be a success
@@Mr.Septon All the early MCU was a gamble. No-one knew if Iron Man with famed problem child Robert Downey Jr would do well. No-one knew if relative unknown Chris Hemsworth could bring in audiences. And Ant-Man? It's Ant-Man.
The MCU played a very bold hand in general, they played that hand smart and it paid off for them.
EDIT: One thing the DCEU vs MCU has shown us is that producing consistently good films with engaging characters is more important in selling an audience on a superhero movie than having pre-existing big name characters. Going into this thing everyone assumed the opposite.
The thing that fascinates me about Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 1 is that they are able to introduce multiple important characters, with individual powers and skills AND make them all memorable.
Now, compare that to the drab and boring Eternals. IT also introduced multiple important character, with individual powers and skills.... but I honestly can't remember the name or powers of a single character.
I am not a comic book reader. I had never heard of a single character in either movie before.
One worked. The other didn't. I'm sure the visual differences were easier to handle when you have a talking tree and a genetically modified raccoon. But there are ways to distinguish characters even if they all are just human-looking. And Eternals didn't do that at all.
Having just seen Eternals a few days ago, I'd say the sterile introduction is rather fitting when you learn of their origins, and gave the film a sort of 1960s/70s British scifi film vibe. Also it was pretty obvious how to distinguish them once you figured out their powers; Sersi; matter manipulation chick, Gilgamesh: Mr Punch a monster in the face, Thena: Angelina Jolie's knock off Wonder Woman, Ikaris: Technically not Superman as he only can fly and has laser beam eyes, Phastos: Builder and comical relief who also had real character development despite having only really appearing in the 2nd half of the movie and was probably put in gay relationship to meet movie's LGBTQ quota and get that sweet CA tax break for putting it in the movie. Granted, the names are easier to remember if you're fan mythology.
That being said GotG had given exposition dumps on the characters during the first trailer so we were already somewhat informed about them.
@@ryanbauer3680 Yes, I am not saying it's "impossible" to learn the names and powers of the Eternals. I'm just saying that for me, who is not into comic books, Guardians was much more accessible.
@@Antares2 Fair point, and I was just saying James Gunn is better at marketing a not common super hero group into an established franchise better then whoever was behind the Eternals.
When Quill takes down the mask, presses play on his tape, the music kicks in and then that title drop, that is when I knew we were in for something truly special
This seems oddly similar to one of the top comment...
Gunn leaving the MCU will be missed. He was great at balancing emotional storytelling and comedic timing. DC is getting a gem.
As long as he takes it seriously
@@barney7822 Indeed. He's a complete 180 from Snyder. For Snyder everything was slo-mo epicness and he couldn't get to the heart of these characters. Gunn can definitely bring out heart but the entire DCEU can't be done with the comedy of GotG or The Suicide Squad. We'll see.
@@irrevenant3he is putting other directors in chargers of other movies. He going for a different style for each movie. But he good at being comedy and serious. The GOTG movies show that. He also knows how to make the characters human and likeable. He will give Superman a personality unlike Cavil version. Seriously he just reacts.
Considering how disastrous The Flash is (which he promoted so hard, already comparing it to the greatest superhero films of all time), he's on hot water with DCEU.
😂 What gem?
Pratt's personal stuff aside, dude is HILARIOUS. That "You may have internet connectivity issues." line was improvised on the spot.
Personal stuff? Being a cheater?
@@sarahmcdonald9624 what's that have to do with his professional life
@@rakwraithraiser7315 I’m asking what his personal stuff has to do with his professional life also. See the comment I replied too.
@Sarah McDonald apparently he follows a lot of people who dislike or out right hate lgbt people. Also when he had a child with his second wife he made a post which was seen as a insult to his first wife who had a child with disabilities.
Edit: just remembered that his church believes in gay conversion.
@@sinisterkrex6465 nothing wrong with any of that
Find it interesting watching this video considering how I watch the third film today on the big screen and I thought. Wow, Guardians of the galaxy has tragedy and suffering at every single turn. Galaxy 1-2-3 definitely has some of the straight up the saddest moments in the MCU but also some of the silliest. That is a very difficult line to walk.
i still remember when Guardians released and most people had no idea who they were (including myself) but then i went to see it and it was so good from the beginning, probably the best first movie of the MCU
The in-depth breakdown of what a “Himbo” is coming right after Peter’s mom's death scene caught me off guard so hard I choked on my water 😭
James Gunn is the only reason why I have hope for the dcu his ability to introduce the known less known and all round wacky characters of any franchise is honestly masterful
A fresh take is exactly what the DCU needs rn; Clark, Bruce, Diana, Barry… they can wait a few years while the universe is explored from other perspectives.
I would love to see Henry reprise his role as Superman under James Gunn. I personally feel that he is such an underrated actor and he could honestly play such a good Superman with the right Director.
I've only seen him in BvS/Justice League, and The Witcher. Can he do an actual Clark and not super-stoic-face man?
@@irrevenant3 I actually liked Man of Steel, and a lot of that movie revolves around him just starting out as a super hero. As for stoic, he definitely did not appear stoic when the other Kryptonians threatened his mom. That was pure rage. XD
@@allamericanslacker2378 I haven't seen _Man of Steel._ I understand it's the best film for Cavill's Superman. I've only seen him in the other two and it's deeply underwhelming. I'm glad to hear that MoS does him more justice (no pun intended. :P)
@@irrevenant3 It's got some scenes that I really think should have been written differently but, only a few, and there were other scenes I thought were great, like the scene I mentioned earlier. That fight looked exactly how I always thought a live action fight between Kryptonians should look.
If you ever watch it, keep in mind that, at it's heart MoS is an exploration of whether or not someone with power like Superman has even has the right to his own code of morality. None of my friends got that when we watched it, so they didn't care for it as much I did but, that's exactly the kind of thing I think a Superman movie should be about.
wdym by underrated, he is one of the most well-paid actor and is regularly casted in block-buster roles
I saw Guardians of the Galaxy on opening night, and the energy of the huge crowd was electric! It was almost as if everyone knew something I didn't quite pick up on. I wondered if they'd somehow seen it earlier in the day, but No. That wasn't it.
They like myself had gone from wondering if I'd wait until GoTG came out on video, to being in a theater on opening night! That was mostly due to the PERFECT TRAILER for this movie! And we were NOT disappointed! I'm still surprised how so many people of different ages and backgrounds could be so in-sync the instant Starlord started dancing!
The guardians of the galaxy franchise was one of the few mcu franchises that I’ve seen the entirety of in theatres, my dad and I were bored and saw that a group of friends were going to see the first one and we thought what the heck let’s give it a shot. EVERY joke landed in the audience, EVERY dramatic moment landed in the audience, EVERYONE LOVED EVERYTHING, from there we basically agreed that this was the best thing to come out of marvel. Me and him aren’t on good terms this year, but I guarantee you if I called him and asked him right now if he’d seen 3, he’d light up for a brief moment and say yes
They really nailed the payoff and gave us an incredibly satisfying ending to not just Peter Quill's ark throughout the MCU, but also give all the Guardians a satisfying end to their stories that simultaneously feels fulfilling and yet leaves room for more potential stories with a new roster of characters
GotG's opening is one of my favorites in the MCU. Sucks to lose Gunn to DC but I'm hopeful he can turn things around there. Then, with better competition, I hope the MCU will improve in quality as well.
I love how we get introduced to star lord as a dangerous outlaw and then he just puts on his Walkman and begins dancing 💀
“Off beat weirdos with heart” amazing way of describing his movies
THANK YOU, THANKKKK YOOUUUU!!! This scene was my favorite ever to an introduction to a character. God, it's what got me into cassette culture and guardians of the galaxy restarted cassette tape culture
When the title blasted onto the screen to the sound of Redbone, I knew I was gonna love this movie. And I was right.
I'm a Gunn believer. He's a director who approaches movies from a place of sincerity and genuine wonder. I bet the Jurassic Park sequel trilogy would've been sure hits had they asked him to write and direct.
I thought they were all good, just the first Jurassic World was so good, the other one's look like improvised school projects in comparison.
@@kalebgamez808 I would agree with the first one. It was great 👍🏿 the other two failed to capture my full attention so I’m afraid I can’t fairly assess them lol
1:01 how did i not know Dwight Schrute had a superhero movie
4:15
“-like nobody is watching”
Can’t help but to chuckle at that
One of my favourite movie intros, directors often doesn't use opening sequences well IMHO. Another good one is from Baby Driver. Perfect start to a movie
He might be the perfect person to make DC actually rival Marvel's movies. Most of the heroes from DC are extremely weird when you stop to think about it, but they are mostly wholesome when they interact with each other or with people they save. They're mostly serious and dark, yes, because they take their job seriously (unlike how marvel portrays its own heroes as standup comedians), but they do have moments of levity when time allows for it. Making a joke here and there during the off-time, reminiscing about the past, or even having deep meaningful conversations about what they're doing. An example comes to mind of the animated show where batman has a contingency plan for every hero in case they go rogue, and it's stolen and used against the heroes. They're somber about it, serious, judgmental of Batman, even, but at the end, Superman and Batman have a heart to heart moment. Even though they more or less understand Batman's point of view, they don't necessarily agree with it, and Superman quips, "And what contingency do we have if you go bad someday, batman?" to which Batman replies both wholesomely and as irony, "You are the contingency". I may be paraphrasing here, but those kinds of moments are sorely missed from the DC movies. It's like marvel decided to be the clown and dc decided to be the fun police.
Here's hoping for a middle ground going forward, if not from marvel, at least from dc.
I like when they went back in time and watched quill doing that opening sequence without hearing the music and ripped on him. Hilarious!
WHOOO?
That line pierced the soul, bro 💀.
James Gunn: The king Midas of Superhero adaptations
Come and get your love is the perfect song for this opening scene
I feel comforted knowing Andy Dwyer is guarding our galaxy.
James Gunn has the great ability of taking obscure comic characters and making them loved by a much wider audience, and I really appreciate that. I love that he doesn't just play it safe and go for comic characters that are already well known.
The three Gaurdian movies are my all time favorite MCU films, for the brilliantly chosen cast, to the humor to the perfect chemistry between the actor. You have it all, joy, sadness, humor, these three films really are nearly perfect.
Honestly, this video has brought back some hope into the DC movies for me. Hope it all goes well.
First video in a long time I watched at regular speed all the way to the end without scrolling down once to check the comments. Great video man. I think I'm watching Guardians of the Galaxy again this year.
GOTG is still one of the best openings ever. Star Lord singing and kicking that little creature will always be hilarious.
The movie that almost every mcu movie following tried and failed replicating. This trilogy is also why my trust for Gun for the DCU is pretty high, never really understood the Snyder hype tbh. I did love the watchmen though.
5:01 Ronan sounded genuinely concerned lol.
For those who don't know, the "People also know me by another name, Starlordz" only to be met by "who?" is a nod to the comics where at one point Starlords name was so famous that enemies literally would put down their arms and didn't even want to fight him just from the legends about him alone.
3:27 "a flare from gunn" anyone else caught off guard by that choice of words?
Me too
one of the best marvel trilogys
It was definitely an incredibly strong opening to a movie and introduction to the main character, the heart and soul of the movie. In just a few short minutes, you learn so much about what type of character Quill is.
The comparison of Snyder treating heroes like God's, who you cannot relate to, versus James Gunn's way of treating them, it is night and day. The amount that he made me feel for that king shark because he couldn't go inside the bar with the rest of them, even though he was really good at disguises, that made me feel. Rat Catcher 2, similar situation. Not exactly a type of character I have any history with as someone who never knew of any of these characters, aside from obviously like Harley Quinn.
I won't guarantee that the Gunn-verse will be great, or that DC and Warner are going to win big on this one, but this is the most confident that I have been in terms of expecting a good franchise to come out of this since... maybe the Dark Knight Trilogy? Whatever belief I had was quickly disappointed by Man of Steel.
It is interesting to see that there are going to be tons of lesser known characters that are going to get a chance to shine, but also going to be interesting to see how he tackles the more well known characters. I really feel like we're going to see the heart put back into a lot of DC characters who have been lacking it.
I remember when I was 13 years old not knowing anything about this film and going in blind. I was so concerned and scared how it would turn out. That was when the music started playing. The song was something my family and I listened to forever, and afterwards I knew I was in safe hands! 😊
The problem with Gunn’s love of subverting expectations is it ceases to be surprising. And when Gunn isn’t limited by the rating he goes overboard on the gruesomeness.
So this is gonna sound like a small criticism I have about the video but I feel like you ended the video softer than you should have. Granted this is the first one I’ve seen however I feel throughout the video was perfect in introducing things like James Gunn and the timeline of how he became to the praise and helm he is today, the graphics and transitions were awesome and really had me engaged. But at the end it felt like a middle schoolers conclusion paragraph restating what you’ve done and throwing it back to us the audience and asking what we’re excited for. Something along the lines of, “ and with how many movies James gun has the helm over, I can’t wait to see more heros under such love and care as we’ve seen already” follows the videos tone and consistency rather than comment engagement and buzzfeed writing. Hope I didn’t come off to hard but I genuinely believe this was awesome and I know you have better things in store
Didn't know Gunn made Brightburn, that's my favourite superhero movie. If I think of someone that powerful that is how they would be in this messed up world tbh.
He did a great job by making Dark Superman like a movie as Brightburn. Now he's actually going to make DCU Superman Legacy what perfect opportunity he got 😂😂
@@lokeshr9794 Hope he's allowed to go as dark. I'd watch 10 times.
Gunn was the one responsible for what we got in End Game, not Feige. He just took credit.
Star-Lord is both underrated and legendary.
OMG the Christmas Special had me in tears of joy and nostalgic pity. Oh, KEVIN BACON. These guys take the piss and it’s appreciated always 💓
PLEASE make a good Swamp Thing movie. He's such an amazing character, he's dark, he's fucked up, and he's complex. You can tell a few great stories with him.
That...or Etrigan The Demon.
Best thing I like about GOG is the show knows when to not take itself seriously and just do things completely ironically
Like some of the slow-moed fight scenes. They don't feel cringey because you know it's intentionally directed that way to be funny. And it fits the theme and nature of the story and cast.
Disney: superheroes
Every other company: Fun weirdos you can relate to.
Shrek told that lesson to Disney and Disney didn't listen and that's why MCU is now becoming Disney2.0. Hope Gunn will bring something good with DCU the same way DreamWorks SKG brought good cartoon films that are not just remakes for kids.
I was already a Marvel-fan before Gotg1 dropped in 2014 and I was never a comic-book nerd so the Guardians was totally unheard of and I had honestly only "mid" expectations. But the character-introductions of not only Star-Lord but the whole squad was so well-done. As soon as they revealed Chris Pratt's face in the beginning and dropped the title, you could already know it was going to be a fun movie. Well done to James Gunn for character creation, development and introduction!
I love this movie. We own it on DVD so I've seen it at least 20-30 times
It immediately makes him a super likeable character
I really hope James Gunn helps DC to take over this decade
Because I'm sick of the MCU
The MCU is in a tricky place. They brought us 20ish superhero films, ranging from decentish to amazing, culminating in Infinity War/Endgame. Where are they supposed to go from there? IMO they're doing the right thing by getting experimental and trying everything from WandaVision to Ms Marvel to She-Hulk to Eternals. When you do that there are going to be both hits and misses but they gotta do it, because the alternative is to just keep growing increasingly stale.
@@irrevenant3While a good point, that there is a chance of having another big hit film, so far they still have been "growing increasingly stale" even when trying out new superheroes.
Some things are better off just ending them on a good, strong note, instead of trying to milk it for all it's worth until the cow is dry.
Think of how many TV, film, or book series started out great and had a huge fan base, but by the end, they ruined things somehow and lost a lot of fans. It leaves a bitter taste in their mouth that ruins their enjoyment of even the early films/books and they aren't interested anymore.
@@faolan2174 While true, the MCU is based on a comics universe that is still going strong after 60 years. There should still be quite a lot of good stories to be told. Especially if they're willing to explore stuff like _Werewolf by Night._
Whine some more about how you are sick of something awesome that you are under no obligation to watch.
starlord introduction was smooth as silk. mixed with that song and chris pratt as actor made it perfect !
"Takes a particular set of skills"
Timing it with Liam Neeson's 71st birthday is just perfection.
Whoever gets the reference, extra points.
Guardians is probably my second favorite of all the marvel films with the 1st being Dr strange. they did such a good job with the heros
I miss when MCU had new interesting ideas
I personally think the problem was that they had such a very clear, or as clear as can be, view of what they were doing building up to Infinity War and End Game. I personally said at the time, and everyone hated me saying it, that End Game should have just been the end, the absolute conclusion to not just the Infinity Saga, but the MCU.
I figured if they took about five years off from making them and focus on building a large blueprint, and building strong scripts, and just really getting the big picture all figured out. I also figured five years would be just enough where End Game would still be recent enough in memory that it hasn't fallen to obscurity, and then now with hindsight, it turns out that 2019-2023 would have been the perfect years to take off from making movies and shows and focusing on the overall gameplan, considering how the pandemic was pretty immediate after End Game.
Honestly, going even further, what I thought would have been a truly epic and baller move, would have been to make Infinity War the final movie in the Infinity Saga. No one, absolutely no one would see it coming that Thanos would actually get to snap away not just half of life, but of our heroes, and for him to get away, watch the sunset, and boom, over.
If they were going to continue afterward, then I thought the snap should have been what killed off any actors that were leaving, like Captain America and Iron Man, and that whatever heroes survived the snap, would be the ones going forward.
No you don't.
Maybe the best intro to any character in modern film history. When I think of iconic movie openers, this one is right at the top.
Editor! You missed the obvious nipple at 6:55 😆
I was about to say 😭😭😭😭
this and the new deadpool and wolverine intro are definitely my favorite movie intros in mcu
8:11 homelander
I just realized that the introduction movies of marvel characters in the MCU are almost always better than all of the follow up movies.
The first Iron Man movie, the first Thor movie, The Incredible Hulk (also think Norton is a much better Banner than Ruffalo), Guardians of the Galaxy. Those I can watch multiple times.
Wait so did Gunn age 30 years in 5 years?
one of the best introductory line ever. : no.. I am Rocket, Rocket Racoon" ❤
James Gunn was too good for the MCU
i am now rapidly realising that James Gunn is one of my favourite directors ever
Gunn’s MCU movies always stood out from the rest. So I worry that multiple DCEU movies made in his particular style can possibly begin to feel the same.
Dont worry. They will differ from tone
I mean, Gunn's own filmography, from his R-rated gorefests to his sentimental schlocky space operas (and hell, even his writing for SCOOBY DOO lol), are all so different from one another tonally that I don't think him helming an entire universe is gonna have that issue.
I at least expect him to have more versatility than another Kevin Feige lol
This is why I love Star-Lord.
GOTG is the only MCU movie i watched over and over again... never get bored
If the video topic is the x axis, this man’s videos are literally a huge sine curve
Ok but seriously, all 3 guardians movies are some of, if not the best MCU movies
Intro to the 1st guardians is my favourite scene in all marvel movieverse
I watched Guardians of the Galaxy for the first time, then I had to re-watch it immediatelly. That is how I felt. That movie has been among the 10 movies I had to re-watch after watching it. I was compelled.
As a Hero, I agree
Loved that opening, great video!
Bro, I walked into the cinema knowing nothing about GOTG. Now, it probablythe best series and one of my favorites in all of MCU.
When this part was repeated in endgame I actually cried to the music
Dat pause frame at the start, love it.
i replayed this scene for most of my teens that i enjoy it so much it was on a loop, same with the sound track
Also, In Infinity War, The Guardians of the Galaxy intro was the best thing ever. The sun shining on Starlord through the starship window as he and Gamora vibe out to rubberband man
If Gunn announced that he was directing a 24-hour real-time streamed performance of Days of our Lives, all acted on a normal size chess board with monopoly prices, I'll be excited. That guy is a genius
I'm dying to see Gunn's take on Superman... his love for comics should bring him up like never before... I just wish A Superman that is kind and caring
GotG was exactly what the MCU needed at the time, and is still one of the best trilogies in the catalog.
Took me 10 years to finally watch the GOTG Vol1 and then Vol2 and Vol3 but DAMN DO I WANT VOL4 NOW 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
I personally love and respect both Snyder's and Gunn's visions
Snyder's way of showing the drama and huge spectacles with God-like beings who should not exist
and Gunn's way of showing emotion and how these God-like beings are no different from humans
guardians of the galaxy has always been my favourite marvel trio of movies and it always will be, thanks to James Gunn
1:22 always kinda reminded me of The Captain from Romantically Apocalyptic
Your words are like poetry. You seem to always find the correct words to convey what you are saying and what I’m thinking