Who We Were Made To Be, Isn’t Who We Are

SPOILERS for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

The concept of destiny, divine purpose, and the choice to accept or rebel against it are all major factors in life. We often exist in a world where choices are laid out for us without us even knowing it. When we do become aware, the change is striking, our beliefs are shattering, and the world we come to live in changes with every moment and it is up to us to choose our path, for better or for worse.

The Guardians of the Galaxy movies have always been about imperfect beings proving they are more than the sum of their parts. It’s been about broken people overcoming their brokenness and learning to be more than anyone ever expected. And this was mostly shown through the relationships of Star Lord (Chris Pratt) until this third installment when the tone shifts to the one member who hasn’t been so open about his past, Rocket (Bradley Cooper).

Rocket is, on paper, absurd at best. He’s an anthropomorphic raccoon, who talks like an Italian gangster, carries a lethal number of firearms at any given time, and is the smartest member of this band of misfits by a mile. But he’s got a lot of power through the way he’s been portrayed, from having been forced to witness the death of his friends, namely Groot (Vin Diesel) in the first Guardians of the Galaxy and then again in Avengers: Infinity War. He’s been mocked for his appearance, torn apart for his arrogance, and ultimately pushed to his breaking point over and over again while never being seen for just how valuable he really is. And then Vol. 3 takes that and adds a background worse than anything to the overall result.

The High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji) is a monster. He is the worst aspects of human history, blown up to a cosmic scale and then given powers beyond our understanding. His quest, to perfect existence and build perfect species of beings speaks to Nazi ideas and horrors of eugenics that should leave us shaking when we think of certain parts of our own history being equally horrifying, and to see his unapologetic resolve, he belief that he is not just a genius but a god amongst creatures, speaks to the worst horrors of our past. And yet, he’s flawed, he lacks his own perfection, and he shows jealousy, desire for control, and a lack of compassion that makes him to be just as realistic as villains of our own history.

And what this says is that even those who create and enhance life lack true power. They struggle in their own purposes and yet demand we become something they believe to be perfect. Our parents, our elders, our mentors, they all have a path they expect us to follow. They think they know what is best for us, even though those same things put barriers and struggles on their own lives. And they tell us to succeed until we do and then it’s not pride they share, but resentment. They don’t revel in our gifts but show jealousy, hate, pain. While this is not true of all people, there are more than a significant number of young people, who lose their potential for greatness before they even discover it.

What makes the Guardians of the Galaxy so special is not that they are perfect ideals of people and they know it. They are flawed, broken, destroyed people, beings who have suffered loss, fear, heartbreak, horrors beyond anything we can imagine, and yet, when they come together, when they find each other, they realize they are more capable and able than anyone can imagine. And then, when the brutal and barbaric creators come back to them, demanding they return to the roles they broke out of, they refuse, they improve, they become something more than anyone can imagine, especially those who made them.

The lesson this movie speaks is so powerful. We are not defined by other people’s decisions of who we should be. Like Star Lord and Groot we are not our past selves’ beliefs about what we are. Like Gamora (Zoe Saldana) we are not our former relationships versions of ourselves, like Drax we are not our failures of ourselves, and like Rocket, Nebula, Mantis, and so many others, we are not our parents, leaders, bosses, or anyone else’s expectations of ourselves. We define us, we define who we can become. Who we were made to be, is not who we are.

Just a quick refresher of my MCU ranking criteria.
Cast and Performances
Story and Plot
Best Fight/Action Scene
Rewatchability
Cleverest Easter Egg
Each film will be judged solely by me and then placed against all the other films. And rated on a scale of 10 for each category with a total possible score of 50.

So, here is the quick breakdown of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3:

Cast and Performances: Everyone is bringing their best to these roles. Pratt, Saldana, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff and especially Bradley Cooper are bringing the highest stakes to these characters and it works. Iwuji takes the High Evolutionary to levels beyond expectation and makes him a villain we both understand as someone we can see, and yet see as someone larger than life. There are a lot of pieces and some roles get pushed aside, but the overall result is fantastic and memorable performances. (9/10)

Story and Plot: I think this plot is really strong, it says a lot about what is and isn’t worth saving in the world, and shows how we place our own value on certain things above others, but the overall plot has a lot of pieces to put into place. It’s not without its flaws but it does have a strong and complete story when the dust settles.. (8/10)

Best Fight/Action Scene: Hallway oner set to “No Sleep Til Brooklyn” is a masterpiece in showing off the Guardians doing what they do best. It’s got humor, talent, supremely clever camera work, and an overall reminder that James Gunn knowns how to show these characters in ways that make them work at all levels. (10/10)

Rewatchability: I have so much I’m excited to see again. I know there are things I missed and pieces I have to check out again because it’s a lot to take in. I spent the whole credits role just reflecting and wanting to instantly watch my favorite moments again. It was fantastic. (10/10)

Best Easter Egg: There weren’t a ton of major easter eggs in this one. Gunn references his own work a lot in it, and the cameos by some of his previous collaborators (Nathan Fillion, Jennifer Holland, Daniela Melchior) were are really fun. But the focus was less on the fan service and more on the story at hand and I think that was the best choice overall (6/10)

Total Score: 43/50

Current Ranking:
The Avengers
Spider-man: No Way Home
Avengers: Endgame
Black Panther
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Black Widow
Spider-man: Homecoming
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Avengers: Infinity War
Guardians of the Galaxy
Captain America: The First Avenger
Iron Man
Captain Marvel
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness
Thor: Ragnarok
Spider-man: Far From Home
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Captain America: Civil War
Ant-Man
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Thor: Love and Thunder
Thor
Iron Man 3
The Eternals
The Incredible Hulk
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Doctor Strange
Thor: The Dark World
Iron Man 2

This was a masterful end to a trilogy that only got better with each entry. I cannot wait to see what Gunn does with the DC Universe now that his focus is there and I cannot wait to keep following the MCU for more and more updates.

So until then, as I always say, thanks for taking the time to get Ploominated!

Guardians of the Galaxy: The Ultimate Dungeons and Dragons Movie.

I want to tell you the story of a group warriors, brought together by chance and sent on a quest to protect a powerful artifact from falling into the hands of a dangerous political zealot who wishes to use that artifact to destroy a rival nation. Along the way these warriors develop from adversaries, into acquaintances, into friends, and eventually, into family. The adventure is laced with humor and hardship, strange allies and dangerous enemies, and a grand battle that saves a nation from absolute destruction. No, I’m not talking about The Lord of the Rings, I’m talking about Guardians of the Galaxy.

Guardians of the Galaxy was a risky film when it came out. Based on a comic book property that was obscure to even some of the most die-hard comic book fans. But it found great success because of those risks and became one of the most successful and popular entires in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And while I could spend much of this day talking about family, or redemption, or a dozen other subjects. I’m going to make this thesis very clear. Guardians of the Galaxy is the greatest Dungeons & Dragons movie that has ever been made. From the archetypes of the characters and their relationships to each other, to the plot structure and encounters faced by the titular Guardians, to way the world(s) they live in are built ,and especially the way popular culture plays a part in the story, all add to the D&D being played in the world.

Now when I say that Guardians is a D&D movie, I do not mean swords and sorcery, though there is some variation of that. What I mean is that Guardians is a game of D&D. It’s 6 people, 5 players and a Dungeon Master, sitting around a table and collaboratively telling a story. And that story is not always what we expect it to be, but it has a raw honesty that comes from the sort of improvisation and self-aware nature that allows it to be incredibly silly when it has to be but incredibly sincere when it has to be too. Now as we go forward, I’m going to be using a lot of D&D terminology so If you get confused please feel free to stop and look up words or phrases that may be confusing. But now, let’s dive in and talk about all the things that make this a D&D adventure.

If you look at a standard D&D game, there are usually 3 to 6 players. Each of them comes with a character who, hopefully, will work as a well-rounded member of the overall party. When we look at the Guardians we have five characters who make up that party. Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) a.k.a Star Lord is a Rogue (with some levels in Bard along the way) who acts as a thief and con artist. Gamora (Zoe Saldana) is a Fighter, a highly trained warrior who specializes in numerous fighting techniques and uses them to dispatch her enemies. Drax (Dave Bautista) is a Barbarian, who fights recklessly with a righteous rage and unrivaled strength. Rocket (voice by Bradley Cooper) is an Artificer, who created spectacular gadgets to make up for a lack of physical strength. And Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel) is a Druid, who uses nature to heal and protect those around them. All five work together in their roles throughout the movie as a rag tag team of various egos and styles of combat, and while they do work effectively together they have their troubles as well. They bicker over solutions to problems, some of which they themselves created.  And this D&D style continues into their backstories as well.

We have an orphan who was kidnapped and raised by a gang of thieves. A woman raised by a genocidal maniac as his adopted daughter after he slaughtered her home. A man who seeks revenge for the murders of his wife and daughter. A genetic experiment which has left a mountain of deep seated fears and anxieties within a tortured genius, and… well I’m not really sure what Groot was up to before we meet him but I’m sure it was equally hard and tragic backstory before getting hired to protect Rocket. These sorts of backstories are what give characters their motivations for adventuring and ultimately joining together. Happy people don’t go looking for adventure and purpose. Those who do are often looking to fill a hole within themselves or escape some darkness from their past. The Guardians of the Galaxy are doing just that.

But then we look beyond the Player Character, or PCs, as they would be called in a D&D game, we see that the Non-Player Characters, or NPCs, also fall in line with a game of D&D. We have the main villain, who is a psychotic political zealot bent on world destruction. He’s aided by a pair of enforcers, one of whom is connected to one of our PCs through the afore mentioned genocidal maniac. On the other side of the coin we have the heads of the Nova Corps, who act as both antagonists and allies to the party as they learn the true stakes of their battle with the villains. The Collector (Benicio del Toro) is an oddball curator of oddities who lives within the head of a fallen godlike being who wishes to collect literally everything. And then we have the Ravagers, a thieves’ guild with more connections to the PCs and could be either allies or enemies depending on the actions of the PCs. If you look at a world built in a D&D game these types of characters are abundant throughout. Watch any online game of D&D and you will find at least one somewhere around. Add to that eclectic shopkeepers and merchants, various townsfolk and you get a full world that operates much like that created by a Dungeon Master, which director James Gunn basically is.

But beyond the characters the story of Guardians is very D&D. The group comes together after getting thrown in prison. They escape and journey across the galaxy to sell a treasure to a mysterious Collector who explains why the artifact is so powerful. When they are attacked by the forces of Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace). From there they are forced to align with a notorious thieves’ guild and alert the very nation that initially jailed them to ensure that Ronan doesn’t destroy the planet that government lives on. If they fail it could mean the end of not only the planet of Xandar but Galaxy itself. This is very much how D&D stories work. You get a group of misfits who go find some mysterious thing which is actually a major key to the story, while being pursued by the villains of the story and must make unlikely allies to help the party fight off the major threats and when the dust settles they go off on another adventure possibly changed by their encounters but ultimately still the same group of “a-holes” we met when it started. Guardians does this and plays like a game of D&D in that way.

The other factor we haven’t talked about that really solidifies this idea is the way that Guardians of the Galaxy, uses pop culture and humor in a world where it otherwise wouldn’t exist. This is mostly done through Peter due to his earthly origins and lack of maturity. And that is often how things shake out in a game of D&D; you get some people who play their characters with deep sincerity and serious tones the way Gamora is mostly played and on the other hand there are players who are very much trolling the game, cracking jokes and references throughout the adventure, as happens with Peter. And then we have the way the game shakes out through the unexpected. Much of D&D is improvised. The DM presents a scenario and the players must make up what happens and then roll dice to ultimately decide the outcome. And we see all of that here. Bluffing that goes horribly awry for multiple characters. Attacks which go without effect. Character who fail to communicate with each other beforehand and have to improvise after someone goes off the rails, improvised weapons, magical artifacts and equipment that do extraordinary things, and the grand finale of it all: stopping the villain with a dance battle to O-o-h Child by the Five Stairsteps. It’s a full series of moments that feel like the actors wrote the story out around a table playing a game of Dungeons & Dragons. And it’s what makes the oddball moments in the movie feel natural and honest rather than some lame joke that won’t be funny in a year’s time. It’s brilliant. And it should be celebrated.

So, when we take a step back and look at Guardians of the Galaxy, we see that it is such a genuine honest and wonderful story because of how it allows itself to have fun. In much the same way a genuinely fun game of Dungeons & Dragons is one which allows itself to have fun. Yes, there are moments where both take themselves seriously but then a moment later, they can step back and crack a joke, or make a mistake, and the table can be rolling with laughter. It’s the only place I know where a story can have a tear jerk moment come from a character who can only say three words. The movie succeeds because it balances these two extremes. It knows it’s a story that lives in a fantastic world but it also knows that it has to tell a genuine human story, which includes being awkward and clumsy sometimes, making mistakes, staying true to the nature of a group of characters who have no reason to be together on this journey aside from they all want to achieve a similar goal. When you really break down everything that makes Guardians of the Galaxy a wonderful and endlessly rewatchable story of humanity and genuine connection, it’s because it’s the greatest game of Dungeons & Dragons ever filmed.

Just a quick refresher of my MCU ranking criteria.

Cast and Performances
Story and Plot
Best Fight/Action Scene
Rewatchability
Cleverness of the Stan Lee cameo

Each film will be judged solely by me and then placed against all the other films. And rated on a scale of 10 with a total possible score of 50.

So, here is the quick breakdown of Guardians of the Galaxy:

Cast and Performances: The Cast is mostly great. The five main Guardians all have unstoppable chemistry and from start to finish are great fun to watch. Likewise, Ravagers leader Yondu (Michael Rooker) adds to the fun and has a hard edge that acts as a nice contrast to the other characters and is aided well by Sean Gunn as is first mate Kraglin. Del Toro’s Collector is absurd in a way that is both sinister and silly at times. And Karen Gillan’s Nebula is the best villain to enter the MCU since Loki. Where the movie falls flat is with its main villains Ronan and his pursuer Korath played by Djimon Honsou. Neither one feels like a fully formed character and aside from some very basic personality traits they don’t get to be full characters by the end of the movie either. (8/10)

Story and Plot: The plot is actually very simple and straightforward. The characters achieve their goals in some cases and fail in others. And along the way they have encounters which all add to the plot and even when they derail it, have purpose within the larger narrative. It all works well and feel very satisfactory when the credits roll. (9/10)

Best Fight/Action Scene: The Kyln escape is easily the best scene in the movie. It’s fun, funny, full of memorable action and dialogue. The way the team works together shows brighter here than any other moment and watching them interact as they race around the prison trying to escape is endlessly rewatchable (10/10)

Rewatchability: Guardians of the Galaxy may be the most rewatchable movie in the entire MCU. It’s continuously fun, unstoppably funny, and so quotable that you’ll be saying the best lines in the movie for years to come. I’ve seen it more than a dozen times and possibly more than any other movie in the MCU. And I’m not planning on stopping any time soon. (10/10)

Cleverness of the Stan Lee Cameo: Stan the Man is a pervy old man hitting on an alien woman. In an otherwise shining movie it’s an unfortunately forgettable cameo. (4/10)

Total: 41/50

Current Ranking:
The Avengers
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Guardians of the Galaxy
Captain America: The First Avenger
Iron Man
Thor
Iron Man 3
The Incredible Hulk
Thor: The Dark World
Iron Man 2

Thank you everyone for letting me talk about two things I love so very much. I found a new love and appreciation for Guardians of the Galaxy, while watching and writing this entry. And I hope I will do the same next week when we get to the much anticipated sequel to our current number one movie.

But until then, thanks for taking the time to get Ploominated!