MCU Retrospective, Parts 16/17—"Guardians Vol. 2" & "Spider-Man: Homecoming"
In this weekly series, Film Yap writer Andrew Carr revisits each installment of the decade-long Marvel Cinematic Universe. Once a week, Andrew will review one film in the series, in the original release order, reevaluating his previously held opinion of the film and giving each film a new score out of 5 Yaps. All 18 films (plus Avengers: Infinity War, upon release) will be compiled into one definitive ranking. Each entry in the "MCU Retrospective" series will include a short review as well as a historical recap about the film's initial conception and release.
A new entry in this series will be posted every Sunday until the weekend prior to the release of Avengers: Infinity War on May 4.
Last week's entry in the series: Doctor Strange
Complete list of all entries in the "MCU Retrospective" series!
NOTE: The next entry will also feature TWO films in order to account for Infinity War being moved up to April 27.
4/22: Thor: Ragnarok and Black Panther
The Reviews
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 (2017)
This sequel to a modern classic is a strange one—rarely does a movie display this level of inconsistency in quality. It's not that it's a bad film; certainly not. But for the things that it does well (very well), it does a surprisingly large amount wrong. On the one hand, it contains some of the franchise's most affecting emotional drama, and on the other, much of the film seems to misunderstand its own characters. The dichotomy at play between the film's peaks and valleys is stark and surprising, given that this film had essentially the perfect circumstances in which to make a sequel—same writer/director, little to no studio interference, total freedom to not tie in to the larger franchise, etc.
James Gunn gave us a brilliant, tongue-in-cheek, as-funny-as-it-was-heroic story with the first Guardians; a misfit band of sympathetic assholes who probably wouldn't be likable in real life, but garner a personal connection from the viewer thanks to great writing and charming performances. In Vol. 2, when looking at each Guardian, it seems Gunn either forgot what made each one special or over-exaggerated those qualities to the point of parody. He also seems to have blended some of their personalities together in ways that don't make sense. I mean, sure, if you're hanging out with someone a lot, they tend to rub off on you, but why in the world did Rocket go from the smartest, most clever guy on the team to the literalist role that Drax played in the first film. He doesn't understand sarcasm? He can't figure out winking? The way he talks in these moments is also a surprising lapse in dialogue writing from Gunn. At times, Rocket sounds like a 12-year-old kid excessively explaining his thought process aloud. Likewise, Gamora, Drax, and Star Lord seem to take on and drop personality traits at Gunn's whim. Gamora attempts to murder her sister with a spaceship's giant minigun, and then immediately runs to pull her from a burning wreckage with no provocation for a sudden change of heart. When she's with Quill, her dialogue is merely whatever the scene needs her to say, with no regard for what actually makes sense with her personality.
Additionally, it seems Gunn's sharp knack for clever humor has dulled, because he goes for only the easiest jokes this time around. Poop jokes and unreasonable miscommunication played for laughs are the par for this course. In one sense, the humor just seems more juvenile, and while good comedy doesn't always need to be mature or complex, it feels as though the jokes in Vol. 2 were written by a middle schooler writing a Tumblr fan-fiction sequel after having seen the first film.
There is a lot of good in the film, though unfortunately it is scattered throughout the film, amidst the inconsistent writing and easy comedy. Some emotional arcs work better than others, but each main character gets their moments of really solid emotional resonance. Chris Pratt's performance during the more emotionally trying scenes is stellar; during the more casual, smaller moments? Not so much. And really, that holds true for the movie as a whole. When emotions are running high, Gunn and crew are in full form: the characters are real, raw, and captivating, and it's hard not to feel the pull on your heart. But it's a strange feeling, having such an emotional reaction while your eyes are still hurting from how much you were rolling them just minutes earlier. Yondu's rescue of Quill, through to the fireworks scene at the end, is some of the most invested I've ever been in the emotions of the characters in a comic book film. Cat Stevens' "Father and Son" is such an obvious and open-hearted choice for the funeral scene that you can't help but be overwhelmed by the earnest authenticity of the moment.
The end of the film has had me practically in tears all three times I've seen it. It's easy to walk away from the film with that heavy, satisfied feeling simply because of the tail-end of the film's finale. But when I think back to the whole film as an experience, I always remember how frustrated, bored, or annoyed I was at numerous points throughout the movie. It just makes me wish that those fantastic moments had been in a better movie. Hopefully Guardians Vol. 3 is able to find that balance between Guardians' clever humor and Vol. 2's emotional drama.
The stark contrast between the good and the bad in this film has made it difficult for me to score it and rank it among the others. I tend to consider 3.5 to be the minimum for "definitely a solid movie, worth watching," with 3 being more like, "there's enjoyment to be had, but it's pretty messy." For whatever reason, 3 seems like a harsh call on this film (especially when I remember that Iron Man 2 got a 3.5), but if I'm staying true to accurately representing the review I've written above, it seems 3 is more appropriate than 3.5 Sorry, guys.
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SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING (2017)
No swinging from skyscrapers, no Uncle Ben, no Mary Jane, not enough hand-to-hand combat? Oh, boo-hoo! It's a Spider-Man movie like we've never seen before, and it actually cares more about telling a believable story about a teenager than it does about completing your checklist for what "needs" to be in a Spider-Man or superhero movie.
Peter Parker actually feels like a high schooler. More than that, Peter Parker actually feels like Peter Parker. (Yes, you got that right, that was shade at Tobey and Andrew.) Weirdly enough, the Spider-Man movie that threw all the Spidey tropes and must-haves out the window is actually the best and most accurate representation of the character on film. Who'da thunk?
Also weird: perhaps the MCU's most wrapped-up-in-the-franchise entry (Iron Man plays father-figure, lots of superhero shout-outs, the villain's origin is directly related to The Avengers, Ultron's disembodied head shows up at one point) ended up being one of the franchise's most personal and down-to-earth stories yet. There's no world-ending catastrophe, no light beam in the sky, not even a giant sci-fi set piece on which to have the hero and villain duke it out in the end. It's just a kid trying to be accepted and appreciated by the people he looks up to, and in the end, realizing once again that that's not why he's doing this; it can't be why he's doing it. It's not only a beautiful long-form representation of "with great power comes great responsibility," but it's also an incredibly realistic concept to have our hero (a teenager) struggling for acceptance. Who the hell can't relate to that?
Additionally, some smaller pluses:
absolutely gorgeous Spidey costume
Peter's AI assistant Karen allows him to have that inner-dialogue the character is famous for in the comics (very clever throwback/reinterpretation)
the cinematography (What? Praise for a Marvel film's camera work? Yes.) there's a lot of really interesting wide shots and camera movement we don't see a lot of in blockbuster films
the almost Baby Driver-esque primary color triad going on throughout the film
the lead-up to the homecoming dance. What a brilliant, quiet series of scenes.
the villain, Adrian Toomes, aka "The Vulture." Okay, this isn't really a "smaller" praise. This is great. Michael Keaton chews it up with as much empathy as abrasivity. And he's not a mustache-twirling demigod or would-be ruler. He's not really even "evil." He's a pretty normal guy (maybe a little overzealous) with a few messed up morals.
Homecoming might be Marvel's best movie when you strip away the "superhero" perspective. Just as a story about a young and hopeful human being, navigating a dangerous secret life amidst the whips and scorns of high school, it's incredibly well done. The Spider-Man stuff is just a great bonus. Pitch-perfect humor that never overstays its welcome, a great lesson-learned in the end, endlessly charming and convincing supporting players, and creative subversion of movie tropes—it's everything "another superhero movie" needed, and then some a lot.
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The MCU Ranking!
Every week, I take each entry covered for that week and place it in an ongoing ranking, which will eventually include all 19 films.
We're going to both ends of the spectrum this week. On the one, Guardians Vol. 2 teeters between the good and the mediocre of the MCU, and on the other, Spider-Man: Homecoming nearly dethrones the always-legendary Winter Soldier.