Too many deaths, or not enough of them?
And what happened to Peter's helmet?
"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" may have just touched down in theaters, and fans have
thoughts.
Spoilers ahead for "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3."
James Gunn wanting to work with his wife, Jennifer Holland, is apparently the internet's
equivalent of wearing socks with sandals to the mall.
The usual suspects of Film Twitter have painted the narrative that Gunn always finds a way
to cast Holland in his productions, and they see it as a form of Hollywood nepotism.
Considering Holland appears as Administrator Kwol in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,"
her cameo has stirred up the conversation again.
Truth be told, Kwol's role in the story is minor, and it isn't like Gunn threw out an
established performer to make room for his wife on screen.
Some fans have come to Holland and Gunn's defense, pointing out how the filmmaker has
often cast the same actors in his movies before and there has never been any complaints about
it.
One tweeted:
"It's no secret there's a subset of geek fandom that are unashamedly misogynistic [...] but
the hate for Jennifer Holland being a James Gunn mainstay is so clearly sexist when you
just start naming Michael Rooker, Sean Gunn, Nathan Fillion, and so on…"
In the build-up to "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3," fans were excited by the prospect
of seeing Adam Warlock make his live-action debut.
The character had been teased before in the MCU, but he would now be portrayed in flesh
and blood by Will Poulter.
But this version of the being first introduced as Him in the pages of 1967's "Fantastic Four"
comics is much different than fans might have imagined.
One redditor said Poulter was "a weird choice" to play the character, and added that the
makeup was, quote, "TNG side character tier."
"It became pretty clear they weren't going for perfect when they cast me."
"Oh stop!
You're so cute."
"They were going in a different direction for the role."
For some viewers, the role isn't as substantial as it should have been, with Poulter's Warlock
featuring scarcely in the film.
Another redditor said:
"Nothing against his performance but I feel like you could cut him out of the movie and
nothing would be lost, his connection to the plot was very flimsy."
Others are not impressed by how his personality has been diluted here, with James Gunn making
him a comedic and somewhat childlike fish-out-of-water character.
One Redditor described him as "yet another himbo idiot."
In "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2," the audience is introduced to the Golden High Priestess
of the Sovereign, a race of beings created by the High Evolutionary.
Ayesha is a minor antagonist but she plays a vital role in the creation of Adam Warlock,
which is teased in the post-credits scene of the film.
"I think I shall call him…Adam."
In "Guardians 3," Ayesha returns with her "son," Adam, in tow as they do the High Evolutionary's
evil bidding.
Unfortunately, she is blown to smithereens on Counter-Earth and presumably doesn't survive
the events of the movie.
While Ayesha does have a few sporadic scenes scattered throughout, there are a few fans
puzzled by her overall purpose in this storyline.
As one Redditor suggested, there was an opportunity to see both her and Warlock face off against
the High Evolutionary and bring closure to that part of the story.
Instead, she becomes glorified cannon fodder.
Since the first time fans met Rocket, it's clear he went through some trauma in his past.
He doesn't like to talk about it, and his history has been largely shrouded in secrecy
— until now.
"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" shows him as a tiny and cute-as-a-button baby raccoon
that becomes a part of High Evolutionary's sick experiments.
It's made even worse when the viewers meet Rocket's three new adorable friends — Lylla
the otter, Teefs the walrus, and Floor the rabbit — and see what has been done to them
as well.
Sure, they are upbeat about life in general, but there's no disputing they have been tortured.
While James Gunn doesn't get graphic in the depiction of animal abuse, it's the things
left unsaid that leave an unsettling feeling in the pit of the stomach.
This hasn't been lost on the fans, either, as the animal lovers have expressed how difficult
it is to watch these scenes and not be impacted by it.
Of course, this is the intention of the filmmakers.
Animal lovers on Reddit said they were brought to tears, with one sharing:
"When Lylla was shot I looked over and saw my wife crying."
The MCU loves to sprinkle its films and TV shows with humorous moments and jokes as a
way to provide levity to the stories.
The Guardians have always been the biggest jokers of the pack, and their appearances
have contained the most amount of humor out of all the MCU projects.
While the trailers for "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" showed off a darker, serious tone
than most fans might have expected, no one should have been surprised that the film would
find a way to incorporate some laughs.
Most of the comic relief comes from the interactions between Drax the Destroyer and Mantis, but
there's also a recurring gag between Cosmo the Spacedog and Kraglin.
Some, however, have criticized the film for having lame jokes.
One moviegoer tweeted:
"A good chunk of the jokes were pretty unfunny and it seemed like Gunn didn't know what to
do with a lot of the cast."
Another said they, quote, "cringed during A LOT of the humor this time around."
Make no mistake about it — comic book fans are among the most perceptive people in the
world.
They miss nothing, and will let filmmakers know if something is amiss.
One of the hottest debates surrounding "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" is about the lack of
Star-Lord's helmet.
Unlike the past movies, Peter Quill doesn't utilize it here, and many fans have wondered
why it is missing from the action.
It is considered an important part of the hero's attire, so it is in the same league
as Captain America and his mighty shield.
A Reddit thread about the topic has been started with one commentator suggesting that Star-Lord
wouldn't have almost died in space had he activated his helmet.
Another user countered the argument by saying that Quill and the others left in a hurry
to try and save Rocket, so he may have forgotten his helmet back at the base.
The "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" trailers promised sadness.
Fans feared the worst for a member of the crew — with most presuming Rocket would
be the one to perish.
And because this marks the end of the trilogy, it was always likely that someone would get
killed as part of a narrative beat.
In the end, all the Guardians are safe, and no one heads off to Valhalla to meet up with
Jane Foster.
"I see you're dead now."
"Ugh.
Yeah."
But that doesn't mean the other characters are quite as lucky.
In one of the most heart-shattering scenes of the film, Lylla, Teefs, and Floor don't
get to see the blue sky with Rocket as he prepares to escape in a flashback sequence.
They might have been fresh characters introduced in this film, but these three wholesome creatures
leave a significant mark with their kindness.
Many viewers have expressed how horrified they were to see the events unfold.
According to one Redditor:
"I just knew Lila, Teeths and Floor were going to die but their deaths really got me."
Forget about Peter Parker telling Tony Stark that he doesn't feel so good — this is now
officially the saddest moment in a Marvel movie.
There are several moments in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" where James Gunn pulls
the rug out from under the viewers and makes everyone believe that someone is a goner.
A particularly harrowing scene occurs toward the end of the film when Star-Lord doesn't
escape in time and floats through space.
His body begins to freeze and his face bloats to look like a pufferfish.
Adam Warlock becomes the hero as he flies out to Peter Quill and saves him.
The puffiness disappears from Quill's face not too long afterward, and it seems like
it was only intended for a gag.
Even so, there are fans who don't understand the point of this.
One Redditor suggested that it made Quill look more like Pedro Pascal, while another
reminded everyone that this wouldn't have happened had he worn his helmet.
"We'll all fly away together, one last time."
The ending of "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" signifies the end of a chapter and the
start of a new one.
The core team is dismantled, as the majority of the Guardians go off in separate directions
to find what they need in their lives.
In their place, a new set of Guardians, led by Rocket, steps out in the mid-credits scene
— presumably as the new iteration of the group for the MCU.
While it was always clear that this would be James Gunn and many cast members' last
hoorah, this turn of events still upset a lot of fans.
One Twitter user said:
"Was sad that the group split up but I'm hopeful to see what the future holds."
Farewells are never easy, but this wasn't necessarily a "goodbye" — more of a "see
you later."
Considering that all of these characters are still alive in the MCU, there's always the
chance that their paths could cross again.
Each member of the Guardians of the Galaxy suffers in the third film, but they all get
their happily ever after in the end.
We see some strong character progressions and developments as the core characters realize
there are aspects of their lives they need to work on independently, but they are all
able to sail off into the sunset and smile at their friends while doing so.
"Hahahaha.
Hey!"
Some fans feel let down by this decision to give everyone a peaceful ending.
They expected bloodshed and waterfalls of tears as the group got ripped apart and destroyed
on screen.
The fans also aren't too pleased by the fakeouts: We're led to believe that Drax, Star-Lord,
and Rocket have been wiped out for good.
One Redditor explained:
"I'm fine with no member dying even though they hinted so strongly at it, but doing 3
fake out deaths is just overkill imo, especially having one straight up flatline."
Some even negatively compared this to "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker," which annoyed
fans by doing a similar thing.
Be that as it may, this is the MCU — not "Game of Thrones."
Unlike George R.R.
Martin, Kevin Feige isn't casually killing off main characters.
In the post-credits scene of "The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3," text splashes on the
screen, stating: "The legendary Star-Lord will return," while the mid-credits scene
showcases a new version of the team.
What this indicates is that the Guardians' story isn't quite over yet.
Sure, the original incarnation of the squad might not be teaming up anytime soon, but
there are more cosmic tales left in the MCU tank.
While this will be good news to many fans, there are others who are annoyed by this.
One Twitter user bemoaned the decision, explaining how the lack of a decisive conclusion is more
harmful than good here.
They said:
"As much as I liked it, I think 'Guardians of the Galaxy.
Vol 3' highlights a major problem with the MCU at the moment.
There's no REAL finality to anything, and at that point, what's the point??!"
It's a fair comment.
With no endpoint in sight, all decisions are simply about moving the franchise forward
— not necessarily toward anything impactful.
On the other hand, a cinematic shared universe is about the journey, not the destination,
so it's a different kind of storytelling model.