With Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 marking the tip of an period for the director, it’s an excellent time to look again at among the finest James Gunn motion pictures, exhibits, and initiatives on the whole. Let’s dive into just a few of Gunn’s various, thrilling, and distinct productions from over time.
Slither
Gunn’s directorial debut is the horror comedy Slither, which actually units the stage for the form of unorthodox ideas and comedy that he would thrive at creating. The concept of alien slugs overrunning a city is rife with potential for unsettling imagery and black comedy, which Gunn has down in spades.
The sensible results go a great distance in making the alien-possessed residents look completely nasty, promoting the specter of the invasion whereas additionally being straight-up comedic at instances. The entire solid goes all-in on the shlocky tone, including a pleasant sincerity to this ridiculous invasion. Gunn masterfully blends laughs with grimaces in Slither, which stands out as a fairly spectacular function directorial debut.
It’s particularly fascinating to observe Slither now, as you may see a number of Gunn’s frequent collaborators taking part in these wildly over-the-top characters. Nathan Fillion, Michael Rooker, and Gregg Henry all star within the film and excel at making their characters both wholeheartedly likable or hilariously unlikable — each of which work completely properly with the narrative.
The Guardians of the Galaxy Collection
On reflection, it’s loopy to suppose that so many individuals doubted the primary Guardians of the Galaxy. Right here we’re almost 10 years later — the trilogy (plus the Vacation Particular and the workforce’s appearances in different motion pictures) stay among the Marvel Cinematic Universe‘s finest. A variety of that comes all the way down to Gunn.
The ragtag spacefaring workforce has starred in among the finest Marvel Studios motion pictures — every of which is stuffed to the brim with James Gunn’s distinctive taste. Star-Lord’s glorious style in music, the offbeat humor, and the best way that the movie collection wholeheartedly embraces the weirdest components of Marvel’s cosmic facet make it stand out amongst different superhero motion pictures.
That being mentioned, it’s the earnest, beating coronary heart on the heart of the Guardians of the Galaxy collection that makes it really particular. Each member of the workforce is fleshed-out and distinctive, making them simple to root for. If Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 sticks the touchdown, it may very well be probably the most constant subseries within the MCU, in addition to an important trilogy of movies on the whole. They’re positively probably the most well-known James Gunn motion pictures, which is one thing he may be fairly pleased with.
Scooby-Doo
Gunn solely wrote Scooby-Doo, because it was directed by Raja Gosnell. That being mentioned, the 2 collectively made a really entertaining Scooby-Doo film. You possibly can see glimmers of the extra PG-13 film that the 2 needed to make, however even in its watered down PG kind, the movie is stuffed with allure.
Gosnell and Gunn perceive the enchantment behind Scooby-Doo, portraying the Thriller Inc. crew as extra trendy and virtually meta variations of themselves with out ever feeling too cynical or snarky. Making Scrappy-Doo the villain after years of fan vilification in the direction of the character was an impressed selection that nearly feels forward of its time, and a number of the humor all through the film has aged particularly properly on this period of surreal meme-fueled comedy.
The CGI is certainly tough now — understandably, because the film got here out 21 years in the past — and I’d have liked to see Gosnell and Gunn’s unfiltered tackle the Hanna-Barbera cartoon, however regardless, the model of Scooby-Doo that we bought continues to be enjoyable to revisit.
Peacemaker
You may even have Gunn’s 2021 film The Suicide Squad on this slot, however on condition that Peacemaker is a superb spin-off collection of the film that follows the movie’s finest character, it’s a greater match. John Cena is ideal because the hilarious and jingoistic homicidal maniac, distilling the character with a form of goofy enchantment that retains him from ever changing into unlikable.
The duo of Peacemaker and Vigilante — who’s performed with unimaginable psychotic enthusiasm by Freddie Stroma — is unbeatable. All the supporting solid is nice, making for an ensemble-driven collection that stands as the very best product of the earlier DC Universe. Not an episode glided by that I didn’t giggle at, however on the similar time, the extra critical facet by no means upset both. Whether or not Peacemaker is battling his white supremacist father or terribly flirting with somebody, you at all times need to see him succeed.
Of all the pieces on this checklist, Peacemaker may need probably the most unfiltered quantity of Gunn in its DNA. It’s weird, hilarious, and at instances, exceedingly heartfelt. I imply, Peacemaker even options an alien lifeform that controls folks from inside — like Slither and like Starro in The Suicide Squad. Wanting again on all of it, it looks like Gunn is a fan of alien thoughts management.
Lollipop Chainsaw
For individuals who don’t play too many video video games, Lollipop Chainsaw was a collaborative effort between James Gunn and visionary online game designer Goichi Suda — higher often called Suda51. It’s a really distinctive recreation that has gamers run round killing zombies as a chainsaw-wielding cheerleader who’s accompanied by her boyfriend’s dwelling decapitated head. It’s as loopy because it sounds, however like all of Suda51 and Gunn’s initiatives, it’s so distinct and charming that it largely sticks the touchdown.
Lollipop Chainsaw even performed an element within the making of The Suicide Squad, as Gunn would draw upon the sport‘s distinction between cutesy and gory imagery within the film’s “Harley-vision” scene. The sport is getting a remake sooner or later, although neither Gunn or Suda are concerned.