Web exclusive: David Edelstein on "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" and May's "must-sees"
In this web exclusive, "Sunday Morning" film critic David Edelstein reviews the newest addition to the Marvel Comic universe, and suggests a few gems to look out for in theaters and on streaming services this month:
Maybe you're one of the zillions of people who've already seen and enjoyed "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2," and you don't care what I or any other film critic has to say about it.
Okay, bye! So long!
God speed!
… Still here? I'm honored!
Now, take a look at this giant space squid or whatever it is that the Guardians are fighting. It's a pretty fair symbol of the Marvel Comics Universe, spreading its tentacles through the movie galaxy, except there are no guardians who can kill it! I guess critics are the guardians of the movie galaxy, but our power is limited against giant space squid entertainment conglomerates.
Let me say that, like many people, I had a good time at the first "Guardians of the Galaxy." By the bloated standards of Marvel movies, it was reasonably modest -- more so than the grandiose comic. And it was a goofy break from the dark nights of the soul in those other Marvel movies with Captain America and Iron Man arguing over civil liberties.
And it was way less grim than those DC Comics movies, which are like Wagner's last operas.
You had to like the Guardians -- five superheroes of mixed sizes, powers and temperaments. Chris Pratt's Peter Quill, a.k.a Star-Lord, was a screw-up who carried a mix-tape of '70s AM radio hits made by the mom he still mourned.
Rocket was a raccoon with a longshoreman's potty mouth. There was a weird, vaguely neurotic muscleman, a sentient tree who could only say three words, and a warrior woman who alone had common sense, though she was a little dull.
So, yeah: Bring on "Volume 2."
Well, "Volume 2" is typical Marvel bloat. It's overlong, it's repetitious, and for every good joke there are two that don't land. Stuff is always swirling around and blowing up, but it's all just fodder. There's zero suspense.
Okay, parts of it are not un-fun. The designs are amusingly tacky; the colors pop. Little Groot, the cute twig that's the reincarnation of Big Groot, practically steals the movie. Scenes between him and Rocket the Raccoon are like jolly vaudeville sketches.
And I love the swagger of Karen Gillan as the villain Nebula, who hates her sister (Zoe Saldana's still-dull Gamora) because their cruel dad used to make them fight each other.
If "Guardians Vol. 2" has a theme, it's how bad fathers destabilize the galaxy. The big guest star is Kurt Russell as a god (or demigod; Marvel is, like, lousy with gods!) called Ego, who claims to be Peter Quill's long-absent dad.
Whether he is or he isn't, there's something weird about him, especially his first scene, which features a computer-generated version of Russell's younger self.
There's no footage of that available to us, so here is Russell in Walt Disney's zany 1969 "The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes" (left). Yeah, it's really creepy! The real-world implications of computer-generating actors is far scarier than anything that happens in the movie itself.
Anyway, "Guardians" will make gazillions of dollars, but that's not enough for Marvel.
It's not enough you've paid for this product; you have to sit through commercials for other ones. There are four -- count 'em, four! -- teasers during the credits, one with Sylvester Stallone as a space ranger surrounded by actors palpably salivating for that fat Marvel paycheck.
To watch a trailer for "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" click on the video player below:
Here on planet Earth, there are a few other worthwhile things around.
The movie "Sleight" is a more modest superhero film. The hero's magical powers are sleight-of-hand, and the movie is more fun than films 100 times its budget.
You should look out for two documentaries over the next two months. "Last Men in Aleppo" is the story of people who stayed behind in that bombed-out city rescuing people from rubble, or more often just retrieving corpses or body parts. It's devastating, and it's essential.
Oscar-winner Laura Poitras, who made "Citizenfour" about Edward Snowden, is back with a doc about Julian Assange called "Risk." She has amazing, intimate footage of him before and after he took refuge in the Bolivian Embassy in London. And as the movie goes on, he comes to seem more and more unsavory.
Finally, I recommend two TV series to stream:
Hulu's "The Handmaid's Tale," based on Margaret Atwood's freaky novel, stars Elisabeth Moss as a breeder/concubine in a brutally patriarchal future world.
Over at Amazon, stream Season 3 of "Bosch," which has terrific actors: Titus Welliver as Michael Connelly's nervy police detective, Amy Aquino as his Lieutenant, and Lance Reddick as the Chief of Police. It's old-style gumshoe stuff in a smart new package.