In a time when everything Hollywood is tied to Intellectual Property, the common phrase of encouragement is “what is the story that only YOU can tell?” Even in the world of Marvel, the Guardians were not a widely-recognized or popular brand until James Gunn came along with a vision so singular, Disney waited out the controversy before letting Gunn conclude his trilogy rather than replace him. There is also no talk of the Guardians moving forward without him.
While the general approach from Hollywood is to hammer someone’s personal vision into a mainstream framework, Gunn was encouraged to put more of his personality into the dialogue. That paid off with quotable exchanges that give the characters interesting and sometimes prickly personalities. It’s a gift to Gunn that’s carried him through Superman, he can be forgiven for some sloppy action and too much CGI. The most rewatchable scenes in his films are when the characters are talking.
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