James Gunn Archives | Deep Focus Review

Superman

Brian Eggert — Thu, 10 Jul 2025 00:25:30 +0000

Listen to the audio version of this review. Punk rock may seem loud and nihilistic to some, but when it emerged in the 1970s, its performers aimed their angry sound at tyrannical mainstream ideologies. In particular, Iggy Pop, the Sex Pistols, Patti Smith, The Clash, and others sought independence from the traditionalism, religious dogma, and social norms reinforced by popular culture. Their aggressive sound and lyrics condemned authoritarian politics, questioning the systems of power that keep people under control. They sang about the oppressed rising up against—or at least flipping off—their oppressors. By now, you’re probably wondering why I’m writing about punk music in this review of Superman, writer-director James Gunn’s new feature about Krypton’s last son. Gunn’s highly entertaining summer release, which might just be my favorite Superman movie yet, looks at our world and considers where a morally upright hero like Superman would fit. Would humanity embrace him as a beacon of hope? Would his presence become politicized? In the end, Gunn acknowledges that, sadly, believing in the value of all life, regardless of politics or personal motivation, as Superman does, represents a rather punkish, outsider point of view, and he weaves that concept into his film. Along […]

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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Brian Eggert — Thu, 04 May 2023 15:10:42 +0000

Watching Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 makes you realize how seldom MCU movies conjure any significant feeling, apart from thrills and a few laughs. In most cases, they supply a fast-paced spectacle accented by some chummy dialogue and warm sentiment, delivering the kind of blockbuster escapism that doesn’t require much from the viewer. There’s a place for that sort of entertainment; though, it often earns scorn from critics for not amounting to more, for dulling moviegoer expectations, and for delivering a corporatized product that will offend no one. But with James Gunn’s return to Marvel (after a brief detour into the DCEU), he builds on the increasingly moving series and supplies fans with a worthy send-off to the characters he introduced in 2014. His last of three volumes, each marked by his distinct voice, Gunn’s heartfelt goodbye will make you chuckle, pull your heartstrings, and earn your tears. The writer-director’s affinity for misfit heroes and grotesque details somehow produces the most endearing underdog superhero team. Yet, Vol. 3 also includes a message, which viewers would be hard-pressed to find in most MCU offerings. Amid the familiar action and emotional resolutions in the so-called final Guardians of the Galaxy movie, […]

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The Suicide Squad

Brian Eggert — Fri, 06 Aug 2021 21:09:15 +0000

With The Suicide Squad, James Gunn blends his earlier sensibilities into a pitch-perfect summation of his work to this point. Although rooted in absurdist, exploitative horror from his origins writing for Troma Entertainment to his 2006 directorial debut, Slither, a goopfest about space slugs that turn small-town residents into hive-mind zombies, Gunn has since moved on to superheroes. First, he made the hilariously grounded Super in 2009, featuring Rainn Wilson as a vigilante in a homemade costume who caves in criminal skulls with a large wrench. Now Gunn’s name is synonymous with the MCU’s Guardians of the Galaxy sub-franchise, about a band of misfits, creatures, and killers who form a makeshift hero family. Combine his penchant for grotesque, over-the-top body horror with his affinity for unlikely and self-aware underdog heroes, and you’ve got the formula for Gunn’s approach to The Suicide Squad, the sequel/remake thing following David Aver’s messy, forgettable Suicide Squad from 2016. In my review, I described Ayer’s take as “DC’s version of Guardians of the Galaxy.” That’s even more apparent with Gunn at the helm. After Marvel fired him for some offensive tweets, Gunn went to the other side to help Warner Bros. revive their failing intellectual […]

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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Brian Eggert — Sat, 06 May 2017 14:38:09 +0000

James Gunn carved out his own niche in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with his 2014 surprise, Guardians of the Galaxy. The former schlock director (see Slither now) delivered a superhero film with a familiar space opera scenario reminiscent of Star Wars, except with offbeat humor, a hearty sense of seventies and eighties nostalgia, and a playfully sarcastic cast copied straight from the Millenium Falcon crew. The result felt innovative in the context of the greater MCU, its characters more cartoonish and tongue-in-cheek than typical comic book material. Championed as the voice of the original, Gunn returns as sole writer-director (a rarity for Marvel Entertainment productions) of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, an arcade-game-of-a-sequel that makes up for what it lacks in originality with wackier jokes, darker themes, a kaleidoscopic color palette, and a plot lovingly saturated with interpersonal conflicts between the motley crew of characters—notably, the film’s overarching daddy issues bear unquestionable resemblance to The Empire Strikes Back. Chris Pratt returns as Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord, a charming hero and overgrown child with an affinity for dated pop-culture. Save for the Walkman and troubled parentage, he’s basically a clone of Indiana Jones and Han Solo (or perhaps Jack Burton is a more appropriate comparison). Not much has happened to […]

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Guardians of the Galaxy

Brian Eggert — Fri, 01 Aug 2014 00:00:29 +0000

Marvel’s most risky, most out-there, and easily among the most entertaining of entries in their ever-spreading series of Avengers-related crossovers, Guardians of the Galaxy is unique among such superhero fare in that it’s not about a caped or iron-armored crusader saving the day. Rather, this comedy-infused space adventure has more in common with segments of Star Wars (or, more accurately, The Avengers helmer Joss Whedon’s Firefly television series and subsequent film Serenity), in that it follows a lovable gang of space cowboys and scoundrels on a mission to save the galaxy. Moreover, unlike other Marvel superheroes, the Guardians of the Galaxy characters haven’t been a consistent staple in the comic book universe, and therefore they’re not floated by the widespread name-brand recognition that accompanies the studio’s better-known figureheads. As a result, Marvel tests their own range and their connection to the moviegoing public with the film, and, given the hugely entertaining outcome, before long, the Guardians of the Galaxy will be every bit a household name as Captain America or the Incredible Hulk. Introduced in a 1969 issue of Marvel Super-Heroes by creators Arnold Drake and Gene Colan, the Guardians of the Galaxy team has never had a consistent run […]

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Super

Brian Eggert — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 00:00:33 +0000

Probably the best of the homemade superhero movies released in the last year or so, writer-director James Gunn’s Super takes a low-budget, high-splatter approach to the concept. The protagonist of Gunn’s grisly comedy constructs himself a costume and attempts to battle criminality and, not unlike Seattle’s local self-styled crime fighter Phoenix Jones, finds there’s a painful reality to playing superhero. Except, the movie’s twisted version of reality contains over-the-top violence to accentuate its subversive intentions, resulting in a visceral, progressively explicit exploration of material that sounds all-too-familiar for today’s movie market. And yet, Gunn’s manic presentation earns the otherwise tired scenario a much-needed edge to set his movie apart from its contemporaries. Schlubby, repressed fry cook Frank (The Office’s Rainn Wilson) has had a rough life, but he prides himself on two things: a single Good Samaritan moment from long ago, and marrying his pretty, ex-junkie wife (Liv Tyler). Other than those two moments, his life has been a punishing one. It only gets worse when Frank’s wife soon leaves him after being seduced and re-hooked by cocky drug dealer Jock (Kevin Bacon), whose name, I suspect, was simply misspelled by Frank for “Jacques”. At this point, usually Frank’s weirdo […]

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Slither

Brian Eggert — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 05:00:31 +0000

Trash becomes something more than low-budget exploitation with Slither, a goopy, gory horror-comedy from 2006 that pays homage to ‘80s genre classics. Writer-director James Gunn, who wrote 2004’s Dawn of the Dead, makes a particular kind of film for a particular type of audience. Those compelled by straight horror won’t be frightened, and those who enjoy their comedies without having to gag from disgust won’t be laughing. This movie is for those who can spot Gunn’s many visual and thematic references to the films that inspired him, who can grasp the irony of his characters, and who can appreciate his commitment to tangible makeup effects. Gunn’s well-drawn characters and their small-town setting add needed humanity to an otherwise familiar horror scenario. The story takes place in the southern town of Wheelsy, where the autumn highlight is the “Deer Cheer,” the town’s annual deer hunting festival. Here’s a hick town where the crusty mayor Jack MacReady (Gregg Henry) cusses about everything and everyone, where country cops pass the time by clocking birds on their radar, and where the most successful businessman in town has two first names. While flirting in the woods with Brenda (Brenda James), whom he met at the bar, […]

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