Orphans of the cosmic storm
They fuck you up, your mum and dad, as Philip Larkin noted, but James Gunn’s Marvel sequel holds out the hope that we can get beyond nature and find nurture waiting somewhere in the stars...
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Dir James Gunn, US 2017 On UK release
When James Gunn brought Marvels’ ragtag group of rebels – which included a talking racoon and an ambulatory tree – to the big screen back in 2014, no one had ever seen anything quite like them before. Public bafflement and critical bemusement quickly gave way to a surprise summer hit. Capturing lightning in a bottle a second time is a famously difficult trick, of course, but Gunn and his team have come as near as dammit to pulling it off in this wonderfully enjoyable sequel.
The film’s astonishing, candycoloured visuals will probably look familiar this time around, but it’s worth reminding yourself just how dull space used to look before Guardians came along and spiked the cosmic Kool Aid. If anything, Gunn has upped the dose, and the film’s ingenious set pieces, wild palette and fabulous production design – exploring strange new worlds and jumping through bizarre wormholes in space – at times attain a kind of Each of the film’s characters has been the victim of bad parenting beauty that actually validates the use of CGI.
Beyond the visuals, though, it’s the characters that matter, and this time around each of them gets a surprisingly emotional arc in a story that ultimately focuses on issues of family. While the main plot follows Peter Quill’s (Chris Pratt) discovery of his biological father Ego (Kurt Russell), the film gradually reveals each of its characters to have been the victim of
extremely bad parenting – from Nebula (Karen Gillen) being stripped of a limb or organ each time she lost a fight with sister Gamora (Zoe Saldana) to Rocket (Bradley Cooper) and Yondu (Michael Rooker) bonding over the abuse they suffered in their past. Ultimately, and without giving anything away, Guardians
of the Galaxy Vol.2 becomes a meditation on nurture over nature, a rejection of genetic destiny and the law of the father in favour of its messedup orphans, adoptive families and new social structures: a point nicely brought home by the way the Guardians, of whatever species or gender, share ‘parenting duties’ when it comes to (yes, he’s adorable) Baby Groot.
If this all sounds a bit heavy, it isn’t (think 1960s Star Trek). As well as its Oedipal fixation, the film is full of puerile gags about penises and bodily functions; in fact, laughter is crucial and jokes, butts and all, a form of resistance to deadening solipsism (Id vs Ego?) Oh, and there are perfectly choreographed set pieces, cartoonish violence and a title sequence that’s almost worth the price of admission in its own right. The film suffers from a bit of sag in the final showdown, but then makes up for it with a touching final reel. All in all, this Easter egg and cameo-crammed sequel is a feast for the senses and a wild ride. David Sutton
Alien: Covenant Dir Ridley Scott, US 2017 On UK release
Anyone who has been a fan of the Alien franchise long enough to remember the unadulterated thrill it was once synonymous with, can attest to the fact that no matter which faction of fandom you belong to, you are no stranger to disappointment. Thus, no one was particularly surprised when Prometheus got a lukewarm reception upon its release in 2012, as it wasn’t the first time that a lacklustre instalment had been presented to the waiting hordes.
While Prometheus has since gained a significant following, which enjoys analysing the film’s themes and ambiguous storytelling, many have been waiting with bated breath for the return of everyone’s favourite nightmare creature, namely the iconic xenomorph. The reappearance of the hellish creature has been no secret, as the marketing for Alien:
Covenant has been very upfront about its return in Ridley Scott’s latest effort, promising that it will bring some much needed horror back to the franchise.
From the beginning of the film, it is clear that Alien:
Covenant is quite different from its predecessor in terms of tone. This will please old school fans, as it seemingly brings the new film closer to its roots. However, the themes of Prometheus are not neglected; indeed, they are explored in more detail, thus building on the thematic additions introduced in the previous instalment. This will likely intrigue supporters of Prometheus, while lovers of Alien and Aliens may become restless as they wait for the film to pick up pace. Once the film kicks into gear, we are presented
with a handful of monstrously gory sequences placed at carefully selected intervals where they intertwine with the themes of Prometheus. Here, the character of David and his motivations are explored in more detail, with Michael Fassbender upping the ante in his portrayal of the villainous David, while also portraying the new android character of Walter as a distinctly different individual. Katherine Waterston is enjoyable as Daniels, and Danny McBride’s Tennessee is very likable, a welcome reminder of the kind of characters that were an integral part of the enjoyment associated with the early films. However, with Alien:
Covenant being hell-bent on creating an amalgamation of two such vastly different strands of the same franchise, it doesn’t quite manage to pay sufficient attention to either, which results in the film becoming an inexcusably bland imitation of its predecessors. Not only does the revelation as to what David has been up to since the events of Prometheus seem clumsily executed in terms of the literary works it seeks to paraphrase, but the film is also weighed down by an endless stream of callbacks to the first two movies, which prevents this one from ever really creating its own identity. This is further evident in the portrayal of the crew, which aside from the aforementioned characters are so utterly disposable and onedimensional that the audience’s inability to invest in them severely detracts from the impact of the horror elements.
Some people will enjoy the first half of the film but dislike the second half, and vice versa; which is understandable, as Scott has essentially managed to cram what should have been at least two separate movies into a single two-hour feature. As a result, the film feels rushed, its frustratingly rapid pace flying in the face of what once made the franchise great – namely relatable, fleshedout characters and a sense of pacing that managed to be tight and tense while still taking its time to create a suspenseful atmosphere.
In the end, Alien: Covenant is a stunning looking but disappointing addition to an
otherwise wonderfully terrifying movie universe, and while it may impress newcomers to the franchise, long-suffering fans will likely feel that it’s game over, man. Leyla Mikkelsenn
Raw Dir Julia Ducournau, France/Belgium 2016 On UK release
The timid Justine (Garance Marillier) is about to begin studying at the same veterinary school that the rest of her family attended. As well as their choice of profession, another thing that runs in the family is vegetarianism. Justine finds this lifestyle choice challenged when, in one of the relentless hazing rituals she is forced to participate in at the school, she has to eat a raw rabbit kidney. When her sister Alexia (Ella Rumpf), a school senior, scolds Justine for refusing to follow tradition, Justine reluctantly lets Alexia stuff the kidney into her mouth. Afterwards, she seemingly has an allergic reaction, but as she continues to adjust to life at the school during a first week of pranks and rituals, she begins to feel a craving she has never felt before – a craving for raw flesh.
When a film about cannibalism gets hyped because of audience members supposedly falling ill due to the gruesome visuals, one suspects a marketing campaign aimed at parting those in search of controversy from their money. Even if the feature in question does contain genuinely shocking imagery, gore for gore’s sake not only has a tendency to get terribly tedious terribly quickly, it can also be an indication of a poor script, which has been covered in blood only to hide its shortcomings. While the yelps and gasps at my screening were indeed plentiful during the body horror scenes, there is thankfully a lot more to Julia Ducournau’s feature debut than mere blood-spattered hype.
Although Raw is definitely not for the squeamish, it avoids falling victim to the tropes so often associated with cannibalism-themed horror by having a story with very relatable human themes at its core. As much as the film is about the main character’s self-discovery in terms of her cannibalistic desires, this awakening is deeply intertwined with her self-discovery in terms of her sexuality and independence. The defiance and conflict that come with Justine being a young woman on the cusp of adulthood make this a highly fleshed out character portrayal with a meaty character arc, in which the intense environment she find herself in serves as the catalyst for her development. This is not only in terms of the very literal catalyst of the hazing ritual, but also because of how the college environment removes her from her comfort zone, forcing her to interact with strangers and adapt to her new surroundings. Ducournau brilliantly conveys the intensity of the school environment through stunning cinematography and a pounding sound design that forcibly pulls the viewer into the oppressive and aggressive atmosphere, creating a vivid and visceral cinematic experience.
The acting further enhances the intense atmosphere, as well as the story’s human aspect: Marillier and Rumpf work exceptionally well together, making their connection as sisters perfectly believable. It adds a grounded nature to the horrific proceedings, as sibling rivalry gets taken to a new level and their relationship becomes increasingly animalistic. Their sparring is also dryly humorous at times, which gives the film a nicely balanced tone and prevents it becoming too selfserious.
It’s rare for a film about a taboo such as cannibalism to be genuinely compelling, simply because the subject is so abstract, and potentially absurd, that the viewer is not fully immersed in the story, especially when this involves emotionally investing in the cannibal rather than the victim. Ducournau’s rich stew of disturbing body horror and human self-discovery is therefore a remarkable achievement, not only in terms of representations of cannibalism, but also from a purely cinematic standpoint: while it won’t be to everyone’s liking, this is definitely one of the tastier items on this year’s cinematic menu thus far. Leyla Mikkelsenn