How James Gunn's Filmmaking Style Developed

Since James Gunn's acclaimed The Suicide Squad is in cinema now, I decided to analyse one of my favourite unconventional superhero films of all time from Gunn's earlier career — Super (2010), right before he made Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1&2. This low-budget superhero comedy was an obvious precursor to The Suicide Squad, stylistically and thematically, and it displayed Gunn’s incredible talent in his ability to redeem the lamest superheroes into everybody’s oddball favourite.

This video essay will dive into Gunn’s filmmaking sensibility from his background at Troma Entertainment with his cult film legend mentor Lloyd Kaufman, the similarities and differences between Super and Kick-Ass (2010), and the huge influence that Gunn’s childhood had on his creative work, including his lesser-known tragicomic novel The Toy Collector.

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Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
0:39 Similarities between Kick-Ass and Super
1:39 Super: Indie Comedy + Cult Exploitation Gore
4:31 Heart of Super
4:56 Differences between Super & Kick-Ass
5:58 Frank’s Trauma & White Knight Syndrome
7:22 Similarities between Super & Kick-Ass’s comic
8:37 Similarities between Super & “The Toy Collector” book
12:13 Guardians of the Galaxy: Heroes On the Fringe Turns Mainstream
13:45 Summary

Film Footage from:
House of Frankenstein (1944), Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), Taxi Driver (1976), The Toxic Avenger (1984), Big (1988), Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D. (1990), Tromeo and Juliet (1996), Fight Club (1999), Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV (2000), The Specials (2000), Scooby-Doo (2002), Dawn of the Dead (2004), Slither (2006), PG Porn (2008), Humanzee! (2008), Sparky & Mikaela (2008), Super (2010), Kick-Ass (2010), Lollipop Chainsaw (video game) (2012), Movie 43 (segment "Beezel”) (2013), Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), The Suicide Squad (2021).