James Gunn is the first filmmaker to work on both sides of the comic book movie divide with major productions from both Marvel and DC. While Gunn is getting ready to go before cameras with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, over the weekend at DC Fandome, a first look at his upcoming Peacemaker series was revealed, and as some have noticed, Gunn has some scenes he just likes to include in all his movies, though he’s needed to convince some he didn’t steal ideas from Quentin Tarantino.
Following the Peacemaker trailer, a fan pointed out that James Gunn seems to have one shot that makes it into a lot of his films. In this case, it’s one where his cast slowly walks toward the camera, but also, has some sort of animal character in their midst. In Guardians of the Galaxy there’s Rocket and The Suicide Squad had Weasel. Even Peacemaker has the same moment, though in this case it’s just a dog.
I do love of good slow walk. https://t.co/fZU5fNKZBoOctober 17, 2021
James Gunn admits that he does “love a good slow walk” and honestly, who doesn’t. It’s a fairly popular shot in a lot of movies. It gives the audience a chance to really see the ensemble team together. Get a look at their cool outfits, or whatever else a director wants to bring attention to.
Of course, one fan had to point out that one of the most famous “slow walk” moments in cinematic history comes from Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs. This person said that Gunn was “stealing” from Tarantino, and while Gunn admitted he’d be more than willing to steal from another great director, the “slow walk” was not invented by Tarantino.
I would definitely steal from QT. But there were dozens of famous slow walks in movies before Reservoir Dogs.October 17, 2021
It’s certainly difficult to think of scenes like this and not think about Reservoir Dogs. That scene is the most famous part of the movie and it has been parodied so many times that even if you somehow have never seen the movie, you likely know the scene very well. But it’s been done so often, even since Reservoir Dogs that at this point it’s just a common shot that a lot of filmmakers use. But Gunn is also right that Tarantino didn’t invent it.
And more than likely, Quentin Tarantino would be the first to agree with this statement. Tarantino, being a fan and student of film, certainly has done his share of “borrowing” from other filmmakers when he’s made his movies, something that James Gunn also pointed out.
Reservoir Dogs itself borrows many elements from City on Fire, a Hong Kong film.October 17, 2021
Perhaps if James Gunn had a lot of closeups of an actress’ feet, we could maybe accuse him of stealing from Quentin Tarantino, but beyond that, this one seems like a stretch. Besides, none of Quentin Tarantino’s slow walks included anthropomorphic rodents, so clearly this is a James Gunn original concept.
