Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 serves as the final chapter in James Gunn’s acclaimed superhero franchise that has carved a place for itself in the pop culture zeitgeist. Characters such as Star-Lord, Rocket, and Groot have become fan favorites along with the space-faring antics of the titular team.
Despite the film’s critical acclaim and box office success, it has received one particular note of criticism for one of its most poignant scenes. In a new video, Canadian astronaut and engineer Chris Hadfield has highlighted the one flaw in the scene that sees Peter Quill / Star-Lord surviving in space without a space suit. Here is what Hadfield said about the lack of realism in this particular scene from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3.
Astronaut Reveals the Flaw in Star-Lord’s Pivotal Scene in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3
Directed by James Gunn, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 sees Peter Quill / Star-Lord nearly die during the climax while trying to help others cross over to Knowhere. In the scene, Star-Lord, played by Chris Pratt, is without a space suit, and the threat to his life in outer space is depicted through the swelling and freezing of his face.
Chris Hadfield, a space travel expert, dissected the scene’s realism in a video for Vanity Fair. In the video, Hadfield pointed out what the scene gets right and wrong about the perils of being stranded in space. Hadfield stated that while the swelling part would happen in reality, the freezing was unrealistic.
“Suddenly he’s got frost on his face. It wouldn’t happen like that. There’s no water on your face. It’s not going to instantaneously freeze.”
Hadfield made the above statement explaining that the freezing of one’s face in outer space would take a lot longer. However, Hadfield also recognized that showing the impact of such a moment realistically would have been difficult, resulting in the film’s exaggerated depiction.
Chris Hadfield Reveals the One Character Who Should Have Replaced Star-Lord in the Scene
According to Hadfield, the scene depicting Star-Lord nearly dying after exposure to outer space without any sort of protection was a bit exaggerated but not entirely outside the realm of real-world space science. However, Hadfield noted that the scene would have worked a lot better if the film had replaced Star-Lord with Groot.
“ I think Groot would’ve just like flown outta that one ship and gone Groot and then been on board the other ship and you know, wouldn’t have been any big deal.”
Hadfield made the above statement explaining that replacing Star-Lord with Groot, who has different biology compared to humans, could have improved the scene and helped the makers avoid space-related inconsistencies. At the same, the swap wouldn’t have impacted the emotion behind the scene, since Star-Lord is later rescued by Will Poulter’s Adam, who was saved by Groot earlier in the film. Thus, having Groot saved by Adam would have made for a much better payoff.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 is streaming on Disney+.
