At several points in the narrative, the heroes seem to briefly have the upper hand – only for their emotional state to get in the way of either duty or logic and causing them to hesitate or miss – ultimately condemning the universe.
Chris Hemsworth’s Thor and his inability to aim for Thanos’ arm or head came under fire, but the most targeted has been Chris Pratt’s Star Lord – the distraught and cocky space adventurer letting his emotion about Gamora cloud his thinking. His actions allow Thanos to break free from a stranglehold by several other Avengers who nearly were able to rip the Infinity Gauntlet off the Mad Titan’s arm.
Pratt himself disagrees with the backlash, defending his character’s actions to
Radio Times saying:
“Look – the guy watched his mother die, he watched as his father-figure died in his arms, he was forced to kill his own biological father. And now has suffered the loss of the love of his life. So I think he reacted in a way that’s very human, and I think the humanity of the Guardians of the Galaxy is what sets them apart from other superheroes. I think if we did it a hundred times I wouldn’t change a thing. And also, I blame Thanos, OK? Jeez, how come he’s not getting any blame? Clearly, I’m very sensitive about this.”
Whether Star Lord’s lapse in judgement will be redeemed in the next film, we’ll have to wait until May next year to find out.