WARNING: This Article May Contain Spoilers
This may be another one where people will disagree with me regarding whether he is a hero or not but hear me out. Yes, Adam is created and then sent to destroy the Guardians of the Galaxy. HOWEVER! In the end, at least in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3 anyway, he saves Peter Quill’s life – which makes him a hero in a sense.
The Maze Runner
I’m going to stay this here and now, Poulter’s character is a dick! In his defence, outside of Newt, Albie and Chuck – all the boys are in the beginning. As a film based on a book, I put this up there with The Hunger Games for its inclusion of those viewers who have never read the books because at no point did I feel like I had to ask any questions…other than maybe whether Poulter’s character of Gally is as much of an arsehole or if this is just the way Will chose to play him. Having said that, he is trying to abide by the rules of the glade and he does have good intentions behind his behaviour, like when he pushes Thomas away from the maze for example. Of course, because Thomas is the main character, we don’t actually see Gally much in this film and I always wished he made it to the later films – so much so I always remembered that he did.
Glassland
What is it with this guy and playing ancillary characters? So much so that in his first scene you barely see his face, and only hear his voice – which, by the way, is a very good Irish accent – and, yes, I looked I can’t find any Irish in his family, he’s British (born in Hammersmith) and if you listen to him in interviews he clearly has an English accent normally. Sorry, I’m rambling. The reason he is such an ancillary character in this film is because the focus is on John and him dealing with his mother’s alcohol addiction. The way this film is shot and some of the acting actually reminds me of Calm with Horses which starred another Marvel star in Barry Keoghan. I was going to say that Poulter and Keoghan had similar roles in these films but Will’s character of Shane in this film is much more of an arsehole – even to his own mum. Well, until John gets him access to his own son – then we see his softer side.
We’re the Millers
So, you know how I said that he was an arsehole in The Maze Runner, Will Poulter is the complete opposite in this film! Kenny is the sweetest, most naïve boy – to the point that he’s so casual about the fact that his mum hasn’t been home following a date. Unfortunately this makes him the butt of the majority of jokes. So much so that it is poor Kenny that gets bitten by a tarantula meaning he has to drop his trousers on screen! Now, it’s not clear if Poulter genuinely showed his penis on screen but if he did, the bravery! He forms part of an ensemble cast with Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston and Emma Roberts and this is exactly the kind of film you expect when you bring together these types of dysfunctional characters. It’s also obvious that they would end up feeling like a family, as this is the way these films go, but it doesn’t mean it isn’t an enjoyable film.
Honorary Mentions
I honestly didn’t realise quite how much Poulter had done before taking on the role of Adam in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3 let alone how many of them I had seen. For example, one of his first films was Chronicles of Narnia: Voyager of the Dawn Treader (it’s not one I’ve seen, I actually wasn’t impressed by the first film). Of those I have seen, he starred in Midsommar alongside the future Black Widow, Florence Pugh, and Detroit.
