Warning: This post contains spoilers.
But back to Ego. As played by Russell, the god seems comfortable with his immortality, his strident mannerisms and loquacious line readings suggesting confidence and jovial bemusement. (His performance is easily the most entertaining supporting turn in a Marvel movie since Michael Douglas walked away with Ant-Man.) Russell makes good by Gunn’s comic dialogue, bringing a relaxed assurance to the material; he’s also good at hiding Ego’s melancholy, his aura of confidence belying how it must feel to be alone in the universe. Yet one detects feelings of gratitude toward his visitors, who add personality to his home planet. Watching his interactions with the guardians, I imagined how sad it might feel to live forever, to watch as every being you come to appreciate perishes, and to regard the infinity of space and time as cold consolation.
