Guardians of the Galaxy

[Frantic Canadian]

I liked it, I'm looking forward to the dvd because I want to see if the collector owned any of those slugs from Slither, didn't really notice anything referencing James Gunn's other works unless you count the inclusion of Cherry Bomb (which was also used in Lollipop chainsaw.)

I've never heard of "Lollipop Chainsaw" but I want to see it based on the name alone.

DC seem to have taken the more serious approach, but the Disney Marvel verse looks like it just want's to have more fun.

That's what I like about DC movies, the more serious approach. Marvel's "let's all have fun" approach sometimes makes their films seem to kid-oriented, which personally I don't much care for.

 

[Moe_Syzlak]

That's what I like about DC movies, the more serious approach. Marvel's "let's all have fun" approach sometimes makes their films seem to kid-oriented, which personally I don't much care for.

Until the last act and then it's all out monsters and machines mayhem. Even the ones I liked, like the first Iron Man, lost me in the last act. Of course for me something like Pacific Rim sounds like the absolute worst idea for a movie. This, of course, is not unique to the Marvel films. I keep wanting the superhero movies to be modern myths with some depth to them. But maybe that's on me and these movies are just not my bag.

 

[Omaru1982]

I've never heard of "Lollipop Chainsaw" but I want to see it based on the name alone.

That's what I like about DC movies, the more serious approach. Marvel's "let's all have fun" approach sometimes makes their films seem to kid-oriented, which personally I don't much care for.

Unfortunately Lollipop chainsaw was a videogame collaboration with Suda 51, but the voice cast consisted of the likes of Linda Cardellini, Michael Rooker (who else) and it wouldn't suprise me if Sean Gunn was voicing a Zombie somewhere. The point is you can't really watch it because it's not a movie. This does exist however.

Also I'm all for more serious marvel too, which is why the extende hulk edit is so great though i can see why others might get bored bored by the last of smashing, I think Captian America 2 is a fine example of keeping everyone satisfied without sacrificing integrity, but with guardians,i'm not familiar with the original strip, I figured it would be more jokey like the fantastic four, and well it didn't really dissapoint. Maybe I'll be more critical in repeat viewings.

 

[njvc]

I had a blast with this movie. It's bat-shit insane, in a very good way. Great cast/characters, great fun. When the Jackson 5 riff kicked in at the end, I felt cinematic joy. Highly recommended, but I wouldn't suggest picking this one apart too much, just enjoy its craziness and go have some fun in the cinema again.

 

[TMBTM]

Good movie, not quite "amazingly good", but good.
Marvel once again succeed at making a coherent movie out of something that reads as complete shit on paper (not talking about the comic books themselves, but the overall concept of adaptating such crazy things on screen).

Some say that your movie is as good as your villain is. Well, this is not the case here. I did not care about the villain (cliché dialogues). To tell the truth I did not care that much about him destroying the galaxy or not. BUT I did care about that bunch of losers finding friendship by having a common goal of saving the galaxy. Some are "Han Solo"s characters, working for money then finding a more noble goal and a meaning in life. Others work for vengeance and learn to be a bit more at peace with it, thanks to friendship.
The story is pretty simple (although during the first 15 minutes you are a bit lost with all the characters and planets names if you're not into the comic books.) It's maybe a bit too by the numbers but solid enough for a first movie that also have to deal with presenting all the characters.
Some jokes felt a bit flat, some made me laugh (a little) but it's not a movie built only around the jokes. The goal is to make a very positive, light hearted movie. A bit like some 80's movies. It's VERY Disney, but in a good way.
It's not the best movie of the summer to me but it's good enough to make me think the best is to come with those characters that I now like a lot.

 

[emphatic]

Saw it, loved it. When he put the Walkman on in the cave, I was like "okayyyy..." until he picked up the "not quite a hairbrush" and started singing into it. I laughed hard for every beat they had that.

 

[TM2YC]

Watched it again. Wow I take back everything I said about a light fanedit. I wouldn't cut a frame, it's a perfect movie. I was being over critical the way it's easy to be on a first viewing. I'd put this right up there with the Star Wars OT and the first two Indy movies, it's that good. On that subject the first "Present day" scene feels very much like a goofier version of the opening to Raiders.

I'll try to keep this spoiler free for any crazy people who haven't seen this masterpiece yet...

On the second viewing, even things like Ronan that I thought were a weak link worked like a charm. While he's not the most memorable villain he does the job and every scene/line he does is integral to the plot. In fact every line in the film felt like it was crafted perfectly to not only deliver the story but the emotion too. e.g. Somebody mentioned Gamora overexplaining Rocket's trick with the guard tower. But this line doesn't just explain the plot it shows us that Gamora is now in awe of Rocket. One more piece in the building the friendship arc that they all go on.

Things I loved all the more this time...

- The orchestral score. I was distracted by the groovey pop/rock on the 1st viewing. This time I could appreciate how good it was. Subtle when it needed to be and then epic at the right times too.
- Starlord's slightly rubbish rocket-boots. For some reason I loved that they were a bit naff and he looked constantly like he was going to fall over when using them. Less heroic = more awesome somehow?
- The emotional scenes. These are what stick in the mind rather than the fantastic action. When Quill presses play at the end, when Drax strokes Rocket's head and Rocket lets him, when Groot gives that girl a flower, when Gamora is listening to Peter's headphones, when Rocket gets drunk, when Drax admits he's been a fool, the words Gamora speaks when she backs up Starlord's "plan" etc. Damn this film's script is so tight.
- That Gamora doesn't get naked. After that notorious cheapshot in Star Trek Into Darkness, I liked how they cut the side-boob shot of Gamora that was in the trailers. They respected the character and didn't cheapen the movie. Good job Marvel.
- The beautiful establishing shots. A director has to make these big and epic with this type of movie but Gunn went beyond and made them stunningly beautiful and wonderous things to behold.

btw I noticed that the bridge to the London Tate Modern was part of Xandar. Yay I've walked on part of Xandar! Maybe they stole it from Terra ;-)

One small niggle though. You know the alien prisoner who says he doesn't understand the finger/throat sign? (Very funny line). Well, he makes the finger/throat sign to Gamora a minute before he says that. Oops. The kind of goof you'd only spot on a 2nd viewing.

I've gotta see this again to tide me over 'til the Blu-Ray at Christmas!

 

[Gaith]

Watched it again. Wow I take back everything I said about a light fanedit. I wouldn't cut a frame, it's a perfect movie. I was being over critical the way it's easy to be on a first viewing. I'd put this right up there with the Star Wars OT and the first two Indy movies, it's that good.

Wow... gotta disagree there... It was fine, I say, but putting it on par with ANH, ESB and Raiders is way OTT, IMHO. ;-)

Cap 2 was the first Marvel Studios movie to bother me with the speed of its action cutting, and now this has the same problem. There's no real point in doing fistfights if you can't make shoot and pace them well, and the spaceship battles were also overly frenetic.

As mentioned above, I was also unclear as to Peter's relationship to Earth. Is he hopelessly lost? Or does he know where it is? Has he ever returned/does he ever want to? Or is he just having too much fun out in the universe? This is very basic, crucial info, and there's no excuse to not give it to us.

Also, I'm definitely not the most PC guy around, but while Pratt was great, did we really need another white guy hero? Couldn't he have been black or Hispanic or Asian? Again, not to be a downer, but I winced when the blac - I mean, green girl at the end was all, "let's just go and do whatever our designated straight white hero dude wants". Marvel Studios have given us terrific minority supporting characters in Fury, Rhodes and Falcon; why couldn't we have gotten a leading one this time? Or maybe an equally tough short-haired butch gal, to play off the tough but feminine Gamora? Kind of a shame to go so weird and cosmic in all ways except casting. (And a standard-issue action finale, of course; every MCU movie has ended that way, which is partly why I give DoFP the Marvel Movie of the Year award, for its more character-based, less-explodey climax.)

My other takeaway: daaaaaammmmnnnn, so many beautiful women of so many colors - purple, orange, green, blue. Whhhhyyy can't Earth women come in that many colors? It just ain't fair, hang it!

​

I also would have liked a clear shout-out to Asgard, and/or some indication of where that is in relation to all this. I half expected Thor himself to swoop in and help at the end.


... So, all told, I'm a-gonna go ahead and give these Guardians a solid B. Please go even weirder next time, with a less conventional bang-boom finale. And bring back the blue chick!

 

[TM2YC]

Cap 2 was the first Marvel Studios movie to bother me with the speed of its action cutting, and now this has the same problem. There's no real point in doing fistfights if you can't make shoot and pace them well, and the spaceship battles were also overly frenetic.

Totally disagree there, I had the exact opposit reaction. Well shot and paced action IMO. I never got lost during the action sequences here and incoherant action really winds me up too.

As mentioned above, I was also unclear as to Peter's relationship to Earth. Is he hopelessly lost? Or does he know where it is? Has he ever returned/does he ever want to? Or is he just having too much fun out in the universe? This is very basic, crucial info, and there's no excuse to not give it to us.

One word... sequel ;-)

This should never have been explained, as they are the sort of questions that make getting to understand his character so interesting. But I took away that Peter had never returned to Earth, it's what he was running and hiding from, it represented only pain. Of course now he's come to terms with his loss, a return to earth is on the cards for the sequel.

It's great how the character arcs in this were 100% satisfying by the end, yet there is so much character still left to explore. What is Groot? Why, how and what is Rocket? Gamora still has some serious parent issues to deal with. Drax still has some payback coming and of course the 'Peter's dad' question.

Also, I'm definitely not the most PC guy around, but while Pratt was great, did we really need another white guy hero? Couldn't he have been black or Hispanic or Asian?

I think that's being a bit harsh on the film in this respect. Not that is matters but Dave Batista, Zoe Saldana and Vin Deisel are all mixed race.

I also would have liked a clear shout-out to Asgard, and/or some indication of where that is in relation to all this. I half expected Thor himself to swoop in and help at the end.

I'd like to see that too at some point but not every MCU film can be the mega crossover Avengers type.

Please go... with a less conventional bang-boom finale

Starlord's 'Dance off' was conventional? :-D

 

[Nic]

Legit surprised this has not made it here so far.

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[Gaith]

I think that's being a bit harsh on the film in this respect. Not that is matters but Dave Batista, Zoe Saldana and Vin Deisel are all mixed race.

Well, yeah, and one was blue, another was green, and the third was a tree. Only Djimon Hounsou was permitted to appear as a non-white human-looking ethnicity. And sure, this movie isn't an egregious case on its own, but each of the ten MCU movies so far have primarily starred white hetero dudes, and all except Thor Americans! (And even he has a much more American accent than his old man and brother and... was Rene Russo doing British? Something in between, IIRC.)

Also, I just realized, in all these ten MCU movies, we haven't seen a single gay character, have we? Why couldn't John C. Reilly have gone home to a husband and mixed-species kid? Why couldn't Drax have spoken of a spouse rather than a wife? I don't think there's even been a gay character in Agents of SHIELD yet (no, Victoria Hand doesn't count if she's not in any way indicated as such). Or in the X-films, for all their gay winking, either. Or in the Nolan Bat-films? Or Man of Steel? Or any of the Spider-Man, Trek, Wars, or Potter movies? (No, Dumby doesn't count, either.) Dude!


ETA: Apparently Justin Hammer is gay in prison. Not too impressive...

 

[TM2YC]

Also, I just realized, in all these ten MCU movies, we haven't seen a single gay character, have we? Why couldn't John C. Reilly have gone home to a husband and mixed-species kid? Why couldn't Drax have spoken of a spouse rather than a wife? I don't think there's even been a gay character in Agents of SHIELD yet (no, Victoria Hand doesn't count if she's not in any way indicated as such). Or in the X-films, for all their gay winking, either. Or in the Nolan Bat-films? Or Man of Steel? Or any of the Spider-Man, Trek, Wars, or Potter movies? (No, Dumby doesn't count, either.) Dude!

You're right but I get the feeling that with Marvel going political in one direction and Sci-Fi in another they are up for diversity going forward. So hopefully we will see all these things in the future. I can't recall that many gay comic heroes that could be adaptated for the screen anyway, even if Marvel wanted to (I'm sure there are many and my memory is just failing me).

If somebody ever goes nuts and adapts Alan Moore's 5-book 'Promethea' series for the movies that's one (In one time period anyway).

The only gay character I'm remembering now was 2000AD's 'Devlin Waugh'. He was a Vampire hunter for the Vatican who was like Oscar Wilde and Arnold Scwarzenegger roled into one. Highly recomended...

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That would make an amazing movie but as you say, I doubt anybody would have the guts to pay for it.

 

[Nic]

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Actually, in the comics, Victoria Hand is gay...and Agent Ward killed her...never mind.

 

[Linten1]

Well, yeah, and one was blue, another was green, and the third was a tree. Only Djimon Hounsou was permitted to appear as a non-white human-looking ethnicity. And sure, this movie isn't an egregious case on its own, but each of the ten MCU movies so far have primarily starred white hetero dudes...

You have to take into consideration that these are movies and stories based on characters created in the 1940's-1960's. Hardly the peak of ethnic comic story telling. At the time and maybe even to this day the primary buyer of and reader of comic books was white, male, heterosexuals. Now my knowledge of Stan Lee, who was fairly progressive for his day, is that he included many ethnicity's in his comic stories. Far more than say, DC. They where all supporting characters but they where there none the less.

Not to make excuses for that time in American culture but comics with other than Caucasian ethnicity's did not sell. Case in point is Dell Comics Lobo. Sold at the height of Western Comics. It featured the fist African American Comic Western Hero. It never went past the second issue. Why? Because by the time the second issue was being sent out to distributors the first issue was being returned to the Comic Book Company. Most of the Southern Distributors refused to deliver it.

So the Marvel Movie Universe is based off of proven money making characters whose stories where written at a time when the primary hero of comics had to be Caucasian. If they where not then then they did not sell.

The current wave of Marvel Movie stories is moving into 1970's-1980's. I believe we will begin to see more ethnic heroes. Such as Black Panther, who actually plays a huge role in the Marvel Universe. Vin Desel is rumored to be playing Black Bolt. leader of the Inhumans. Who is actually portrayed as a Caucasian in the comic books. Oh, and Marvel Movie Universe did decide to go with 1990's, Samuel Jackson as, Nick Fury instead of the 1940's version. Give them credit for that at least.

Anyway my point is this, you really have no room to complain if you know where in history these stories come from.

As for homosexual characters it may be some time before they see the light of day in the Marvel Movie Universe. I can think of a few but they where always secondary or tertiary characters until Miles Morales as Spider-Man (2011). He's both black and gay and I think he's part Mexican too.

 

[Nic]

So, apparently Guardians of the Galaxy is on it's way to be the biggest blockbuster for 2014, including Winter Soldier, and this is AFTER it reclaimed #1 at the box offcie from TMNT.

 

[Hymie]

Hunger Games will overtake it in November, but its great to see it do this well. It should put that nonsense about needing an established property out there to make money. This obscure series made a ton of money, while films like Transformers struggled to find an audience. If the movie is good and promoted well, it will do well (too bad WB didn't push Edge of Tomorrow properly).

 

[bionicbob]

Upcoming animated series from DisneyXD...

I hope it is better than the AVENGERS ASSEMBLE cartoon, which is horrible! Why they tampered with it I will never understand.

 

[addiesin]

So the planet Starlord finds the Orb on is called Morag.

Is this a nod to Joss Whedon and Firefly? It is Goram spelled backwards after all.

Saw it in a second-run theater, I noticed the name immediately but forgot and now can't find anything online pointing it out. Did anyone else come to this conclusion or am I crazy/subtly dyslexic?




EDIT: Dyslexic, as Morag backwards is actually Garom. Never mind. Go about your business.

 

[TM2YC]

Morag backwards is actually Garom. Never mind. Go about your business.

For years I believed 'Kaled' was 'Dalek' spelled backwards, until I actually checked for myself ;-)

 

[matrixgrindhouse]

For years I believed 'Kaled' was 'Dalek' spelled backwards, until I actually checked for myself ;-)