Guardians of the Galaxy

[picolas]

i love this universe SO MUCH. funny, dangerous, infinite. this is the closest we'll get to a live-action Futurama. i hope it doesn't make JJ's Star Wars feel old-hat next year.

the first scene is brutally misdirected melodrama and had me concerned. the second scene set everything straight. it's mostly an action-packed space romp after that.

the script needed a couple more drafts. there are a bunch of relationships that don't totally make sense. saldana/pratt's romance is random. pratt has been with so many aliens. why is zoe so life-riskingly special? their connection isn't clearly set up before becoming important to the story and ends up feeling like the obligatory hetero relationship that every action movie MUST have no matter what (reminding me of edge of tomorrow's even MORE unnecessary romantic thread).

there's also some story logic that feels like it's being made up as we go along. the climax was a little unsatisfying to me. it's close to a deus ex machina.

zoe saldana is bad. she can kick bums for sure, and she looks good in green, but her performance is just kinda blank and not very likable beyond the obvious sexy alien stuff. i don't think she made any choices specific to gamora. she just gave it a general zoe wash.

i was disappointed by thanos when he opened his mouth. he looks so awesome and scary in avengers. his voice work is neither of those things. easily agitated, not confident... his iconic smile is very confusing when he actually gives it in his scene. like a catchphrase that is mandatory for legal purposes.

those are pretty much the only bad things about guardians.

groot is the most loveable alien since... ET, i think. maybe christopher johnson ( bit.ly/1ucAsO6 ) . bradley cooper's voice is hilarious. you can feel his face and body doing all the same things as his cg counterpart. the red guy is SO FUNNY. i thought i would get tired of his strongman schtick but there's a lot more to him. pratt is creating a new kind of heroic character with every lead role he gets and i'm into it. the visuals are stunning both on the surface and conceptually. the weaving of effects is near-flawless. the alien technology is wonderous on a district 9-level.

i cannot wait to go back to this place. i want to read the comics. i want a sequel right now.

[max from fearless]

This was really really good. Easily my favourite film from Marvel. Sheeeeeet...JJ hasn't got a chance. I agree the script could've been much tighter. The villains are weak. The romance is soft. The climax is pure Marvel bullshit (with some nice touches) The plot is all over the place and you're right, that first scene is horrible. (The make-up on his mum looked so strange and rubbery)

But the next scene is pure movie magic. From the way the main titles hit the screen, to the music, to the way we are introduced to Chris Pratt. Gold. The characters were great. Their rapport incredible. Rocket had this sadness/madness that I found really touching. Groot has so many great, tender/funny moments in this, it's pointless to list. His last scene was some cutesy Charlie Chaplin shit. The cinema ate it up. Chris Pratt was good throughout and his 80s nostalgia hit the spot. His 'confrontation' with the villain (before it turns into a slightly stupid light-show) was hilarious and the song took me straight back to Boyz In Da Hood. Zoe Saldana got a bum wrap, her character just lacked the dimensions of the others, but she did have some great lines, that bit about Mr. Bacon, and her arguing with the strongman, were tight. Michael Rooker is fantastic throughout. Loved his whistling weapon moments. Benicio was ok, I just wished he would've got the chance to go more bonkers.

Also Loved the way this was shot, I think most comic book movies look a bit off. The colour palette was great. The spaceship and creature design was on another level from most comic book movies (the villains did look a bit boring though) although I loved the gothic look of the alien tech and ship. This also had some really strong shots in it. Shots I can still remember. Shots that made me feel something and put the wonder back into comic book movies. The firefly moment. The moment when strongman reaches out to Rocket. Just the way space looked in some shots.....

I agree, I cannot wait for the next one. And the post credit scene? JESUS. They just had fun with this one. I thought The Avengers would feel like it was a director led flick, but it felt flat as hell to me, like product. But this felt like James Gunn really tried to make it his own and for the most part, succeeded. Cannot wait to see it again. Maybe my favourite big ass summer movie since The Bourne Ultimatum....And now, Questions. Just imagine if the script for this thing was better??? I wonder if "Inherent Vice" is as funny as this??? Will Marvel let Gunn take it further in the next one???

[Jeremy Blackman]

I'm slowly catching up on a selection of Marvel films, and this was next on the list. Given the hype, I'm actually shocked by how underwhelming it was for me. I was fully on board and I think in the right mood, so I don't know how to explain it.

The visual inventiveness is off the charts and dazzled me throughout. But the humor was so inconsistent! Sometimes it worked great, but I'd say more than half of the jokes felt super forced and kind of dumb. And like, the writing overall is just not of the caliber I was hoping for. Perhaps this does not do well in comparison to Ragnarok, which (although it's supposed to be highly influenced by Guardians) feels like it's in a whole other category. Ragarok has an unstoppable vitality that I just did not get from Guardians.

And yeah, some of the song choices were a bit off, including the opening tune. I can't argue with their use of "Cherry Bomb," though.

[Something Spanish]

been meaning to do a catchup Marvel run myself. remember when this one came out it was heralded as the best thing Marvel had ever done.

[polkablues]

It's not a great movie, but it is a fun movie.