Guardians of the Galaxy - 2014

spydermann93 · August 09, 2014, 03:59:14 PM

Here are some of my thoughts on the movie:

Spoiler

Firstly, it was spectacular. I loved this movie a lot. It was funny, it was action packed, and it was fun the entire time. That's not to say it didn't have its flaws, though.

I'll start with the good stuff. Firstly, Rocket and Groot were fantastic in this. Bradley Cooper did an EXCELLENT job at portraying Rocket. His demeanor, his jokes, his 'us before them' attitude, everything. Just everything about Rocket was perfect. Groot was hilarious and I loved seeing him in every scene. Who knew that a character who could only say "I am Groot" could have so much to offer to the film? I was more than pleasantly surprised by both of them. I'll admit, I was a bit worried, but they came through with shining colors.

Batista also did a wonderful job with Drax. Batista knew how to work Drax's, ummm, "misunderstandings of metaphors" and all around, for the lack of a better word, stupidity. I loved it, though! Heck, I loved all of the scenes with Drax and Gamora showing their ignorance. It made me chuckle quite a lot, haha

Peter Quill was another huge hit with the film. Very charismatic, and sometimes a goof, he was always a joy to see on the screen. His choice of music (you'll know why he has so many old, pop songs when you see the film) was played throughout the movie in a much better way that I could have hoped. I wasn't necessarily worried about this when all of the trailers played decades old music, but I was curious as to how they'd incorporate all of those songs in the film. From the very first song, I was attached.

Peter also had a wonderful character dynamic with the entire group. From his annoyance with Groot's three word vocabulary and his twisting of American pop-culture, it was all fun. He would be the glue that held the team together (as well as the one who brought them all together) and that role of his will show in several scenes throughout the movie, sometimes in a very heart-touching manner.

The visuals in this movie were absolutely fantastic. Granted, the aliens in the film looked like they were originally planned to be in the 1960's Star Trek, I thought that they fit very well into the film. They weren't over designed and their simplicity seemed to be a throwback to the good old days when Science Fiction was just starting. Yondu, while very different from his comic counterpart, was none-the-less a big joy. Merle (I forget the actor's real name

) did a wonderful job playing a proper space pirate (not just going 'arrrgh!' in space). I also loved what they did with his arrow. It clearly payed homage to the comics, but in such a way that fit the rest of the movie.

Spoiler

THERE WAS ALSO A GUEST APPEARANCE BY AN ACTUAL, LIVING CELESTIAL! HOLY FREAKING COW!!!

Now, for the not so good parts. I really wish that Ronan was better in this film. He was very one-dimensional and single-minded. There was clear evidence of a real back-story to him, which I really wish the film explored, but it was only referenced once or twice. Crazed fanaticism was an interesting take on his loyalty to the Kree in the comics, but without a more properly developed back-story, it made Ronan too simple.

Also, I don't know why Marvel Studios always have their villains fail so epicly in their final encounters with the heroes. I just want the villain to actually put up a good fight for once. Malekith, Kurse, the Destroyer, Whiplash, Killian, Red Skull: all of them were beaten way too easily (Red Skull less so, but he still didn't last long). The only exceptions to this were Winter Soldier and Loki. But that's only two out of the entire rogues gallery. Ronan shared the same fate as his brothers. It was very disappointing.

Secondly, I wish Drax and Gamora were portrayed a bit better. Don't get me wrong; I loved both of them. Their personalities and desires shown through and were easily on par with Quill, Rocket, and Groot. What irked me was their incapability in combat. Gamora was hardly the deadliest woman in the galaxy, needing help from Quill against a few thugs which she could have easily gotten rid of. Drax was more or less a punching bag, though I am glad to a certain extent of that, and you'll see why in the movie (it has to deal with my point in the last paragraph). Drax and Gamora could have been so much better in combat situations, but they fell flat.

Other than that, this movie was absolutely one that I would see again in theaters. The good far outweighs the bad. I would give this an 8/10, overall, I'd say. Not perfect, but it definitely hits many of the right spots.

catwhowalksbyhimself · August 09, 2014, 04:00:50 PM

Yes, Warlock. I'm not super familiar with either, I'm afraid.

Talavar · August 09, 2014, 04:59:30 PM

Quote from: catwhowalksbyhimself on August 09, 2014, 04:00:50 PM
Yes, Warlock. I'm not super familiar with either, I'm afraid.

Adam Strange is a DC character who gets teleported across the galaxy/universe to an alien world where he basically become a sci-fi adventurer; Adam Warlock is ... complicated.

BentonGrey · August 09, 2014, 07:51:05 PM

Quote from: Talavar on August 09, 2014, 04:59:30 PM
Quote from: catwhowalksbyhimself on August 09, 2014, 04:00:50 PM
Yes, Warlock. I'm not super familiar with either, I'm afraid.

Adam Strange is a DC character who gets teleported across the galaxy/universe to an alien world where he basically become a sci-fi adventurer; Adam Warlock is ... complicated.

Haha, yeah. Though, to be fair, I would totally see an Adam Strange movie.

catwhowalksbyhimself · August 10, 2014, 02:18:14 AM

Quote from: Talavar on August 09, 2014, 04:59:30 PM
Quote from: catwhowalksbyhimself on August 09, 2014, 04:00:50 PM
Yes, Warlock. I'm not super familiar with either, I'm afraid.

Adam Strange is a DC character who gets teleported across the galaxy/universe to an alien world where he basically become a sci-fi adventurer; Adam Warlock is ... complicated.

I know who he is, but not well enough to distinguish his name from another similarly named space character like Warlock.

MJB · August 10, 2014, 04:29:27 AM

Fun, FUN movie. Loved every minute of it.

Turned out to be my second favorite Marvel movie. Cap 2 first, Guardians of the Galaxy then the Avengers IMO.

XStream · September 07, 2014, 09:15:49 PM

FINALLY got to see this movie yesterday. My wife informed me on our way to the movie that she would have rather I saw this movie weeks ago by myself and that we were going to see TMNT...

Anyway, I was surprised at how many people were in the theater considering how long this movie has been in theaters. It was still pretty crowded. In my city we have like 8 movie theaters and everyone who was still showing this movie only had three times and most of those were in 3D. I have only seen one 3D movie in the past (I believe it was TF2) and I hated. I wasn't sure if it was the over-detailed transformers or the 3D itself. After watching Guardians in 3D I have decided that it was the movie itself and not the 3D that was so distracting.

As for the movie, I loved it. Every bit of it. My only complaint might be the lack of development of villains, but really this is a movie about the Guardians and when you are introducing five members of a team and creating a story to bring them all together it is kind of hard to spend enough time on backstory for the villains. I don't think they needed another fifteen minutes giving the villains more development... it would have made the movie too long.

Despite her reluctance over seeing the movie, she really enjoyed it as well. Hate that I am late to seeing it and missed all of the conversation/discussion. I am looking forward to this hitting Bluray.

EDIT

MJB, I am anxious to see how Cap2 holds up to a second viewing. I mean, there will be no surprises this time. I loved the movie the first round, I hope it stands up to many more viewings.

MJB · September 08, 2014, 03:52:10 AM

Saw Cap2 twice in the theaters. Would love to see Guardians again. The more I think about GotG the more it grows on me. A second viewing is in order!

JeyNyce · October 10, 2014, 08:53:10 PM

Coming Soon as an Animated TV show

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLAU6jF0qwY&feature=youtu.be

BentonGrey · October 10, 2014, 09:15:45 PM

Color me curious.

Jimaras8 · October 11, 2014, 07:25:48 AM

Well i really hope the guys behind Avengers Assemble and Ultimate Spider-man stay the hell away from Guardians. Marvel needs to return to EMH story route as soon as possible. They have the potential to make their Animated universe as good as the cinematic. They just don't put effort in it.

BentonGrey · October 11, 2014, 05:06:56 PM

Quote from: Jimaras8 on October 11, 2014, 07:25:48 AM
Well i really hope the guys behind Avengers Assemble and Ultimate Spider-man stay the hell away from Guardians. Marvel needs to return to EMH story route as soon as possible. They have the potential to make their Animated universe as good as the cinematic. They just don't put effort in it.

Very, very true, Jim.

catwhowalksbyhimself · October 11, 2014, 05:11:30 PM

The people in charge of Marvel's animation division (Loeb, I think, although I could be wrong about that) dislikes EMH and does not want anything like it. They especially dislike the storytelling of it. I do not think your chances are good.

Tomato · October 11, 2014, 06:07:05 PM

Quote from: catwhowalksbyhimself on October 11, 2014, 05:11:30 PM
The people in charge of Marvel's animation division (Loeb, I think, although I could be wrong about that) dislikes EMH and does not want anything like it. They especially dislike the storytelling of it. I do not think your chances are good.

Thankfully, I come prepared for this eventuality.

Spoiler

Jimaras8 · October 11, 2014, 06:23:07 PM

I couldn't care less about Loeb. Obviously our opinions about a good avengers show differ VERY VERY much. I wish Yost was in charge of Marvel animation.

Tomato · October 11, 2014, 06:35:16 PM

Ummm... are we on the same page here? Because I'm talking about the Jeph Loeb who came out in interviews prior to Avengers Assemble coming out, claiming that it would totally be in continuity with EMH but that it also, at the same time, would be canon with the movies. This is the same Jeph Loeb who, as a comic writer, rambled for years about how awesome his Red Hulk idea was and intentionally dragged that entire mystery out past the point anyone cared. His one TV credit prior to taking over Marvel's animation division was being a creative leader on Heroes, a decent show which started going downhill as soon as he came on board.

As far as Yost is concerned though... Some people may hate on him for certain things, but I really enjoyed WatX, so I'd be fine with him in charge of Marvel Animation.

Jimaras8 · October 13, 2014, 10:33:25 AM

Tomato correct me if i am wrong but don't we say pretty much the same thing? Loeb glory days have long passed. I think Marvel just keeps him for public figure and after his son's death they couldn't bring themselves to kick him. If EMH had a third season it would blew us out. Loeb isn't good news in anything.

Tomato · October 13, 2014, 05:03:15 PM

Ah, ok. I was very confused there... the way I read your comment was "Obviously our (Tomato and my) opinions about... differ VERY VERY much" not as "Loeb and my" and I didn't see how that made any sense.

Jimaras8 · October 13, 2014, 05:10:00 PM

Oh, totally misunderstanding Tomato. My first phrase was ''i couldn't care less about Loeb'' that's why i didn't write his name in the followup sentence. Thing is if Marvel didn't put out these shows ONLY for children but also for the life long fans as EMH they would be so much better.

Tomato · October 13, 2014, 06:20:15 PM

The problem isn't just that though... because they're NOT apealing to kids either. I have an adopted brother who is about four, and he couldn't care less about USM or AA... but he will watch the hell out of Spectacular and EMH. Why? Because the animation style is brighter and more interesting for kids to actually watch. USM and AA are trying to use this more... I wanna say quasi-realistic style for their shows, which is darker and more detailed, and that doesn't appeal to kids as much as it does adults... but adults aren't watching because the shows are clearly written for kids.

The ONLY market that type of cartoon appeals to is pre-teens and young teenagers... kids who want to watch things they THINK are moreadult, but don't have the experience to recognise that the shows are still childish.

HarryTrotter · December 31, 2014, 08:21:33 AM

So just to throw in my two cents about the movie itself.Did the plot make sense?NO.Was it fun as hell?DEFINITLY.

crimsonquill · March 01, 2015, 07:05:07 AM

Gunn recently has started discussing GOTG2 on his Twitter and with Marvel Comics getting ready to start Secret Wars including bringing back the Spaceknights into the main universe. These 2 tweats caught my attention..

Quote"Is there's a favorite superhero he wants to bring to the big screen? He replied, "And will do so in GotG2!"

QuoteThen later was asked "which Marvel character do you wish you could reclaim the rights to so they could appear in your films?" He answered "ROM Spaceknight!"

With him throwing in Howard The Duck as a surprise returned character in the first movie, would it be awesome to have ROM join the Marvel Cinematic Universe?

- CQ

Shogunn2517 · March 02, 2015, 01:34:56 AM

Lol you just beat me to this, CQ. Lot of the speculation was on Adam Warlock or Mar-Vell.

Quite frankly, Mar-Vell would make sense. He not only can connect to the GotG, but also connect to Ms. Marvel as well. And Warlock, we saw in a cocoon, so that's an even possibility too.

Talavar · March 02, 2015, 02:19:20 AM

We did not see Adam Warlock in a cocoon, unless the Marvel people are lying through their teeth: they've said numerous times that his cocoon hasn't shown up yet. Also, I'll be shocked if we get an MCU Mar-vell, since Carol Danvers is jumping straight to Captain Marvel. I'm okay with that.

catwhowalksbyhimself · March 02, 2015, 02:23:05 AM

That's not what the director of the film said.

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/guardians-galaxy-james-gunn-confirms-that-adam-warlocks-cocoon-1459695

Talavar · March 02, 2015, 05:18:54 AM

Quote from: catwhowalksbyhimself on March 02, 2015, 02:23:05 AM
That's not what the director of the film said.

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/guardians-galaxy-james-gunn-confirms-that-adam-warlocks-cocoon-1459695

That's confusing, because in a a Facebook chat he outright says it's not Adam's cocoon https://www.facebook.com/jgunn/posts/10152457545886157?comment_id=10152457661066157&offset=100&total_comments=2040, and in other interviews he's said he never intended the cocoon to be Adam Warlock's http://collider.com/guardians-of-the-galaxy-2-james-gunn-interview/. Weird.

hoss20 · March 02, 2015, 10:00:04 AM

The confusion could also be caused by one of two reasons:

1) Gunn was asked to backtrack by Marvel because they didn't want any secrets/spoilers coming out so far before they are prepared to create hype for the second movie.

--or--

2) Being that these movies are taking years to develop, it may be that those at Marvel changed their minds on how (or even if) they want Warlock to appear.

Gunn mentions the cocoon being Warlock's in the article regarding his podcast posted in August of 2014, while the second interview being mentioned where he states that he never intended the cocoon to be Warlock's is in an article posted in November of 2014 (admittedly, we don't know when the actual interview was conducted) and his flat out out denial of the cocoon being Warlock's on Facebook was posted in January of this year.

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Guardians of the Galaxy - 2014