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Sunday, August 3, 2014

We Are Groot

Scooter and I went to see Guardians of the Galaxy this afternoon. And lemme tell ya, it was awesome! I am going to attempt not to spoil anything, but consider yourself forewarned.
I went into the movie knowing very little about the Guardians' backstories. And it may be better that way, since doing a little research afterwards, it became apparent to me that they aren't quite the same as the comics anyway. You probably gathered from the trailers that Peter Quill, aka Starlord, is a thief with a heart of gold. The others are a ragtag group of criminals, and they all come together to save the galaxy. It seems cut and dried, but the movie ends up being much more than simply a space adventure as we are given the opportunity to care about this motley crew.

There's plenty of comedy. And action, too: both hand-to-hand and space fighter combat. I could easily see Starlord and the rest fitting into a movie with Iron Man, or Captain America, from a visual perspective at least. And it does go to show that Earth is not the only battleground. The movie also ties into the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe, with appearances by Thanos and Infinity Stones. While it may not be fully necessary to see this before the next Avengers-related film, it certainly won't hurt.

[EDIT: The trouble with doing a review post at 10:30 at night is that I forget stuff I want to mention. I love the 1970s rock soundtrack. Obviously, there are orchestral cues during the movie, but the classic rock tunes cue up at just the right times to set the tone of the movie, and are often didactic, just like the metal music of Iron Man.]

It seems that in the run up to GotG, many folks in the media couldn't wrap their heads around the concept. "Do You Prefer Your Superheroes Silly?" "[It] could be Marvel's first flop." "[My] wife thinks Guardians of the Galaxy looks like the silliest and dumbest thing she’s ever seen. But she’s . . . on board." "Will Be a Flop" "A Xanatos Gambit" (Meaning it will work out for Marvel even if it does bomb.) Granted that most those links are to articles posted in February, there was a lot of pessimism out there toward GotG. Even the ones that were positive seemed to lack an understanding of what the movie was going to be about. Well, I wasn't sure either. (EDIT: I wanted to add that we attended a packed showing at 1 p.m. on a Sunday. I'm not too worried about how successful it will be.)
It turns out to be surprisingly affective. Each of the main characters has an opportunity to display enough emotive gravity to pull you in. Even the put-upon policeman played by John C. Reilly gets such a beat. Considering Marvel has managed to make us care about a billionaire playboy and a musclebound demigod, I guess that shouldn't be that shocking. But I promise you'll come to care about each of the Guardians, unless you have a heart of stone.


If you're interested in joining the circadian sun showers of Blaugust, breeze on over to Belghast's Blaugust Initiative Page on Anook and let him know you're there. It may even mean a small windfall for you, as Belghast has prizes prepared for high achievers.
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2 comments:

  1. I've had mixed feelings about the film, I don't know much about it either so everything is based on the brief adverts I've seen but it sounds like this will be right up my street!

    hellocynicalbadger.blogspot.co.uk

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    1. As I said, it fits in better with the other recent Marvel movies than people anticipated, I think. If you liked Avengers, etc., you'll like this one.

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