Monday, August 4, 2014

Let's Talk Movies: Guardians of the Galaxy




Wow.

Just Wow.

Marvel took a chance with his movie and they've hit a homerun with it. It was certainly a very obscure comic to comic readers, even more obscure to the non-readers. But Marvel just went and did the thing and now they'll be raking in the big bucks.

Here's to taking chances eh? Well, it would've went any other way really. But Marvel had done an awesome job with marketing the whole thing. And now everyone knows who the characters are. ...or at least the main ones.

Story:
~ Peter Quill (also known as the Legendary Outlaw, Star-Lord) has lived his life in space and has managed to acquire an ancient artifact. Unfortunately, everyone wants their hands on it (it feels so Indiana Jones-esque). This starts off the turn of events wherein he meets the members of GotG in different ways and through different means.As they try to outrun Ronan the Accuser, all seems to be lost when he manages to get his hands on the artifact and start total purging of the galaxy.

Review:
~ This movie is the 2nd to the last movie for Phase 2 of Marvel's Cinematic Universe. It sets up any possible "cosmic" storyline  for future movies (sorry but I do not consider any of the Thor movies "cosmic").

The story itself is...somewhat typical as anti-heroes try to save the day from the bad guy. But that's oversimplifying things as the movie gives more than just the story. The movie's characters individual stories are pretty much mentioned in some detail. These characters have already been prevalent in the comics but this is the first time seeing them in the cinematic universe. They didn't veer away from their comic counterparts which is always a good thing. It's also not also so much "out there" that it won't be understood by the regular movie-goer or the MCU's  (Marvel Cinematic Universe) fans. Which means you don't have to really need to read the comics to enjoy the movie. They pretty much made it so that everyone is seeing these characters and their stories and THE main story for the first time. And that's pretty much a big plus because people won't be so confused as to who's who t that they totally won't enjoy the film.

The movie has some pretty awesome visuals. From the landscape of Planet Morag to literally a floating head of a dead celestial named Knowhere, they really made it look like a real space adventure.

living inside a severed floating head of a huge dead organism? ONLY IN SPACE!

Along with the awesome visuals come also the awesome special effects. From CGI Aliens to the SFX done to the actors, it was pretty great. I mean sometimes it was all too much for the eyes as you try to keep track of things happening in the movie.


Star-Lord's ship, The Milano (did they name it after Alyssa Milano?).


You can't talk about a space movie without talking about spaceships! They were all very wonderful to look at. From Star-Lord's Milano to Ronan's menacing Dark Aster, seeing them on the big screen flying around was pretty intense.

The acting was a bit okay though. Chris Pratt was particularly awesome as well as Bradley Cooper. Vin Diesel as Groot...was...well fun and okay since he has  little vocabulary. I was a bit weirded out on how the chose to characterize Drax. I mean Batista was a fit for him but how they chose to portray him lacked something. He had his moments though, they just needed to him  be more of the destroyer persona. Zoe Saldana was also okay being Gamora. But she lacked the aura of being the most dangerous woman in the universe. Take for example Karen Gillan who played Nebula. She was a sweet looking girl who is known for being in Dr. Who. In the movie, she's totally Nebula...she's a bad-ass (she also shaved her head for the role rather than use a bald cap). Her face and facial expressions says it, her moves says it. Zoe's portrayal seems a bit lacking on that part. On capturing how bad-ass Gamora is. She did okay though, it's just that she could've done a bit more. Lee Pace as Ronan didn't seem like a fit  for me. He was an Elven King and then prior to that he was a pie maker. He hasn't really played a real villain yet. He also lacked the mass that Ronan has, as Ronan is a big bulky bruiser. It came as a big surprise how he (Lee Pace) absolutely played Ronan well. He was big, he was menacing, he was the uber villain of the movie. Michael Rooker was also aa surprise for me. Though they made some changes, he surely made Yondu his own character. He made it seem like Yondu was a space cowboy with his attire and accent. I was amazed how they got his "power" right somewhat.

ohai <3

 And what's more better than a great movie? Having a great soundtrack to go with it. Yes, "Awesome Mix Vol.1" is an actual album being sold in record stores. It's part of the GotG OST and it has all the nostalgia bomb songs in the movie. 

Overall, Guardians of the Galaxy just delivers. It is a great movie that's full of action and adventure. It has also a few bits of humor put in that made me laugh so hard. It also chock full of easter eggs that I kept nudging my brother everytime I see one (there is a lot, keep your eyes peeled). It's a must see movie for the comic fans, MCU fans and movie goers alike.

...oh! be ready for post credits scenes. Brownie points for everyone who knows.





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