August 8th in Chicago. First off, I agree with everything this article mentions. At the end of the day, this was an enjoyable film. The acting is solid and the story is fine. Lots of good action balanced with some genuinely funny moments. Sometimes there's too many jokes but that's the thing with the Guardians of the Galaxy, their a rag tag group who don't take themselves too seriously. Their casual anti-heroes. They're flawed but fun. Since I feel the same way as the article, I really don't want to reiterate something that someone already did a better job of explaining that I could.
According to the IMBD, Guardians grossed over $94 million it's first weekend. Add it up that there's going to be a sequel, the movie film says so at the end. The thing is, I really don't care about a Guardians sequel. It's understandable how Marvel wants to link everything together but is it really necessary? The Guardians of the Galaxy were a tertiary fringe group at best. The first version of the group appeared in 1969 and then appearing sporadically throughout the 70s and 80s. The got their own book in 1990 and ran for 62 issues. Ho hum. This version also has absolutely nothing to do with the version currently in the cineplex.
The version currently in the cineplex, arrived in 2008 but the individual team members had been roaming about the Marvel Universe for quite some time. Star-Lord, Gamora, Rocket and Drax have been around since the mid-70s. Groot on other hand made his first appearance in 1960 and then disappeared soon after that and by soon I mean immediately. Groot showed up 16 years later in a Hulk annual then disappeared until 1997 when he showed up in a Spider-Man title. It wasn't until Marvel's Annihilation: Conquest did Groot get some staying power and that's where he'd team-up with the other members.
Sure the movie was enjoyable but there wasn't a lot of originality. Yeah I know that comes as a shocker but its true. The Guardians team was an interesting bunch. Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) is the terran leader with a James Kirk libido. He was abducted from Earth when his mom died and raised by intergalactic smugglers and scoundrels called the Ravagers. He steals the orb (let's cut to the chase, the orb houses an Infinity Stone, which is vital to Marvel's overall plans) and tries to fence it on Xandar. There he runs into Rocket and Groot who try to collect the bounty on Quill. Rocket is a genetically altered raccoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper) who becomes the team's tech guy. He's a little bitter and has a knack for wanting to blow things up. Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel in what has to be the easiest paycheck he's ever earned) we already talked about. While chasing Quill through Xandar they run into Gamora (Zoe Saldona), Ronan's chief assassin and daughter of Thanos (it's complicated). Sent by Ronan, Gamora has her own ideas and is going to betray Ronan. The four of them eventually get arrested by the Nova Corps and are sent to prison. While in prison they meet up with Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista), a man who has sworn revenge on Ronan for killing his family.
So they form a plan to break out of prison, fence the Infinity Stone and destroy Ronan. Who do they decide to fence the stone to? Correct, The Collector.
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Remember me?
Ronan is now headed for Xandar and the Guardians decide that they can't let Ronan slaughter Xandar. So the enlist the aid of the Ravagers, warn Xandar and try to head Ronan off at the pass, to coin a phrase. The battle that ensues is right out of Star Wars: Episode IV and Episode I with a bit of the final battle from the Avengers thrown in. The good guys face the standard overwhelming odds. Certainty of death. The usual. As you can guess the battle does not go the good guys way. They do end up forcing Ronan's ship down but that's like crossing the streams. It would be very bad. The Guardians manage to throw together another quick half-ass plan do defeat Ronan before he lays waste to Xandar. In a heroic sacrifice Quill wrestles the stone away from Ronan and with the help of Gamora, Drax and Rocket they somehow avoid disintegration and kill Ronan. Saving Xandar in the process. Afterwards they become such pals that they decide to stick together (or else, who would there be a sequel?).
In the comics, Ronan the Accuser is a pretty badass Kree official. In this film he's a whiny brat, so much so Thanos tells him that. In the Marvel Universe a Kree Accuser is a Military Governor and Judge (the Kree by the way are militaristic race of aliens) which is a pretty high ranking position. In this picture, Ronan just seems to be a rogue Kree official who is not happy with the treaty that the Kree Empire signed with Xandar so he continues to attack Xandarian outposts. Ronan just wants to wipe out Xandar for no real reason other than he doesn't like them much and it would bring him much rejoicement. He's basically a big blustery windbag. Sure he kicked Drax's ass but quite frankly, he's very annoying. Thanos makes another cameo but he presence doesn't really add to the plot.
There's a lot of good action sequences but again, it's all been done before. To be fair, I saw this film because I am invested in the Marvel film universe. I have a connection to the X-men, Spider-Man and the rest. I could care less about the Guardians of the Galaxy. I was entertained by the film but it wasn't all that great. I waited a week after it's premiere to see what the buzz was like and it was a fun ride. Marvel has some big plans that probably involve the Avengers and Thanos in perhaps the 3rd film but who knows. It's possible that this "grand scheme" will tie in Ant-Man and Doctor Strange as well but who knows. It looks like all of us will have to slog through for the next few years. Hopefully the films will keep out interest. We shall see.
That bring us to the inevitable post credit scene post credit scene that Marvel makes me stay for. This one was rough because I had consumed a jug of soda and I really had to make potty. I toughed it out and made it to the scene. Now, I saw a pirated copy of the scene on the web, probably like a lot of other people. SPOILER ALERT! The scene consists of Tivan (that's The Collector), bandaged up and having a stiff drink pondering the destruction of his warehouse. As takes a swig of his beverage, a dog in a space suit licks his face. Then we hear a gruff voice say (paraphrasing), "why do you let him do that? It's gross." The dog is Cosmo, a character that I am unfamiliar with. The voice was none other than Howard the Duck. Yes, Howard the Duck. He of one of the worst film disasters of all-time. A disaster that George Lucas himself had a hand in. I hope that it was just a joke scene to garner a few laughs but who knows. More on that later.
As always, thanks for your time.
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