Saturday, August 16, 2014

3 Thoughts on Guardians of the Galaxy



1. "Star Wars for the new generation" - It's been such an up and down journey for me, with this movie. First, Bradley Cooper was cast....as a raccoon, then people freaked out about the trailer. I refused to watch it, thinking it looked dumb. After much convincing, I finally watched it and I laughed my ass off. Then, I spent months looking forward to it, only for it to come out and have people describe it as "the new Star Wars". That really killed any excitement I had. Every single movie fan I know has an affinity for Star Wars, except for me. I can't say that I can judge them fairly, as I've never actually seen Star Wars. I tried once, and I fell asleep (and that's not something that happens often). It was so boring. I don't understand how this is a comparison (other than it being in the space fantasy genre), because this movie is so much fun. Is Star Wars really like this? If it really, truly is - then I will move them up my long list of "to watch" movies; otherwise, they are going to sit there (currently at #352).

2.  Scene-stealing band of outsiders - I was expecting to love Chris Pratt as Star-Lord. I've been a fan since he was Che on The O.C. (so hilarious!). I didn't expect to love everyone else as much. Bradley Cooper absolutely killed it with his voice work as Rocket. I don't even think I would have recognized him, if I didn't know. Also, Rocket Raccoon is a fucking hilarious character, but surprisingly endearing. I didn't expect to get choked up by a drunk raccoon. Or a tree who says nothing but "I am Groot". How does that happen? It's actually amazing how much I cared about these characters. It's hard to decide who my favorite character is, but to my shock, I think it's Drax (played by Dave Bautista). He made me laugh the most, at least. Each one of them steals the movie at some point; and it's glorious. The only character I didn't like is Gamora. Actually, I like the character a lot, but I don't think Zoe Saldana is as strong as the rest of the cast. I don't know why she keeps getting roles like this. Also, I saw Lee Pace and Karen Gillan listed in the credits, but I had no idea who they played until it was over. Amazing. I'm sort of happy that I didn't really follow any of the hype, because I was able to really enjoy all of the little surprises and the movie for what it was:

3. Fun, fun and more fun - In the same way that Pacific Rim entertained me last year; this is my film of the summer. It's just a ton of fun to watch from beginning to end. The dialogue is really snappy, the music is nostalgia-inducing, and there is much more heart than I was expecting. It felt a little bit riskier than the current Marvel movies, and while I don't think it's necessarily better than those movies - it's the first one that I actually want to watch again. And again. And again.

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