Friday, October 10, 2014

Better Late Than Never: Guardians of the Galaxy

                Hello everyone, I go by TheCinemaChick and I love movies.  That’s why they call me a cinephile.  I don’t know who they are but they all agree.  Once again, it seems I have been absent but let me explain why.  I went up to spend some time in Nashville again, to see Kit Kat.  When I got back, I wasn’t feeling the best so I’ve been getting over a cold.  And of course, general every day things kept piling up, next thing I know it’s time to pay rent and then I just get frustrated.  And as if that’s not bad enough, my personal life has taken a bizarre twist.  We won’t get into that because that’s not the kind of blog I run.

                You’re wondering what movie I have to share with you!  I have so many, backing all the way to “Guardians of the Galaxy” and going all the way up to “Gone Girl”.  I was hesitant to review “Guardians” when it first came out because I knew everyone would be jumping on it and praising it.  While I enjoy it immensely, it’s still not my favorite Marvel film.  I mean, I will give it some credit, for what it did in one film, it was magical.  I mean for “The Avengers” we already had separate movies for the main characters so we knew them and had come to love them.  This time around, we knew nothing, unless you read the comics beforehand.  We were given brand new people and were expected to love them.

                And I’ll admit, that’s something I didn’t like.  I like knowing more about the characters I’m supposed to end up rooting for.  In the case of Groot…well, I’ll take him as is.  But for me, the movie ran just a little too long to the point where I was getting bored, some of the humor was incredibly crude and there were a lot of questions left unanswered.  Before you say anything, I’m fully aware that there will be a sequel.  There are rumors of an Avengers/Guardians crossover in the future.  While I’m not sure how I feel about it, I would like to see someone like Drax interact with Tony Stark.

                Well, since I’m already prattling about it, how about we just stick with the topic?  Why not discuss “Guardians of the Galaxy” now?  We’ve all seen it and if you haven’t, why haven’t you?  It’s a fun ride with childish humor.  The casting was top choice.  I didn’t know who Chris Pratt was before this movie.  I know now he was on a television show but I’d never seen his acting.  Whoever chose him for the part of Peter Quill deserves a cookie.  Seriously, he captured the role perfectly.  Pratt made the serious moments work but also played up the comedic moments.  What made it even better for me was knowing that he basically had no idea what he was doing as Quill.  Let’s take my favorite scene as an example.

                Everyone remember the scene with The Collector?  When asked for the orb, Peter proceeds to drop it.  He also admits “A little pee just came out of me” when the orbs are fully explained.  Who wouldn’t be terrified of that kind of power?  To me, that’s how a normal person would react.  In “The Avengers” they were used to having villains that when a mystical cube comes into play, they don’t seem worried much.  They just go into superhero mode and get things done.  The “Guardians” don’t know how to save the world or how to hide the infinity stone.  They do what they can to gather an army at the last minute to help them.  They lose people and they mourn.  Let’s look at Groot’s sacrifice.  Who can watch that and not immediately fall in love with a tree?

                However, I didn’t believe the Quill and Gamora love story.  They didn’t have any chemistry, at least not enough to make me think they’d get together in the future.  The best relationship, in my eyes, is the one between Rocket the raccoon and Drax.  They started off clashing, Drax even admitting that his people eat them on his planet.  At the end, when Rocket’s crying over Groot, who’s there to let him whimper and pet him?  Drax.  To me, they had the most growth throughout the story.  Gamora was always this angsty alien, Quill never truly grew up and Groot…he’s Groot.

                By the way, did you know that big blue monster in the prison who “flirts” with Peter is voiced by Nathan Fillion?  Did you know that Rob Zombie has a speaking role but does not appear? 

                What really sold me on “Guardians of the Galaxy” was Nebula, Ronan and Yondu, played by Karen Gillan, Lee Pace and Michael Rooker respectively.  For those of you who remember, I was not kind to Gillan at all when her movie “Oculus” came out.  I admit, I was harsh on her.  In all honesty, I have nothing against her.  I think she’s great and she’s a very nice woman.  She’s earned a place on my wall of fame, which is where I hang all my autographs and celebrity photos.  I must admit, I really liked her as Nebula.  The makeup and costume were incredible but her acting was better.  She really did come off as the psychotic murder happy cyborg she was supposed to be.  Props to her.  I want to see more of her in the sequel, which I’m sure will happen.

                Lee Pace was a surprise for me.  Even though I’d paid attention during the credits, I did not realize he played Ronan the Accuser.  Fry pointed it out to me.  He is unrecognizable.  Before this, I’d seen him in “The Desolation of Smaug” as well as “Breaking Dawn Part 2” as Garret.  In both roles, he looks very different.  In these roles, he was somewhat docile, always appeared calm, even when he clearly wasn’t.  As Ronan, he radiated anger and hatred.  When he had the Infinity Stone, he looked like absolute power.  My only complaint is how he died.  A dance contest?  That’s what distracted you?  Ronan, you have the purple gem, just kill them and go on.  It brought what should have been a very dramatic climax to a screeching halt, only to pick it back up for another highly dramatic moment.

                I liked Yondu as well.  A lot of people have said they didn’t like Rooker playing the part but I liked him.  I’ll admit, I couldn’t separate him from Merle Dixon from “The Walking Dead”.  I just had trouble with that one little thing.  As a character, I really liked Yondu.  He made me laugh and even though at times I hated him, I ended up rooting for him.  And his arrow?  How awesome is that thing?  I wish I had that.  While I don’t see him as an antagonist, I guess he’d be the anti-hero.  We can only see what the future holds in store for him since he was supposed to take Quill back to his father.

                And who is Peter Quill’s father?

                Well, if you aren’t an avid reader of the comics, I guess you’ll have to wait for the sequel.

                I’m TheCinemaChick and I am Groot…no I’m not.





                ***As with every review, this is for entertainment only.  All opinions expressed are mine.  I mean no copyright infringement.***

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