If anyone were to come up to me years ago after the first Iron Man movie and asked me what Marvel properties were going to be made into mega blockbuster films, Guardians of the Galaxy probably wouldn't have been anywhere near the top top of that list. Indeed the idea of a Guardians of the Galaxy movie sounds ludicrous in the first place. A movie set in the Marvel cosmic universe starring a band of obscure C and D list characters that is deeply steeped in Marvel history, artifacts and lore. That is the kind of crazy talk that would usually only get brought up if someone was looking to lose their job. But here we are, August of 2014 and a full blown Guardians of the Galaxy movie has been made and put in theaters for all to see. But how is it? While the film can fumble on occasion, it's an incredibly enjoyable film that is both one of Marvels best and one of the best films of the summer.
HOOKED ON A FEELING
The plot is nothing new for a Marvel film. It's essentially the Avengers but in space. The team starts off hating each other, then they grow to like each other, then they find out a plan to destroy the galaxy and they team up to stop it. Though in essence the plot might actually be a bit weaker then the Avengers as I was able to notice certain large plot holes. It doesn't really try to do anything new but it works for the same reason Avengers worked despite it's plot problems, because the characters and situations are incredibly fun to watch.
Chris Pratt as Star Lord is fantastic, Marvel seems to have the ability to find celebrities that were born to play these roles and Chris Pratt was born to be Star Lord. He's arrogant but he's also really funny, he's pretty goofy but is able to do the right thing and be a great leader when it comes the time. He really does a great job embodying the character that I always saw in the books. A Han Solo/ Malcolm Reynolds esq. space adventurer whose bark is probably a lot bigger then his bite.
Zoe Saldanna is also great as Gamora. She's a tough highly trained assassin who is just looking to get as far away as possible from Ronan, her adopted sister Nebula (Karen Gillan) and her adopted father Thanos (Josh Brolin). Her back story is one of the most intriguing parts of the film and while it doesn't get the chance to linger on it too much it is effective when it is brought up and makes a lot of her actions more understandable.
And like many thought, the stand out of the cast is Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel as Rocket and Groot. Rocket is a smart mouthed, wise cracking, big gun toting raccoon that loves every second of what he does and what he does is shoot guns and blow stuff up. Bradley Cooper does a great job voicing the foul mouthed little rodent and it's surprising how much he delves into the role to the point where I could barely tell that it was him voicing Rocket. And Vin Diesel as Groot is actually very well done. I have to commend Diesel and his animators for being able to bring quite a bit of character to a character that only ever says three words.
If there was a weak link in the main cast it would have to be Dave Bautista as Drax. He is certainly able to hit the comedic moments just right when he needs to and he is given some of the best lines. But the thing that I think lets him down is his acting. At the end of the day Bautista is a wrestler, not an actor so a lot of his lines are stiffly delivered and when we find out the truth behind his back story, you feel for him but your not as invested as you should be.
But if there was a weak part among the entire cast it has to be the villain Ronan played by Lee Pace. He reminds me a lot of Malekith from Thor: The Dark World. Just kind of this uninteresting villain that wants to destroy a world because he feels they are destroy the honor of the Kree. And that's it, he has no other motivations he just wants to destroy stuff because it will make him powerful, pretty much like every other villain with an ego out there. Plus the worst part is that in the end, he is a lackey for Thanos The real big bad guy. This is like the equivalent of having a Batman movie and instead of the Joker being in it, we got Bob the lackey. Anyone remember him? No? Joker shot him in the 89 Batman movie? No? Yes?
A common complaint I have heard about the film is that it's unable to choose a tone. At one moment it's completely silly and goofy and then almost randomly it will drop in a dramatic serious moment from one of the characters and then shift back into silly and funny. I can see where this complaint might come from and I'm very close to calling alot of these moments forced myself but I think they work just enough to get across the point and flesh out the characters but don't drag the movie and it's more upbeat tone down.
SPIRIT IN THE SKY
Something that Guardians of the Galaxy does exceptionally well is give the Marvel cinematic cosmic universe it's own look and feel. It still feels like we are in the Marvel universe but we are millions of light years away from earth. It gives off a tone of inviting and intriguing and colorful yet dangerous. It reminds me a lot of other Sci-Fi series that I love such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Mass Effect, Firefly and Farscape. It might even invoke Indiana Jones now that I think about how much Star Lord has in common with Indy.
The special effects of the film should be commended not only for setting up an intriguing universe to explore but also for creating some of the best action scenes in a Sci-Fi film in a long time. I've been waiting for ages to see another truly great space battle and the one at the end of this film is one of the best I've seen in years.
But that's also not to say that the action on the ground is anything to scoff at as each actor and character gets a moment to shine in this picture. Whether it be the opening chase scene with Star Lord, Nebula fighting Gamora or Rocket and Groot going nuts on a prison full of inmates. It's always fun, it's always pretty intense and it is actually shot and edited well to the point I can tell what the hell is going on in the fights.
Another technical aspect that I have to commend is the soundtrack. Not the orchestrated soundtrack for the film, although that is phenomenal as well, but the songs in the film. I walked out of the theater thinking about the soundtrack and saying to myself "This is the opposite of what happened with The Watchmen movie soundtrack". Where as in Watchmen, the songs placed in the film felt very misplaced and awkward when they would show up, here the songs are perfect choices for the situation and are placed very smartly in all the right areas (aside from maybe one near the end of the film). Hell I still haven't gotten Redbones "Come and Get your Love" out of my head and it was the first song in the whole picture.
MOONAGE DAYDREAM
The film is not perfect however. Like I mentioned before it doesn't have the greatest plot. It's very formulaic and basic and has it's fair share of plot holes. The biggest one has to do with the villains evil plan at the end and the certain mechanics of what exactly he thinks is gonna happen when the plan goes into action. And while the resolution to the evil plan is touching and brings home the point that all of the Guardians are now friends, it could ring as a cop out to some and just lazy writing to others.
Plus some of the plots are just dropped entirely. The Collector who was supposed to be a big part of this movie after he showed up in Thor: The Dark World is just dropped entirely after his scene. He does show up again in the post credits scene but it's more for a joke part.
But there is also one thing that while it doesn't bother me, could bother some other people and that is that this is probably the most Marvel movie that Marvel studios has put out. What I mean by that is that every second the movie is just throwing thing after thing after thing after thing at you and expects you to just go along with it. At one point someone brings up giant celestial beings destroying whole planets with doomsday weapons and the audience is just supposed to roll with it. I'll admit that I was able to get behind a lot of what it was throwing at us since I understand that it's 1) the beginning of the Marvel Cosmic universe movies and it's background needs to be fleshed out more and 2) I read these comic books and understand a lot more of this stuff and able to get behind a lot of it. Some of the stuff in this movie is straight out of Jack Kirby and is so odd and strange that I can imagine it putting a lot of people off.
COME AND GET YOUR LOVE
While Guardians of the Galaxy certainly has it's stumbles it's able to make up for them. While it doesn't have the greatest plot it makes up for it by providing us rich interesting characters. While the universe may be full of silliness and odd things, it makes up for it by still presenting that universe as an interesting new ground to explore in the Marvel universe. And while some of the characters are weaker then others, the good and fun characters more then make up for the weaker ones. Guardians of the Galaxy is a fun, interesting and silly ride that is pumped full of character and greatly expands the Marvel cinematic universe. It's one of the best films of the Summer and one of Marvel studios best.
COMIC BOOK TO FILM TRANSLATION
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Guardians of the Galaxy the movie was supposedly based on the 2008 Guardians of the Galaxy reboot that was written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning. The series focused around Star Lord as he attempted to put together a band of galactic defenders after the devastating effects of the annihilation conquest. He recruited members such as Gamora, Drax the Destroyer, Rocket Racoon, Groot, Mantis, Cosmo the Cosmonaut dog, Adam Warlock, Quasar AKA Phyla-Vell the daughter of the Kree Captain Marvel and Bug. Together these Guardians of the Galaxy would protect the Galaxy from ever having to deal with a threat like the Annihilation wave ever again.
As an adaptation of the 2008 Guardians of the Galaxy team, this movie is pretty much nothing like the book. The team wasn't just a group of ragtag mercenaries, assassins and maniacs. They were much more structured in the book. They operated like a militaristic group of warriors that were sent out to deal with threats to the galaxy before they became an issue. The movie is about a group of ragtag assassins, mercs and thieves that come to take on the duty of protecting the universe because while it has taken a lot from all of them, it's also their only home and so they will fight to defend it. These two teams and stories couldn't be more different from each other. However it's fine for the movie to diverge from the story of the comic because the comic was deeply rooted in steering the Marvel cosmic universe in a certain direction and being a big part of other events in the comics or leading up to other events.
The Characters as well are very different from their comic book counter parts. Star Lord in the movie is a rogue like smart assed scavenger who lives by the skin of his teeth and comes up with plans on the fly with very little thought put behind it. The Star Lord in the comics is much more of a leader type, he commands respect even though he can be just as silly and dumbfounded as his movie counter part.
Gamora in the comic is a lot more cold and calculating, you do get the feeling that at any moment she could just turn around and get out of the team if she wished too. Your never too sure where her allegiance will lie. In the movie she is pretty determined to just be on her own until she meets Star Lord and then she stays pretty loyal throughout the film and never really wavering in that trust and loyalty.
Rocket in the books has a bit of a different personality in the books. In the books he's brought in as the chief tactical and weapons advisor, and that's what he seems like. He feels a lot older then he looks and clearly has alot of experience for himself. Rocket does have depth to him but a lot of him is surface level characteristics. He's a foul mouthed raccoon who loves big guns and shooting big guns.
The biggest change from the comic to film was with Drax. In the film, Drax is an alien who comes from a world that takes everything very literal. So say, ask him "Oh go stick your head in a toilet" he would probably respond with "Why? I do not wish to drink toilet water?". In the book however, Drax is human and was changed and modified to have one single goal in life, To kill Thanos. They did keep in how his family was killed but in the movie it is Ronan who killed his family and in the book it was Thanos.
The last thing I would like to touch on is the tone of the book versus the tone of the movie. The book is very much an action adventure series. There are touches of comedy but they mostly come from the characters interactions and connections to one another. It's very much about having a ton of action and having a ton of fun in the action with these smart well written characters and their fun dialogue. The movie is an action comedy, it's humor comes both from the characters, the writing and the situations at hand. The movie is much more about making you laugh while also taking you on a wild ride at the same time.
As I hope I have demonstrated the film and the book are very different entities. One is an action adventure sci-fi epic about the coming of huge intergalactic threats and one teams desperation to stop them before they destroy everything. The other is a sci-fi action comedy about a band of misfits coming together to save their home from being destroyed but also having a lot of fun on the way there. If I had never heard that the movie was based on the 2008 book, I never would have guessed it. In fact the book that seems the more likely inspiration is..................
Brian Micheal Bendis's 2013 relaunch of Guardians of the Galaxy. It's pretty accurate to this group in every way aside from Iron Man not being there. From the way the characters are written, to the premise of the book to even the tone being completely accurate to the movie. The 2013 book is much more of an action adventure comedy then the 2008 book and the characters are very much written like how they are in the movie. Rocket is a gun lover who loves shooting guns. Drax is an honorable man who is only looking to get his just revenge. Gamora is still hard and an ass kicker but she has mellowed out and you know she is committed to Peter Quill. and Star Lord is much more goofy and roguish in this series then he ever was in the previous book.
So in the end as an adaptation of the 2008 comic book, it's barely even note worthy. But as an adaptation of the Bendis book, it's alot closer to the mark. Well lets all just be lucky that the movie is alot more well written then the Bendis book, that's for sure.
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