Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

[Athena]

There be spoilers! 

[calliope1975]

I really enjoyed it. I'm a huge MCU fan and comic nerd, but I will say the first fifteen minutes had so much exposition that felt a bit clunky to me. But once they reached the prison, it finally gelled and I had such a blast the rest of the movie. 

 

Nebula's makeup better win some awards. And Ronan's the first villian I really felt was a genuine threat - Loki just had daddy issues, and Winter Soldier was a weapon, not a villain for me. 

 

I also liked all the team members. Groot was adorable AND a badass. I'm gonna need a tiny, dancing Groot for my desk. I've been a fan of James Gunn since he was just Jenna Fischer's husband to me, and it was fun to see all his friends and regulars pop up in cameos. 

 

The Nova Corp shield was gorgeous and while I saw this in regular, old 2D, I think I might spring for the 3D, IMAX on rewatch as everyone seems to be saying it's worth it.

[vibeology]

I saw it in 3D (and as a glasses wearer, I hate 3D) and it was so worth it. I'll put up with glasses over my glasses to see it in 3D again. So much of the space stuff just looks so vibrant in the 3D.

 

I loved this movie. Marvel did an amazing thing by pulling this off. Its the sort of thing that shouldn't work and somehow its one of their best movies. I do wish there had been more Ronan/Nebula/Gamora/Thanos buildup because that side of it felt a little hollow but its my only complaint. Had there been more of the sisters relationship, their final fight or even their battle for the orb in the middle of the film could have carried more weight. Ronan was super-creepy but needed a bit of fleshing out and I'm sure Thanos will get his due in upcoming films but all I got from him here is that even his allies want to kill him.

 

That being said, Groot's sacrifice and Rocket's reaction had me in tears, Drax was surprisingly strong on the humour side, I laughed a ton and I want more immediately of this team right now.

[Unusual Suspect]

I'm going to have to watch this again, simply because I was laughing so hard I missed a lot of lines. So good.

[VCRTracking]

We are Groot.

[vibeology]

We are Groot.

 

I was in tears by that point. It was such a incredible movie that hit the emotional beats it needed to earn that moment.

[VCRTracking]

I've always loved this song and kids are going to know it(along with a bunch of other songs) because of this movie:

 

[benteen]

A+. Best film I've seen all year. I was impressed with all five of the main characters.  When you can get a damn good performance out of Dave Bautista, you know you're doing something right.  Drax was a scene-stealer and held his own against amazing scene-stealers Rocket (loved Cooper's tough guy voice) and Groot.  Zoe was awesome as Gamora and I agree she shows so much more life here than she does as Uhura in Star Trek.  Chris Pratt is an engaging and roguish lead.

 

Great humor, action, fx, and heart.

 

 

I do wish there had been more Ronan/Nebula/Gamora/Thanos buildup because that side of it felt a little hollow but its my only complaint. Had there been more of the sisters relationship, their final fight or even their battle for the orb in the middle of the film could have carried more weight.

 

I do agree.  The villains were good, particularly Karen Gillen but their side of the story could have used a little more time.

Edited August 2, 2014 by benteen

[VCRTracking]

For those who stuck around the post credits stinger(I was spoiled when I saw the leaked footage a few days ago but still stayed to see it in the theater) AICN has the answer to who did the voice of

Howard The Duck

.

 

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/68240

[bettername2come]

I'm never a huge fan of space sci-fi, but I had to see this and complete my Marvel universe movies. Plus, I've had "ooga chocka ooga chocka" stuck in my head for three months because of this trailer. It started off kind of clunky, but came together really well. I loved the team bonding. Quill's "we're all losers" speech made me laugh and then just made me feel bad for all the characters. I'm glad their was a lot of humor otherwise I probably would've gotten bogged down by our ragtag bunch of misfits' backstories: child abduction, murdered families, horrible genetic experiments. The film had more of a grownup vibe to it than the rest of the Marvel Universe,

 

I do wonder how much Vin Diesel was paid to say 5 words.

 

Also: pelvic sorcery.

Edited August 3, 2014 by bettername2come

[Rick Kitchen]

Absolute perfection.  Great soundtrack, emotional, funny, kick-ass, and damn, Karen Gillan looks good in that skin tight suit.  I'm worried about her sitcom, but I can't wait for the sequel to this.

 

Oh, got to mention Michael Rooker.  I LOVED Yondu!

 

And

Howard the Duck

is the man!

Edited August 2, 2014 by Rick Kitchen

[Sakura12]

I loved this movie, all five characters were great. I've wanted to see this movie since I met the screenwriter 2 years ago at my cousins wedding. I'm glad they gave her a shot, being she's the first woman to get screenwriting credit from Marvel. 

 

The humor was really great, it worked well with the darker moments. I did love Quill's "We're all losers" line. 

 

This must've been the easier role Vin Diesel's ever done, only 3 words to memorize. I would not have known Bradley Cooper was Rocket if I didn't know it was him. It also took me forever to recognize Lee Pace as well. I hope we can get some backstory on Gamora and Nebula in the sequel. 

[VCRTracking]

I love when comic book movies and TV shows reference the source materials. I found out that Bereet, the The hot red skinned one night stand of Peter's in the beginning of the movie is from the comics:

 

Bereet was a female Krylorian techno-artist who used her alien technology to produce films concerning fictional adventures of herself and the Hulk. Most of the population is obsessed with the escapist movie-like fantasies of techno-art films, leading to her popularity among her people.[1] Bereet later traveled to Earth and became involved with the Hulk while he had Bruce Banner's intelligence, befriending the Hulk and Rick Jones. She also encountered the criminal Jackdaw.[2]

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bereet

Edited August 2, 2014 by VCRTracking

[starri]

I loved it.  I loved it without reservations, and yes, I teared up for "We are Groot."  And also before, when Groot released the fireflies so that Drax, Gamora, and Peter could see where they were going.  And also a little when the Nova Corps ships joined up with Rocket's guys. 

 

I think 3D is a gimmick used to artificially inflate ticket prices, but this was the one movie where I was happy to be proven wrong.  

 

Bill Mantlo, who created Rocket (and wrote a lot of Howard the Duck as well), was involved in a horrible hit and run car accident about twenty years ago and had incredible brain damage, and has lived in a nursing home ever since.  I hope somehow that someone is able to make him understand that something he did made a lot of people happy this weekend.

[benteen]

I loved this movie, all five characters were great. I've wanted to see this movie since I met the screenwriter 2 years ago at my cousins wedding. I'm glad they gave her a shot, being she's the first woman to get screenwriting credit from Marvel. 

 

The humor was really great, it worked well with the darker moments. I did love Quill's "We're all losers" line. 

 

This must've been the easier role Vin Diesel's ever done, only 3 words to memorize. I would not have known Bradley Cooper was Rocket if I didn't know it was him. It also took me forever to recognize Lee Pace as well. I hope we can get some backstory on Gamora and Nebula in the sequel. 

 

I saw his name in the credits but I didn't realize that was Lee Pace either.  It's funny, I saw coming attractions to Dracula Untold starring Pace and the last Hobbit movie, also featuring Pace.  That man is doing pretty well for himself.

[Advance35]

I saw it today and I thought it was awesome.   I couldn't believe it.  I'm one of the few people on the planet that was never fond of ANY Star Wars so I expected to be utterly disinterested in GoTG.    I couldn't believe how engaged I was.

 

I thought Chris Pratt was one of the best leading men in a Marvel Film so far.    Just behind RDJ IMO.    I thought it was sad about his mom and I figured that was why he was so fond of the Walkman but when he opened her letter and she referred to him as "Star-Lord" I swear I could almost feel a lump in my throat.   I kept wondering why he clung onto that name so much.   VERY well done.

 

I felt like we may have come into Gammora mid story since she was already plotting her escape from Ronin/Thanos's camp but I still greatly enjoyed her.    Her utter exasperation with just about everyone else was funny in an understated way.   I also liked how she was the quickest to embrace the others as friends/family since she seemed the most alone out of all of the protagonist or maybe I should say, her loneliness was the easiest to see.

 

Loved Drax too and how he finally thawed towards everyone after Rocket gave him a verbal butt-kicking.   And his "Nobody speaks that way to my friends" had me cracking up.

 

Rocket and Groot were equal parts hysterical and equal part touching.

 

And I really loved for some reason how when all of their criminal records were cleared but they kept asking questions that hinted at a criminal like future, Peter assured the guy "I'm gonna keep an eye on them" with a fond smile while he looks at all of them.    And Gamora's assurance that he does in fact have a family.   Surprisingly warm movie.

 

The soundtrack was awesome.

[starri]

I saw his name in the credits but I didn't realize that was Lee Pace either.  It's funny, I saw coming attractions to Dracula Untold starring Pace and the last Hobbit movie, also featuring Pace.  That man is doing pretty well for himself.

Dracula Untold stars Luke Evans, who like Lee Pace, appears in The Hobbit.

 

 

And Gamora's assurance that he does in fact have a family.   Surprisingly warm movie.

This is probably internet heresy, but to me, this was the movie Serenity should have been.

[benteen]

Dracula Untold stars Luke Evans, who like Lee Pace, appears in The Hobbit.

 

This is probably internet heresy, but to me, this was the movie Serenity should have been.

 

Ah, my bad then.

[VCRTracking]

 

This is probably internet heresy, but to me, this was the movie Serenity should have been.

 

It's also the cosmic movie DC fans hoped Green Lantern would be!

[frenchtoast]

I never thought wearing make-up to a Marvel movie would be lead to mascara tracks, but dang, right away. For a movie that was fun and funny and frenetic, it hit a lot of emotional beats as well. What a ride.

 

The best bit for me was when they crashed, and they thought Ronin was killed and I think Quill said, "We did it." An audience member very loudly said, 'Nuh-uh." And the whole theater laughed.

 

Enjoyed the hell out of that movie. So quotable. We are like Kevin Bacon will crack me up from now on. And by being funny, when Quill says we're all losers and then shift the tone, how life takes more than it gives and there is so much loss, that was pretty powerful. And damn, We are Groot.

 

Excuse me. I need to find a tissue. Coming from a movie that had me rolling with laughter? Thank you, thank you, thank you. It's amazing that theu create these worlds that I want to know more about Ronin and Nebula--it did feel like we met them in the middle and didn't get a full understanding, but I can't imagine cutting anything or putting anything more in. There are all these stories and we're only getting a few of them, and they are part of this other woven tapestry that we only see a few bits of the threads and I want to see more.

 

Also, all of the ships were so cool. Loved the Nova ships and the sorta-Tholian web idea. Loved Quill's ship. Ronin's ship was cool too. And the moment of quiet with the fireflies almost seemed out of place until I realized how right it felt to take a quiet moment and be full of wonder again.

 

Well done, everyone (actors, writers, music, costumes, set, design). It was why I love going to the movies.

[benteen]

Speaking of jokes that got the audience rolling, Quill's Jackson Pollack joke got the crowd laughing so hard that Rocket's response couldn't be heard.

[frenchtoast]

My 8 year old daughter asked me about that and I told her, "Never mind." In about 8 years, she'll get it.

[ramble]

The Pollack joke had the theater I was in laughing so loudly. My 12 year old said, "I'm pretty sure that went over my head." Thank goodness!

I enjoyed this movie a lot. The first few minutes were slightly confusing to me trying to sort out who was who & how everyone was related, etc. Once I got beyond that I was all in & loving it.

Drax & his literalness was fantastic. His slightly wooden style worked perfectly for that. I thought Rocket might annoy me but I found him snarky & oddly endearing. And Groot... We are Groot... *sniffle-sniffle*. The tiny Groot dancing was awesome. Who knew that the three "oddballs" of the Guardians would be my favorites!

Bonus my kiddo leaned over & pointed out the part where they played "Cherry Bomb" to me. Go my little kiddo go!

[Lantern7]

Original definition of "Playing With House Money": Putting in a blockbuster starring characters nobody in the mainstream cared about going into it, especially two years after The Avengers.

 

New definition: When you put on the blockbuster and make the audience wait through the credits for a cameo from

Howard the motherfucking Duck

. That takes balls to bring in perhaps the greatest failure in the history of Marvel Comics and movies. And it makes sense, too!

 

Seriously, it's hard to properly judge a film when more than half the cast tries to steal scenes. My short story: it's a Marvel/Disney movie. Of course it was going to be good. Even though I knew about most of the characters, and even though I knew Groot could survive the crash, I still had a good time. Alien rednecks, a grumpy raccoon, two chicks in heavy SFX makeup beating each other up, and a crapload of alien species this side of the Skrulls . . . what's not to love? And anybody who read Laika would be happy to know that the dog the Ruskies sent into orbit got acquired by the Collector.

 

One thing . . . which Infinity Stone was that? In canon, there are six, and I'm curious.

[Unusual Suspect]

Chris Pratt has now twice used song and dance to distract villians, between his solo number here and a rousing "Everything is Awesome" in the Lego movie. I want him to go for the hat-trick and dance to distract dinosaurs in Jurassic World. 

[starri]

...who put the sticks up their butts?

 

I would never have thought that a bunch of homages to the films of Quentin Tarantino would work in a comic book movie that wasn't Sin City, but it worked.

 

ETA:  I've been meaning to say this and I keep forgetting:  one of the things I thought this movie did better than Avengers was making the stakes of the world in peril very present and real.  John C Reilly and Glenn Close were probably on set for a week tops, but because they both played it absolutely straight with no winking at the camera, that kept the idea that what the heroes were fighting for was actually to save billions of people from being killed in the audience's mind.  I loved Avengers, but there was no sense that millions of people in New York are seconds away from being annihilated.  Having the Nova Corps throw themselves as basic cannon fodder to give the Guardians time to work made the situation seem that much more dangerous.

Edited August 3, 2014 by starri

[Raja]

 

 

Also, all of the ships were so cool. Loved the Nova ships and the sorta-Tholian web idea. Loved Quill's ship. Ronin's ship was cool too. And the moment of quiet with the fireflies almost seemed out of place until I realized how right it felt to take a quiet moment and be full of wonder again.

 

Well done, everyone (actors, writers, music, costumes, set, design). It was why I love going to the movies.

My mind went a bit more modern and I was thinking about the frontier in The Last Starfighter

[Dandesun]

 

Speaking of jokes that got the audience rolling, Quill's Jackson Pollack joke got the crowd laughing so hard that Rocket's response couldn't be heard.

 

I'm a huge fan of Pollack's work so it was doubly nice for me. Hysterically funny joke and rather nice to hear a Jackson Pollack joke in a space romp.

 

This was fun. So much fun. And I don't think a movie since Up has made me cry so quickly and laugh so hard and then tear up again and then laugh again. Talk about your emotional roller-coasters!

 

I think they did a really good job giving everyone their moment as far as perhaps understanding where they came from (with the exception of Groot and how he met up with Rocket) but I really loved how they were able to portray the emotions in two CGI characters. Vin Diesel has not been shy about loving the challenge he had as an actor in portraying things as Groot not just with only three words to say but with no ability himself to do any facial expressions or physical movements.

 

I would very much like to know more about Thanos, Nebula and Gamorra... so Thanos goes around destroying planets and then takes random orphans in as his own? And raises them to be total bad-asses that may possibly hate each other... and does cybernetics on some of them... what is the deal with Thanos?! I know some of him from comics but in the MCU I rather want to know what is up with him.

 

(Also, the fact that the Kree were mentioned rather significantly not just with Ronan makes me hopeful hopeful hopeful that we're going to get Carol Danvers at some point.)

 

Anyone else think that knowing Rocket exists would be a significant blow to Tony Stark's ego?: "Wait... a raccoon can build moon-destroying bombs out of spare parts?" (Not to mention cobble together things to help them escape from a significant prison.) Rocket would get a load of the Iron Man suit and be all 'That's cute. No, really, it's cute. Let me know when you make something grown up.'

[DrSpaceman]

Really enjoyed the movie, saw it in 3D today. Had never read the comic books, didn't seem to matter. Did run a bit long I thought.

Chris Pratt is awesome. I remember when Parks and Rec started I hated his character because he seemed like a stereotypical lazy ass boyfriend mooching off his mmore attractive girlfriend, but he made me love that character by the end. He was perfect in this role. ANd speaking of that, did he use a body double, because holy crap, he looks much different than he has in the past with his shirt off.

Loved the old music mixed in, nice exposure for the kids to some classic rock they will probably not here anywhere else.

I think the ending scene after the credits is stupid though and don't get the hype about it. Glad I didn't stay for that

Whenever John C Reilly was onscreen I kept thinking he was Colm Meaney.

[Rick Kitchen]

 

Chris Pratt is awesome. I remember when Parks and Rec started I hated his character because he seemed like a stereotypical lazy ass boyfriend mooching off his mmore attractive girlfriend, but he made me love that character by the end. He was perfect in this role. ANd speaking of that, did he use a body double, because holy crap, he looks much different than he has in the past with his shirt off.

 

No body double, he did *a lot* of working out.

[starri]

"They got my dick message!"

 

 

No body double, he did *a lot* of working out.

He lost something like 60 pounds over six months to get to that shape, but James Gunn was so impressed by his audition, he was going to cast him even if he couldn't do it.  He'd gotten into similar shape for Zero Dark Thirty, but then had to gain a bunch for that Vince Vaughn movie he was in.

[ketchuplover]

Bill Mantlo got a private screening.  He gave it a big thumbs up and had a huge smile.  It was the greatest day of the last 22 years for him.

 

That'll do Marvel/Disney. That'll do.

[VCRTracking]

Shout out to all the  creators from Bill Mantlo(Rocket) to Steve Englehart(Star-Lord) Jim Starlin(Thanos, Gamora, Drax) to Jack Kirby(Groot, Ronan, the Celestials) and Steve Gerber(

Howard the Duck

).

 

Edited August 4, 2014 by VCRTracking

[Veruca Assault]

Loved the movie, I think it's my favorite Marvel movie yet. No way would I have guessed that when my husband explained the concept a couple of years ago. Loved that there was so much humor and heart. I was really expecting a Footloose sponge to show up on the Awesome Mix.

[benteen]

...who put the sticks up their butts?

 

I would never have thought that a bunch of homages to the films of Quentin Tarantino would work in a comic book movie that wasn't Sin City, but it worked.

 

ETA:  I've been meaning to say this and I keep forgetting:  one of the things I thought this movie did better than Avengers was making the stakes of the world in peril very present and real.  John C Reilly and Glenn Close were probably on set for a week tops, but because they both played it absolutely straight with no winking at the camera, that kept the idea that what the heroes were fighting for was actually to save billions of people from being killed in the audience's mind.  I loved Avengers, but there was no sense that millions of people in New York are seconds away from being annihilated.  Having the Nova Corps throw themselves as basic cannon fodder to give the Guardians time to work made the situation seem that much more dangerous.

 

Yeah, that was a hell of a scene.

 

Speaking of John C. Reilly, I kept expecting his wife to be revealed as Will Ferral.

[King of Birds]

Q: When Drax fights Korath, and rips something off his head- no one in our group heard what he said. It got a crowd laugh but we're lost.  Help?

[bettername2come]

Q: When Drax fights Korath, and rips something off his head- no one in our group heard what he said. It got a crowd laugh but we're lost.  Help?

"Finger to the throat means death. Metaphor." 

[starri]

Bill Mantlo got a private screening.  He gave it a big thumbs up and had a huge smile.  It was the greatest day of the last 22 years for him.

 

That'll do Marvel/Disney. That'll do.

Well, great, now I'm crying again.

 

Good work, Marvel.

[Spartan Girl]

I loved it.  Marvel's funniest movie yet.  It actually felt more like Star Wars than a Marvel superhero movie.

 

Rocket and Groot were definitely the standout characters, though the group as a whole was spectacular.  Cooper's was almost unrecognizable until he did the big fake laugh.

 

And as much as I grew to hate the repeated use of Hooked On A Feeling in the commercials I loved it's one scene in the movie.  I also loved Peter's use of dancing to distract Ronan.  "I'm distracting you, you big turd blossom!" Oh Chris Pratt...

 

Already can't wait for the sequel!

[MadyGirl1987]

Loved this movie! An excellent blend of comedy, action and drama. Wasn't totally out there by being too silly or dark and broody like too many superhero movies (what I call "Dark Knight Syndrome"). It is funny remembering all the articles saying this will be the MCU's first flop and am glad they were proven wrong. Can't wait for the sequel to see more of the characters and if they team up with The Avengers that would be amazing.

 

I was wondering though, would these characters work in standalone movies, or is what makes them work the team element? I was wondering about the possibilities of this, but I just can't see a Drax the Destroyer movie doing well...

Edited August 4, 2014 by Bazinga1987

[Dandesun]

Shout out to all the  creators from Bill Mantlo(Rocket) to Steve Englehart(Star-Lord) Jim Starlin(Thanos, Gamora, Drax) to Jack Kirby(Groot, Ronan, the Celestials) and Steve Gerber(

Howard the Duck

).

 

 

 

I think Chris Pratt has been asked about his workout/diet regiment as much as Scarlett Johannson was during her rounds as Black Widow. Of course the difference there is that Scarlett didn't seem to go through that much of a change and Pratt, well, we all know he's a big, schlubby guy in Parks and Rec. Also, it comes off less creepy for guys to be asking another guy 'How did you do that?' as opposed to asking a woman 'So what do you wear underneath that skin-tight costume? Anything?'

 

If you Google "Chris Pratt French Braid" you get the interview where he not only French braids hair (because he instagrammed that after he did his wife's hair) but they talk about the workout and how his wife prefers him. ("She's a feeder...") 

 

This was a risky venture... the Guardians aren't exactly the top tier book for Marvel (although it's current incarnation is extremely fun -- starts out with Tony Stark in their ranks, then they have a cross-over with the All-New X-Men, and recently Carol Danvers (Captain Marvel) has shown up -- plus they've got Angela who is somehow a Marvel property now after debuting in the Spawn-verse for Image. Angela and Gamorra slay things with impunity and are among the baddest bad-asses ever) but Marvel keeps taking titles I would never have thought they could transfer to the big screen and doing them very well. (I never thought they'd be able to sell Thor and Captain America but lo and behold...) And this is so so different from the various Avengers properties (although they are clearly gearing up for the Infinity Gauntlet storyline so everything ties in together) that you just wondered how it was going to work.

 

I think the soundtrack did a great job of grounding the story. You've got spaceships and talking trees and raccoons with guns and mining operations in the head of a dead Celestial (that was awesome by the way) and, through it all, you've got a soundtrack that most of the audience is going to know so you've got a great way to connect to the audience in the midst of all of this Out of This World stuff going on. Very cleverly done, I thought.

 

Also, if 'pelvic sorcery' doesn't become a thing, I'm going to be very disappointed.

[starri]

 

the head of a dead Celestial (that was awesome by the way

I know Galactus and probably also the Skrulls are tied up with the rights to Fantastic Four, but if they don't add either Captain Marvel or Super-Skrull for the next one, I'm going to be disappointed.

[JayKay]

Wow, what a great movie. I didn't get bored at any point. Even during exposition, it was like the filmmakers knew how to turn a scene into all killer no filler. I hate 3D because it bothers my eyes and I look like a weirdo because I wear glasses anyway, but it was so, so worth it. And I've never liked Star Wars, but I think I can finally understand how a lot of people felt when they saw those movies for the first time.

 

I agree that it seemed like we'd missed the first few scenes of Gamora's storyline, but it still worked out fine. I'd be interested in finding out more about Thanos' children and how they grew up and grew to distrust each other. I admittedly don't know much about Ronin in the comics but I found him and his extremist pro-Kree beliefs to be fascinating. We saw that Gamora hated Thanos and what he'd made her become, and Nebula at least told Ronin that she felt the same. Obviously Ronin hated Thanos as well. But I wondered about halfway through the film if Ronin is so cuckoo for fundamentalist Kree beliefs because Thanos tore him away from his people and changed him into something else and his crusade was his way of clinging to what he was. Though I'm left wondering if Thanos is supposed to still be super threatening, because he seems a little incompetent now what with his most important soldiers betraying him and losing one of the most powerful relics in existence just because he didn't realize that kids need a hug sometimes.

 

Gamora delivering the Kevin Bacon line had me laughing at inappropriate moments for the rest of the film. And I teared up at least four separate times. Didn't expect it to be so emotional or to fall in love with all of the characters. Definitely going to see it again while it's still in theaters. Good job Marvel, you made me feel like a foolish cynic for doubting this film.

[frenchtoast]

I've been laughing at the Gamora Kevin Bacon line randomly all day. That and: Who put the sticks up their butts? Isn't that cruel?

 

I'm surprised I didn't sob at the We are Groot. And then we see Quill's mother a few minutes later. Good lord, the water works!

[DrSpaceman]

If anyone watches Archer, I kept thinking of him when the characters kept taking the sayings so literally. There were two episodes where they talk all about how he speaks in colloquialisms too much around some natives he has met and how they don't understand it, he has to be reminded. No matter how hard he tries, he can't stop saying them. Same sort of thing here, just reminded me of those Archer episodes with David Cross guest staring.

[jellysalmon]

I was super hyped for this movie and a thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

Pros:

-Incredibly amusing. Jokes on jokes. I missed a few because the audience was still recovering from the previous joke.

-Some heartfelt moments with Groot, Rocket and Starlord.

-Fun visuals.

-Cosmo showed up!

 

Cons:

-Cosmo didn't talk in a really thick Russian accent like he does in the comics.

-Ronan's motivations weren't fleshed out very well.

-Action sequences started out dynamic and interesting, but got more ho-hum as the movie went on. Particularly jarring after Captain America really raised the bar. Gamora and Drax in the comics are ultimate badasses but they looked tame next to Steve Rodgers' adventures. I know it's not the movie's forte, but it's just something I think could be improved upon.

 

Overall I liked it, but I think I value cool action over comedy in my superhero movies so Avengers still takes top spot for favorite Marvel movie. This is probably #2 or #3 though.

[thuganomics85]

Holy crap!  I know next to nothing about the Guardians of the Galaxy series, but this might be one of my favorite Marvel movie yet (still not sure if I prefer The Avengers or not.)  Once they got past the first few minutes or so of exposition and whatnot, the story really took off, the action was awesome, and I found myself loving all the Guardians.  All five of them had great moments to shine, good lines, and equally good chemistry.  

 

The casting was just spot-on.  Chris Pratt was perfect as Peter Quill; same with Zoe Saldana as Gamora (much better then her last stint as Uhura, where she just whined and cried over Spock.)  Bradley Cooper was a riot as Rocket, and Vin Diesel actually did a lot with Groot.  He really did bring different emotions to his "I am Groot!" line, and you could tell what he was trying to convey each time.  Between this and The Iron Giant, it seems like voice-work is when Vin is at his best.  But, the biggest surprise was easily Dave Bautista as Drex.  Did not know he had it in him.  Of course, I'm not going to start saying we have a thespian on our hands or anything, but it was one of the best "wrester turned actor" performances out there.  I knew he was right physically, but his deadpan lines and reaction shots, were highly amusing.  Loved Drex's confusion over metaphors.  But, I thought the film really did a great job at establishing this group and watching them grow, and I bought them teaming up at the end, and even willing to sacrifice themselves.

 

Another thing Guardians really excelled at for me was their villains.  While their back-stories were by the numbers, Ronan and Nebula were the only two villains other then Loki, who I truly bought as threats, and left impressions.  Lee Pace commanded the screen, and Karen Gillan was just as badass as Saldana.  I'm glad it looked like her character escaped, so I hope we see her again. While not a full-fledged "villain", Michael Rooker was a blast as Yondu, and I loved his weapon of choice.  Cool seeing Thanos again, and it looks like Josh Brolin will be great in that role.

 

We didn't get a whole bunch of Nova stuff yet, but they did a good job establishing the civilization and planets.  A wise idea to get good actors like John C. Reilly and Glenn Close in there, because they were able to get me invested in them, despite the limited screen-time.  I also noticed that a lot of the minor characters were played by well-known TV actors.  I spotted White Collar's Sharif Atkins and Roswell's Brendan Fehr as Nova soldiers.  That was a nice touch.

 

The scene after the credits was hilarious.

 

The music, of course, was great.

 

Overall, a great introduction to this series.  I'm glad it did great at the box office, and we'll be getting more of the Guardians.  I already can't wait for their next journey.  I hope they find a way to work a Kevin Bacon cameo in somehow, after the Footloose gag.

[Taeolas]

Anyone else think that knowing Rocket exists would be a significant blow to Tony Stark's ego?: "Wait... a raccoon can build moon-destroying bombs out of spare parts?" (Not to mention cobble together things to help them escape from a significant prison.) Rocket would get a load of the Iron Man suit and be all 'That's cute. No, really, it's cute. Let me know when you make something grown up.'

 

In the comics, that's basically exactly what happened. Tony got to hang out with the Guardians, and realized VERY quickly that he's a small fish in a very big pond outside of Earth. 

 

As for the movie itself, I'll preface it by saying I've been a Guardians fan from the beginning of my comic days. My first comics were the Korvac Saga that had the original Guardians team hanging out with the 616 crew to stop Korvac, and it lead into the Infinity Guantlet for me. I've followed the Guardians throuhg all their incarnations since then.

 

And I absolutely LOVED this movie. Fantastic job, the characters felt right; Groot and Rocket felt like they were on the set with everyone else, and everything just felt like it was Alien and Alive. Sure there are a few quibbles here and there, but overall, the experience was a blast. A Space adventure with comic book origins. Really if Disney can pull off the Star Wars postquels with a flavour like this, then it'll be really good. 

 

The movie felt like a modernized 80's Space Adventure (especially with that Sound track), so when you know who showed up at the end, it was a nice nod back.

 

And the reveals made sense. When he finally went to open the gift from his mom, the pieces clicked for me as to what it had to be just then, and damnit, I was right. It was such a perfect ending for that arc. 

 

Starlord's attitude in general is so refreshing to see compared to the "Heroes" in other movies. It's so nice to see someone who's just trying to have fun in a rough universe, and even when the stakes were down, he used what he knew to his advantage. 

 

But man, Feige must have balls of steel to do this. Take basically a no-name director, to direct a movie staring B-level actors about at best C-level characters from the 60's, set it in Space, and release it at the end of Summer.... and get one of the biggest hits critically and hopefully monetarily from the Marvel Movieverse out of it. Everyone involved are stars now as far as I'm concerned, but that this movie was greenlit and made this way was incredible. 

[LiberryLady]

Y'all, I just bought the cutest little Rocket/Groot sticker off of Etsy.  (Am I allowed to post images at this site?  Let's see.)

 

 

[Bruinsfan]

Overall I really enjoyed the movie - Chris Pratt and most of the ensemble were great, the action was just right, and I loved the soundtrack. But I thought two of the three main antagonists were horribly miscast/handled. I love Lee Pace, but here he was playing a cliched cartoon villain and did nothing to elevate the role, and I don't even know what they were thinking having Michael Rooker as Redneck Smurf. Only Karen Gillan impressed me with her work.