[YMS] So I just watched 'Guardians of the Galaxy', and it was good!
It was refreshing to see a Marvel superhero movie that didn't take itself too seriously.
Now that being said, the whole thing wasn't perfect, and I was kind of hoping
For the same level of ridiculousness implied in the trailer,
But it was good overall. Now the reason why I was hoping for a bit less
Restraint in terms of its ridiculousness,
Is because I knew James Gunn would be directing the movie. Out of everything I've
Seen from him, this is by far the most tame,
And I can't help but think of how much better it would have been if it
Didn't have to confine itself to a PG-13 rating. Still for a modern Marvel
superhero movie, this one was pretty great.
Now that being said, there weren't really any surprises in the story.
They stuck to the typical Hollywood formula, and you could tell when certain
Items were checked off the list.
But I guess if they didn't do that, then it wouldn't really be a modern Marvel
superhero movie, now would it? The action scenes in the film were surprisingly well done.
It didn't really feel as though there was much consequence to those scenes,
But the fight choreography, as well as the shot placement and pacing made it really entertaining.
The comedy isn't what I would call great, but I'm glad that it had a level of
Presence in the film. Showing people like Lloyd Kaufman (of Troma)'s cameo
appearances help set the tone that you're not supposed to take it too seriously.
Now personally, I would've kept it to be more consistent, instead of flipping a
Switch and saying "Oh no, now this a super serious scene, and its in space, and it's
freezing, ifyoudawuhgwuh (???) runnin outta time, so I was gonna freeze to death
This is a serious scene, even though the other scenes aren't as serious."
Not saying you can't have a serious scene in the movie, but it literally felt like flipping a switch.
Like as though that scene wouldn't even have been there if they didn't have it on their studio checklist.
The animation was pretty good for the most part. The only thing that really
Bothered me about the animation specifically was when Groot was in the
prison scene. Shit's about to go down and he's like:
"I. AM. GROOOOOT!" But for some reason, the animators decided that he should have
His mouth wide open in a way that would make the "Ah" sound, and not the "Ooh" sound.
Is it supposed to look cooler that way? Because it kinda took me out of the movie.
I was enjoying an action scene and then all the sudden, I'm thinking 'Why would
you do that? Now obviously, something that minor doesn't affect my overall rating of the film.
So if you're going to dwell on the fact that I mention that at all, then I guess
you're just nitpicking my review.
As much as I love the physical combat action scenes, I could do with a lot less of the space pod action scenes.
Not because they were necessarily poorly done. But because theres such a huge
Disconnect between watching the space pods themselves, and then cutting back to The people inside the space pods.
There was never any moment where I felt like they were actually inside.
It was really difficult not to be taken out of those scenes, when all I could see
Was just cuts back and forth between a guy sitting in front of a camera, and a neat little computer animation.
Even when you see both of them in the same shot, it feels so incredibly artificial.
And I almost feel bad for mentioning it, because I'm not sure exactly what the solution to the problem would be.
Maybe we're just not at the point in computer animation where it would be convincing.
So even though I wouldn't really say they did a bad job with it, it would still
Make the movie better if there were less of those scenes in the film.
I think I would have enjoyed the film a little more if everything it offered wasn't so incredibly 'surface level'.
Like yeah, they threw in some cameos for the film buffs to notice, and I'm sure
There'll be some interesting IMDB factoids in the future,
But I feel as though I could have shown up to this movie, drunk out of my fucking mind,
And not missed a single thing.
There were a lot of smart choices for the movie that were made, but the movie
Itself shied far away from being smart.
Not saying it has to be smart to be good, but I'm saying it could have been smart to be better.
I'm not sure what they would have lost artistically if the one obnoxiously
Blatant reincorporation didn't have a character having a visual
Flashback to help the audience out. I mean yeah, it's reasonable to assume that
A hallucination would take place in that scene, but when you show something that
only exists inside that character's head, in a film that is only
Ever existed outside of that character's head, up until that point,
It's clear that it only exists to pander towards people that otherwise wouldn't
Get the connection being made.
Are you implying that what's happening in the scene isn't important unless that
Connection is made? Would the people in the theater that somehow wouldn't make
that connection not enjoy the movie just as much without it? Would it not bring a whole
new level of appreciation for them on their second watch?
This blatant pandering does not make the movie any worse,
but it is a missed opportunity that could have made the movie better.
Now obviously a comedic tone throughout the scene would have helped, but this was
During one of those 'checklists' scenes where they flipped the serious switch, so not
Being able to take it seriously did have a negative impact for me.
The film paced itself very well, and it was satisfyingly entertaining to see
everything come together in the second half.
It was an action-comedy that had a nice blend of both, and for the most part it was enjoyable.
Overall, it was about as enjoyable as a modern Marvel superhero action movie can be,
And I'm glad that even though it's not personally my type of film, I can at least
Agree with the people that love modern Marvel superhero movies that this is one of the best.
If I ever see it again, it'll just be to refresh myself for the sequel, but I did
Feel as though I got my money's worth, and I would recommend everybody check it
out and see for themselves.
They succeeded at making an accessible, crowd-pleasing movie, and there's pretty
much something for everybody in there,
And I'm comfortable giving this one a 7 out of 10. *Static* [Lilly] "You see how it feels to not
Have enough food for everyone!"
[YMS] Heh, I'll eat it. I'll eat it right now! I'mma take
a poop all over your chest! Wheredja get the apple?
If you were smart, you would plant the seeds, and then you'll have, like, 20 apples tomorrow! [Subtitles by: Sean Egan (seanegan777@gmail.com)]