Guardians of the Galaxy: not a
review, just some thoughts...
What gives, Mike? You boast that
your blog is about comic books, science fiction, fantasy and all things nerdy
and what have we gotten lately? Reviews of historical fiction, updates on your
book Abby’s Road (now available as a
Nook and in paperback from Amazon - gee, this corporate whore stuff is getting
easier and easier!) and blogs about your health!! Where’s the nerdly goodness!?
OK, OK, good point. This will
make up for it. It has Marvel, Star Wars, Superman, lots of memes and links to
websites - geeky enough for ya?
Along with .02% of the world’s
population, I saw Guardians of the Galaxy
this weekend. I enjoyed it very much - I will likely get the blu-ray when it
comes out and will look forward to its inevitable sequels.
The web is filled with reviews
of the movie - Entertainment Weekly
gave it a wonderful review and an A- rating. That’s the magazine’s highest
rating possible for a non-Harry Potter or non-Tom Hanks movie. This blog review
is probably the best and closest to the truth:
http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2014/08/03/an-academic-critique-of-the-film-guardians-of-the-galaxy/
(really captures the feeling
while watching it, doesn’t it?)
So I’m not going to review the
film itself - there’s plenty of those out there. Instead I’ll share the
thoughts that popped in my mind before and during the film whilst munching my
popcorn.
1) this is
Marvel’s first foray into its current movie blitz with unknown characters. I’m
a big comic book fan, but even I did not know much about these characters. My
Marvel Universe knowledge is not as great as some, I will admit. And my
knowledge of current comicdom (especially with the “Big 2”: Marvel and DC) is
certainly lacking. But if you are stuck on a game show question regarding DC in
the 1970s, phone-a-friend me.
We’ve seen all the Marvel big
guns lately from the various film companies that own the rights - X-Men,
various Avengers (Thor, Captain America, Iron Man) and Spider-Man. (And I think
it’s time - especially considering the success of Guardians - to give serious thought to a Fantastic Four redo).
I wouldn’t put the Guardians
even on Marvel’s second tier - they’re third or fourth-rate characters down
there with the Squadron Supreme, Omega the Unknown and Night Nurse (don’t ask).
“Horse Hockey!” you say. “I’m a
huge fan of the Guardians! And they have a fan base that makes the Legion of
Superheroes pale in comparison!” I’m glad you enjoy it; and no, they don’t.
I barely knew most of the
characters: Star Lord was more a science fiction than a superhero character from the
Marvel magazine line. Gamora was a secondary character from Jim Starlin’s
superb Warlock saga. Drax was a villain who fought Captain Marvel (Marvel’s
Captain Marvel, not the Shazam guy), Rocket Raccoon came along during the 1980s
when I stopped reading most “Big 2” comics who was in (I think) the Hulk comics. Groot was in a few Marvel
horror comics in the 1950s and 1960s: one of a long line of atomic monsters
with names akin to onomatopoeias of bowel movements (“Behold the Terror of
Vluum!” or “And Now Comes Splart!”).
And this is ME, who is a bit of
a comics historian! I, along with most movie audiences, walked into this film
with NO expectations or knowledge of the character’s history. Captain America
THESE were my Guardians,
published at the beginning of my comic book fandom:
Recognize and remember any of
them? Frankly, neither do I.
So if the producers wanted to
coast - they certainly could have. With expectations much lower than with the
Avengers (expectations they met, by the way), there was no reason they needed
to put on their A-game. Let’s have some fun, make a good story, use the budget
we have and be satisfied with a job well done. The movie-goers would say, “It
has a lot of heart and I liked it.”
But they put on an A-game. They
put as much time and consideration into all parts of the movie as they have
with each of the Marvel franchise movies to date. Instead of making a movie
that was good (“At least it was still better than the two Hulks”), they made a movie as good as Avengers or Winter Soldier. They kept the fun in while telling a good
story, too. The movie goers said, “It has a lot of heart and I LOVED it!”
Putting humor in a science
fiction movie is a dangerous thing to do. It could very quickly turn campy. But
here (as with any good story) the humor was driven by the characters. The
storyline was played straight - the humor came from the character’s reaction to
their situation. This is where most humor works well and kept us riding along.
It kept us connected in this alien setting.
2) Comparisons
to DC comics movies.
I hate to join in on all the DC
comics bashing, but dammit DC deserves it. I saw Guardians with a friend who saw the movie earlier that weekend. He
commented that when he left Man of Steel,
the audience was still woeful during the “happy” ending and bloggers argued
over the movie’s merits and controversial ending (the destruction porn,
Superman doesn’t take a life, etc.). People left Guardians smiling and the blogs continued the raves. You leave Guardians feeling good - you just spent
a fun two-plus hours enjoying yourself. No one left Man of Steel feeling good.
3) A peaceful
world attacked by a brutal and near-omnipotent overlord and his powerful
minions. Spaceship dogfight battles! Swordfights! Blasters blasting! A wretched
hive of scum and villainy!
The producers of the new Star
Wars movie are tugging at their collars right now. “Eep.” Stop production right
now, take pad and pencil and everyone - that means you, too, Hamill, Fisher and
Ford (someone may have to help Harrison limp along) - go see it and take notes.
And don’t sit near the producers of the upcoming Superman vs Batman movie - you’re there to learn how it’s done, not
to listen to them mope about “but at least we have a built-in audience of
basement-dwellers ...”
4) There are
lots of 1970s tunes on the soundtrack. I didn’t like that too much when I first
heard about it - it would lend to camp - but it fit. It gave us a connection to
the main character (the only earthling) and linked us normal earthlings to the
story. It was also cannily explained in the movie too. I liked that - too many
movies forget about things like that!
But it got me thinking about
creator’s rights. During the movie and afterward I said how ironic that David
Bowie and Eric Carmen will probably make more money from this film than Jim
Starlin (who created Thanos and Gamora) and Bill Mantlo (Rocket Raccoon) will.
This story is making the rounds:
Yeah. The brother sounds a bit too
satisfied, doesn’t he? He was likely blinking “SOS” into the camera.
Go see it. Enjoy yourself during
a movie. That will make for a nice change, won’t it? Go home and read about the
actors and the history of the characters and the movie. Give Bill Mantlo the
exact amount you spent on admission and snacks as a donation. He needs it. http://gregpak.com/love-rocket-raccoon-please-consider-donating-to-writer-bill-mantlos-ongoing-care/
Then eagerly await the sequel.
I’ll be in line with you.
One final thought:
Original Material 2014 Michael Curry
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