Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel's "Cosmic-level" team movie starring Chis Pratt, Bradley Cooper and a giant tree, is due out in a few months. Of the first trailer and various character vignettes that have been released, my opinion of how the movie may turn out has been mostly-positive, but still mixed. Below is a list of five impressions, negative and positive, from the previews currently available.
1. CHRIS PRATT
Although Pratt's character Peter Quill seems well-written, the tone he has given the character seems a bit too cartoonish for the MCU. To be fair, he has only been shown in humorous scenes, and it's possible he will deliver his more serious lines in a way that fits the live-action setting more appropriately.
Rating: Meh.
2. DAVE BATISTA AS DRAX
In the few scenes released of Drax, Dave Batista has had zero lines. So far, we have only seen him either kill things while looking menacing, or stand quietly while still managing to look menacing. It will be interesting to see how his character develops if he remains a purely physical character throughout the movie.
Rating: Not Good.
3. KAREN GILLAN IS SCARY
Fans of Doctor Who will either love or hate the dramatically different-looking Karen Gillan, who has actually shaven her head, on top of donning blue skin make-up and a cyborg-esque costume to play the very scary Nebula. Fans of Who will also remember that Gillan has done the scary badass thing for the sixth series finale. However, she was still playing a hero in that episode, so you've got to wonder if she's gonna ramp-up the badassery for the very villainous Nebula.
Rating: Awesome.
4. ROCKET RACCOON WORKS IN LIVE-ACTION
Since the GoG movie was announced, I have wondered if Rocket, the anthropomorphic raccoon who is also an alien, would work in a major film. This was less because he is a talking animal, and more that the rational viewers who will no doubt check the film out may not be willing to believe that there is an entire race of talking raccoons somewhere in the galaxy. It is an unlikely possibility, though one that I personally am okay with. Regardless, seeing Rocket (Voiced by Bradley Cooper) in the first trailer gave me hope that the adorable outlaw may appeal to a wider group than I initially thought.
Rating: Dope.
5. IT'S A MOVIE ABOUT SPACE SCOUNDRELS
I'm not familiar with the original Guardians of the Galaxy from the 70's, but my hope when this movie was announced was that it wouldn't try to be superheroes in space. What it seems to be instead is the Anti-Avengers (Anti-vengers?) It's got the super-freaks, the team tension, the villain who possesses a mystical, all-powerful item, but where 4 out of 5 Avengers were heroes before the movie was released, the Guardians all begin as outlaws.
So that's it. If you agree, disagree, or have any other thoughts about the movie, comment them. And subscribe for more comic book, sci-fi, or general movie news!
- Will