MCU Rewind #10 - Guardians of the Galaxy - Review
Release date (US): August 1st, 2014
Directed By: James Gunn
Rating: PG-13
Directed By: James Gunn
Rating: PG-13
Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bardley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Michael Rooker, Djimon Hounsou, Lee Pace, Josh Brolin, John C. Reilly, Glenn Close, Karen Gillan
MCU REWIND REVIEW EXPLANATION: In these reviews, I will be going back to all the Marvel Cinematic Universe Films that have been released to date, reviewing each one in a retrospective manner. Expectations and background will detail how I felt about the film before the repeat viewing. This review will contain spoilers for these movies. You have been warned.
Previous Rating: 9.4/10
MCU REWIND REVIEW EXPLANATION: In these reviews, I will be going back to all the Marvel Cinematic Universe Films that have been released to date, reviewing each one in a retrospective manner. Expectations and background will detail how I felt about the film before the repeat viewing. This review will contain spoilers for these movies. You have been warned.
Previous Rating: 9.4/10
Expectations/Background: I had a very interesting relationship with this film preceding this rewatch. The first time I watched this movie, I thought it was fine. It was a fun action-comedy with character that were pretty entertaining, what is there not to love. But upon a second viewing, I found that I loved the film. When I was watching it for a second time, and this was about 2015, I realized what joys I had missed and found myself loving this movie immensely. So entering this rewatch, my expectations were lofty for sure. I had high hopes that this film would deliver on the promises of a fun ride with great humor.
The Movie: Perhaps it may have been best if I had just left it at a second viewing with my great memories of the second time watching it. I still immensely enjoyed the third viewing of this film, but not nearly as much as the second time I saw it, and even maybe less than the first time I saw it. Now granted, this film is still awesome, and I think it did something huge for the MCU in starting out with an ensemble feature and being able to introduce so many new, original, dynamic characters into one compelling movie. But agin, I just found that I didn't enjoy it as much as I had before.
Positives: I believe that what this film does so brilliantly is the character development. That alone is commendable on the films part. If the story was mediocre, and that action was mediocre, this film would still have an ensemble of dynamic characters to rely on. Peter Quill (Pratt) is such a fun presence onscreen. Unlike the previous MCU heroes, like Tony, Steve, or Thor, Star-Lord's nonchalant, gung-ho attitude is something that is so fun to see. Perfectly balancing his character are Gamora (Saldana), Drax (Bautista), and Rocket and Groot (Cooper and Diesel, respectively).
As alluded to earlier, Gunn deserves massive props for introducing 5 characters that can each hold their own, but didn't need their own solo film. Marvel took a huge risk in even doing an Avengers film, and they need 5 films beforehand to familiarize the audience with the heroes; but Gunn goes for it and shows us that it's possible to make a team-up film within the context of 2 hours.
This is film is also very fast-paced; as much as the Winter Soldier was tense, this film just goes for it and is a blast form start to finish. It really doesn't let up until the very end. What I really like about it is that it starts off with some powerful emotion and ends off with a little emotional touch as well.
Speaking of emotions, one of the best openings to a Marvel film is this one; we knew fro the marketing and trailers that we were going to get a comedy of sorts, but the way that Gunn starts the film with something very dark and very serious adds a little levity to a film filled with jokes.
And the jokes, flying off the walls, work great. This film is banking on the comedic talent of its cast, and they deliver in leaps and bounds, from Rocket and Groot, to Star-Lord's great one-liners. Almost every single joke landed for me, and on a repeat viewing, they landed pretty well considering I knew that they were coming.
Really, when you have a comedy, the main purpose of the film is to make you laugh. If the film doesn't achieve this, then the film hasn't done its job. You can pardon some of the other sins of the film if it's enjoyable enough, and to me, that's exactly what Guardians is.
Negatives: However, what I found interesting is that although I did have a great time watching the film, and I really did, there were some weaknesses that didn't seem to bother me as much the last time. But they do now.
Having gone through 9 other MCU films, I can assert that for the most part, the dialogue in most of the films is snappy and well-delivered. And while most of the dialogue is delivered well in this movie, some of it is very clunky and very poor. I found myself, with this film in particular, getting close to cringing at some of the lines that were spoken. They weren't cringe-worthy, per se, but I did think that some of them could have easily been rewritten and redone.
Another thing is story - MCU movies before this have been very hit or miss when it comes to this. This is a film where the story is not so strong, in my opinion. Now granted, when you have a straight up comedy, the story doesn't need to be the greatest, which is why it doesn't bother me as much as it did in, say, Iron Man 2. But I noticed right away that the story seemed to meander a little. While the pace of the movie was fast, sharp, and brisk, and good on Gunn for that, the storyline itself seemed to wander at certain points as the storytellers tried to connect dots in odd ways.
There were some shots as well where I thought the CGI was a little off, and that mainly revolved around the scene with Thanos. As the movie went by and I anticipated the scene, I saw it and thought something was a little off. So later, I went online and rewatched it. What was jarring to me was how odd the skin of Thanos was as compared to the rest of him, as well as how odd the background looked in comparison to the rest of the characters. There are other scenes as well where it seems that the CGI wasn't exactly the greatest, especially in comparison to other MCU movies.
These pointers may seem like nitpicks to some, but to me, when watching the film again, they bothered me significantly more than I was anticipating.
The Villain(s): Ronan is an interesting case. After seeing the film each time, I didn't like him. I thought he was boring, generic, and over-the-top. Then something interesting happened - Marvel announced that he would be returning for Captain Marvel and I found myself getting excited at that notion - I'm not sure if it was I was happy Marvel was reintroducing old villains, or because I secretly didn't mind Ronan. Regardless, purely based on this film, I thought he was fine. He served his purpose, and that's all that he was there for, really. Thanos was barely in it at all. Nebula also was just there to serve her own purpose, and she got a bigger role in the next film, and seems to be getting an even bigger role in Infinity War. But overall, the villains were just there to drive the story along.
Positives: I believe that what this film does so brilliantly is the character development. That alone is commendable on the films part. If the story was mediocre, and that action was mediocre, this film would still have an ensemble of dynamic characters to rely on. Peter Quill (Pratt) is such a fun presence onscreen. Unlike the previous MCU heroes, like Tony, Steve, or Thor, Star-Lord's nonchalant, gung-ho attitude is something that is so fun to see. Perfectly balancing his character are Gamora (Saldana), Drax (Bautista), and Rocket and Groot (Cooper and Diesel, respectively).
As alluded to earlier, Gunn deserves massive props for introducing 5 characters that can each hold their own, but didn't need their own solo film. Marvel took a huge risk in even doing an Avengers film, and they need 5 films beforehand to familiarize the audience with the heroes; but Gunn goes for it and shows us that it's possible to make a team-up film within the context of 2 hours.
This is film is also very fast-paced; as much as the Winter Soldier was tense, this film just goes for it and is a blast form start to finish. It really doesn't let up until the very end. What I really like about it is that it starts off with some powerful emotion and ends off with a little emotional touch as well.
Speaking of emotions, one of the best openings to a Marvel film is this one; we knew fro the marketing and trailers that we were going to get a comedy of sorts, but the way that Gunn starts the film with something very dark and very serious adds a little levity to a film filled with jokes.
And the jokes, flying off the walls, work great. This film is banking on the comedic talent of its cast, and they deliver in leaps and bounds, from Rocket and Groot, to Star-Lord's great one-liners. Almost every single joke landed for me, and on a repeat viewing, they landed pretty well considering I knew that they were coming.
Really, when you have a comedy, the main purpose of the film is to make you laugh. If the film doesn't achieve this, then the film hasn't done its job. You can pardon some of the other sins of the film if it's enjoyable enough, and to me, that's exactly what Guardians is.
Negatives: However, what I found interesting is that although I did have a great time watching the film, and I really did, there were some weaknesses that didn't seem to bother me as much the last time. But they do now.
Having gone through 9 other MCU films, I can assert that for the most part, the dialogue in most of the films is snappy and well-delivered. And while most of the dialogue is delivered well in this movie, some of it is very clunky and very poor. I found myself, with this film in particular, getting close to cringing at some of the lines that were spoken. They weren't cringe-worthy, per se, but I did think that some of them could have easily been rewritten and redone.
Another thing is story - MCU movies before this have been very hit or miss when it comes to this. This is a film where the story is not so strong, in my opinion. Now granted, when you have a straight up comedy, the story doesn't need to be the greatest, which is why it doesn't bother me as much as it did in, say, Iron Man 2. But I noticed right away that the story seemed to meander a little. While the pace of the movie was fast, sharp, and brisk, and good on Gunn for that, the storyline itself seemed to wander at certain points as the storytellers tried to connect dots in odd ways.
There were some shots as well where I thought the CGI was a little off, and that mainly revolved around the scene with Thanos. As the movie went by and I anticipated the scene, I saw it and thought something was a little off. So later, I went online and rewatched it. What was jarring to me was how odd the skin of Thanos was as compared to the rest of him, as well as how odd the background looked in comparison to the rest of the characters. There are other scenes as well where it seems that the CGI wasn't exactly the greatest, especially in comparison to other MCU movies.
These pointers may seem like nitpicks to some, but to me, when watching the film again, they bothered me significantly more than I was anticipating.
The Villain(s): Ronan is an interesting case. After seeing the film each time, I didn't like him. I thought he was boring, generic, and over-the-top. Then something interesting happened - Marvel announced that he would be returning for Captain Marvel and I found myself getting excited at that notion - I'm not sure if it was I was happy Marvel was reintroducing old villains, or because I secretly didn't mind Ronan. Regardless, purely based on this film, I thought he was fine. He served his purpose, and that's all that he was there for, really. Thanos was barely in it at all. Nebula also was just there to serve her own purpose, and she got a bigger role in the next film, and seems to be getting an even bigger role in Infinity War. But overall, the villains were just there to drive the story along.
The Verdict: Bottom line - this movie is fun, it's entertaining, it has great characters, and it has the laughs. I'm not sure if the experience I had with the film is something unique to me; because I do remember loving this movie. But at the very least, what you'll get is a comedic film with plenty of laughs to go around, as well as awesome characters who play off each other so incredibly well. The ensemble cast pays off in a big way, and this was the launchpad for James Gunn to really take the reigns of the cosmic side of the MCU. Letter Grade: B+. Number Score: 8.9/10
Should I Skip?: For the intents and purposes of Infinity War, I would say no. The Guardians are going to play a part in the upcoming film, and I think that it's important to see both this one and the subsequent sequel just to have a better idea of what their place in the film would be.
TLDR: I think I will be doing away with this portion of the review - if you wish to know the summary, go on Wikipedia; the summary will be essentially the same as what I would have written.
9-10: Nearly Perfect
Should I Skip?: For the intents and purposes of Infinity War, I would say no. The Guardians are going to play a part in the upcoming film, and I think that it's important to see both this one and the subsequent sequel just to have a better idea of what their place in the film would be.
TLDR: I think I will be doing away with this portion of the review - if you wish to know the summary, go on Wikipedia; the summary will be essentially the same as what I would have written.
**IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER**: Letter grades and Number grades do not mean the same thing. Just because I give a film an A does not mean it gets a 9.5 or above. They do not line up like a traditional school grading system To see specifics, see below.
A- to A+: Amazing
B- to B+: Enjoyable, but Flawed
C- to C+: Redeemable in some cases, but heavily Flawed
D- to D+: Nothing but Flaws
F: A Failure of a Film
8-9: Very Good
7-8: Good
6-7: Okay
5-6: Average/Mediocre
4-5: Apparently Flawed
3-4: Heavily Flawed
2-3: A complete and utter mess
0-2: A Failure of a Film
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