Guardians of the Galaxy Drax The Man on the Sax: a Thread for the Destroyer

[Brian Braddock]

If he knocks it out of the park, then it's a good casting decision. If he sucks, then it's a poor one. My opinion is that we'll ultimately only be in a position to make an informed judgement after seeing Batista's performance, on opening day. I see that some others on here have adopted the same mantra, whereas others have already decreed that Marvel have got it wrong.

 

[Project862006]

dude does look like a bad asst:

 

[Nathan]

If he knocks it out of the park, then it's a good casting decision. If he sucks, then it's a poor one. My opinion is that we'll ultimately only be in a position to make an informed judgement after seeing Batista's performance, on opening day. I see that some others on here have adopted the same mantra, whereas others have already decreed that Marvel have got it wrong.

I can't really think of any actor Marvel had really gotten wrong. And even if I didn't like them too much, they still put up a solid performance. So Marvel gets the benefit of the doubt from me.

 

[wampa1]

If he knocks it out of the park, then it's a good casting decision. If he sucks, then it's a poor one.

You don't say.

 

[Brian Braddock]

I can't really think of any actor Marvel had really gotten wrong. And even if I didn't like them too much, they still put up a solid performance. So Marvel gets the benefit of the doubt from me.

Yup, same here.

Seems that many on here [and on the GOTG casting] thread dont give this guy a chance either because he's a wrestler and/or he's never shown he can act worth a damn before.

I'd respond by saying that just because someones never shown something before doesnt mean that they dont have it in them to do that 'something' and my thinking is that Marvel have seen him audition and obviously concluded that he can indeed act worth a damn, at least sufficiently enought to do the role justice.

 

[Brian Braddock]

You don't say.

Thanks for your important input. Much appreciated.

 

[OB12]

Yup, same here.

Seems that many on here [and on the GOTG casting] thread dont give this guy a chance either because he's a wrestler and/or he's never shown he can act worth a damn before.

I'd respond by saying that just because someones never shown something before doesnt mean that they dont have it in them to do that 'something' and my thinking is that Marvel have seen him audition and obviously concluded that he can indeed act worth a damn, at least sufficiently enought to do the role justice.

Yeah, to date, Bautista has had 3 roles. I have not seen any of them but I am figuring the first two were direct-to-video and the third was Man with the Iron Fists. Scorpion King 3 and House of the Rising Sun probably did not have stellar scripts and I really doubt that Rza is a director that is going to get the most out of his actors. I think it is too early in is film career to make any sort of determination about his ability.

 

[Colossal Spoons]

I don't mind the casting of Batista , but I've never read much of these particular characters. I can see why some fans are upset. Batista won't ruin the movie , but I don't think he'll be true to the character based on what I've read.

Tony Stark was hardly the sarcastic smartass that RDJ turned him into, but we all survived.

Am I the only person who watches a movie and doesn't notice how people's 'acting' skills are and how they deliver lines? I've watched Avengers like 15 times and never looked at Maria Hill like "wow she's bad" or any other movie I can think of for that matter haha

I only notice if it's particularly terrible like Sabretooth in X1. However, I'm hardly a "film-critic" so I don't scrutinize movies like the typical message board poster. Heck, whenever I hear people gushing about a movie score, I'm like "Wait, there was music in this movie!?"

 

[Destructus86]

Honestly...while I normally hate wrestlers/fighters being put in movies (with rare exceptions) I think this guy is the perfect casting choice for Drax. I couldn't be happier.

From what i've seen him in...shows and movie. He does a pretty decent job of acting too.

 

[Xeno]

If he knocks it out of the park, then it's a good casting decision. If he sucks, then it's a poor one. My opinion is that we'll ultimately only be in a position to make an informed judgement after seeing Batista's performance, on opening day. I see that some others on here have adopted the same mantra, whereas others have already decreed that Marvel have got it wrong.

I agree. When I saw that Bautista got the role I was neither happy nor sad. As with their other casting decisions, Marvel chose Bautista because they tested him and feel that he fits the role. Is he a great actor? Apparently not. Can he play Drax credibly? Marvel believes he can, the rest of us can judge when we see him. Does Bautista look like a guy who could shove his hand through Thanos' body and rip his heart out? Yes, without a doubt.


I'm willing to wait for the first trailer to come out before I decide that Bautista is an awful pick -- or an awesome one.

 

[Project862006]

now hollywood better cast him as marcus fennix

 

[Tim_Riggins]

Tony Stark was hardly the sarcastic smartass that RDJ turned him into, but we all survived.



I only notice if it's particularly terrible like Sabretooth in X1. However, I'm hardly a "film-critic" so I don't scrutinize movies like the typical message board poster. Heck, whenever I hear people gushing about a movie score, I'm like "Wait, there was music in this movie!?"

"Scrutinize movies", don't be ridiculous please. You don't have to be a film-critic (what a cliché) to notice things like this. If this suits you, fine, and good for you, but knowing how to notice good acting is not scrutinizing or anything, it's like knowing what good cinematography is (and it's super important), or a great score is, or what great editing is.


Don't want to be condescendant, but I don't like the way you phrased it. But that's the difference between just enjoying a movie as it is without paying attention to the details, just as pure entertainment and actually caring about the craft of it all.

 

[Whiskey Tango]

now hollywood better cast him as marcus fennix

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

Well, to say I am dissapointed in this decision is an understatement. He has the look, of that there is no doubt. But Drax isnt some silent muscle man, he speaks, he is a master tactician, hell he taught Richard Rider to fight in Annihilation.

His whole family was killed including him and then he was resurrected for the sole purpose of killing Thanos and getting revenge. He also has to find out one day that his daughter survived. When he says things they meaningful, powerful and to the point and in dire situations he is the man you want making decisions.

Sorry, but from what I have seen of Bautista he just cant convey this with his acting ability. His casting makes me worry a lot about the characterisation of Drax as well, if he is not going to be what I described above, then he isnt going to be Drax I am afraid. My anticipation for this movie has gone down quite a bit, as Drax is my favourite character from the team and the one I know most about.

My only hope is that his screen test was amazing, and Marvel were so impressed they signed him up. I have never hoped to be proven wrong so much in my life, so come on Bautista, prove me wrong and give me an awesome and faithful Drax.

 

[OB12]

Well, to say I am dissapointed in this decision is an understatement. He has the look, of that there is no doubt. But Drax isnt some silent muscle man, he speaks, he is a master tactician, hell he taught Richard Rider to fight in Annihilation.

His whole family was killed including him and then he was resurrected for the sole purpose of killing Thanos and getting revenge. He also has to find out one day that his daughter survived. When he says things they meaningful, powerful and to the point and in dire situations he is the man you want making decisions.

Sorry, but from what I have seen of Bautista he just cant convey this with his acting ability. His casting makes me worry a lot about the characterisation of Drax as well, if he is not going to be what I described above, then he isnt going to be Drax I am afraid. My anticipation for this movie has gone down quite a bit, as Drax is my favourite character from the team and the one I know most about.

My only hope is that his screen test was amazing, and Marvel were so impressed they signed him up. I have never hoped to be proven wrong so much in my life, so come on Bautista, prove me wrong and give me an awesome and faithful Drax.

I can understand your disappointment, but again, he has had 3 roles in his film career. Three.

 

[Tim_Riggins]

Until we've seen him as Drax, we can"t say anything anyway.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

I can understand your disappointment, but again, he has had 3 roles in his film career. Three.

And there is a reason he has only had 3 roles, wrestlers in the majority of cases dont make good actors, and when they are in movies they have very few lines. Again, it makes me worry how they are going to characterise Drax.

 

[Nathan]

I hope that he either nailed the audition, or that Marvel believes that they can coach the hell out of him. They haven't disappointed me so far.

 

[OB12]

And there is a reason he has only had 3 roles, wrestlers in the majority of cases dont make good actors, and when they are in movies they have very few lines. Again, it makes me worry how they are going to characterise Drax.

This doesn't say anything about Bautista's true ability, it is a general statement about wrestlers. I doubt in his limited filmography he has had directors that really knew how get the most out of him.

 

[Lobo]

I'm going to repaint a Batista figure into Drax

 

[OB12]

The more I think about it, the more I am encouraged by this casting. What we know is that from a physical standpoint, Bautista is Drax. He is physical, menacing and badass enough to go toe-to-toe with Thanos. He's also old enough that has a bit of a weary warrior look about him. Just about spot on casting based on appearance.

What we don't know is his acting ability. That said, it doesn't make sense to me that Gunn and Marvel would flub this one up given that they just selected a good up-and-coming actor in Chris Pratt and they surely had to know that there would be some furrowed brows at the notion of a former wrestler in a big budget franchise film. I'm confident they vetted him properly and he is going to deliver a nice performance.

 

[Nathan]

He's definitely got the look, physicality, voice (his "You're dead man." delivery was great and to me was spot on Drax), now I only hope Marvel can get him to deliver some good acting.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

I hope that he either nailed the audition, or that Marvel believes that they can coach the hell out of him. They haven't disappointed me so far.

That brings its own sense of worry though, there is always a first time!

This doesn't say anything about Bautista's true ability, it is a general statement about wrestlers. I doubt in his limited filmography he has had directors that really knew how get the most out of him.

Again, there is a reason for that, good directors dont want to work with him because of his limited acting ability. I like Gunn, but I fear he has dropped the ball here.

 

[terry78]

He'll be fine.

 

[OB12]

Again, there is a reason for that, good directors dont want to work with him because of his limited acting ability. I like Gunn, but I fear he has dropped the ball here.

We don't know if that is a reason that he doesn't have more roles. That is an assumption on your part. He looks like he was wrestling full time until mid 2010 and then did some MMA fighting. So since 2010 he has been in two movies that are probably DTV and one major release. He is also filming Riddick and now is going to be Drax. That seems like pretty steady work for 2+ years, yet not enough to draw any conclusions.