Guardians of the Galaxy Guardians of the Galaxy: General Discussion & Speculation Thread - - - - - - - - Part 17

[The Endless]

The Winter Soldier has a much more interesting story. But in terms of raw emotion and visceral thrills, Guardians is the best Marvel movie for me.

 

[LostSon88]

Cap isn't supposed to be funny...

 

[SuperBatman]

Marvel has hit another movie out of the ballpark again this movie was simply awesome I can't wait to see it again.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Well, once again Marvel wins by adhering to it's central principle: DO THE CHARACTERS JUSTICE. The plot can be stupid, the villains can be forgettable, but always make sure the personalities of the characters ring out loud and clear.

It's not a perfect formula, but it's the best possible approach to comic book adaptations and the warmth towards the characters is infectious. I love the Guardians and I never read the books before.

Still I'd say Cap 2 wins as the best in terms of characterization, action, and story. Although 'Guardians' is much, much, much, MUCH funnier.

I disagree that they did the characters "justice". I love them, but outside of Groot and maybe Rocket, these characters had little to nothing in common with their comic counterparts. If we were being traditionalist, this film was a disaster for Star-Lord, Gamora and Drax.

 

[The Endless]

I don't think he necessarily means in terms of accuracy to the comics.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

The Winter Soldier has a much more interesting story. But in terms of raw emotion and visceral thrills, Guardians is the best Marvel movie for me.

I don't think it ever got to the raw emotion and visceral thrills of TWS. Cap's face when he sees Bucky for the first time is still in my head. That is before I get into Natasha's story, which for me is the best character arc in any Marvel film yet. And nothing has been better then the street fight, ship takedown and helicarrier battle for me. They should have called it the "Visceral Street Fight".

 

[The Endless]

I dunno, the "We are Groot" gave me a lump in my throat. I also really connected with Quill because my mother has had issues with cancer too.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

I dunno, the "We are Groot" gave me a lump in my throat. I also really connected with Quill because my mother has had issues with cancer too.

And I have a brother, which is why Thor/Loki and Cap/Bucky gets to me so much.

 

[The Endless]

Yea i guess it's different for each person. The films have so many things different people can latch on to. I think this is why Marvel is so popular right now. Their themes are more universal. More Spielberg-like.

They might not focus on serious issues like the rights and wrongs of torture and terroism... but they focus on things like family and friendship.

Although, i could kinda see where they were going with Ronan. That he's one of these guys who is outraged that a war has actually ended and that all the lives lost were made meaningless by a peace treaty. It's how i'd imagine some in the Gaza conflict would feel.

 

[Fumardude]

Loved how Nebula turned out, shes one of my favorite characters in the comics, everything about her in this movie was badass from her voice to her attitude cant wait the the sequel !

 

[Tony Stark]

I think there were emotional moments in both films. The thing that Guardians has is it's the biggest spectacle of all the marvel films. In terms of visuals there are few films that it can compare to. It's easily more visually appealing than Ep 1-3 of Star Wars.

 

[Aesop Rocks]

Got my ticket for tomorrow night!

 

[roach]

Saw it...loved it

 

[parkerpete]

I don't think he necessarily means in terms of accuracy to the comics.

Yeah, thank you, I do mean 'preserve the ESSENCE of the characters', and 'make sure the characters are the real attraction'.

To figure out what works so well for Marvel, you don't need to look any further than the movie that started it all, 'Iron Man'. The Tony Stark from the comics was NEVER as charismatic and hilarious as Robert Downey Jr. But he worked brilliantly in the role and he made so much sense as Tony Stark that the comics started imitating HIM.

The crucial thing is, Marvel didn't do anything radical to Tony Stark on paper. They kept him almost exactly the same as in the comics, but allowed the actor to create a real personality for him.

It's the same with Evans and Cap-- I remember liking Cap in my 'Secret Wars'-reading childhood, but always finding him dull. But Evans made the guy so real, that he's now my favorite character in the MCU. Marvel has always been the company that has privileged human quirkiness over super-powers, and that's what's carried them through.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Yea i guess it's different for each person. The films have so many things different people can latch on to. I think this is why Marvel is so popular right now. Their themes are more universal. More Spielberg-like.

They might not focus on serious issues like the rights and wrongs of torture and terroism... but they focus on things like family and friendship.

Although, i could kinda see where they were going with Ronan. That he's one of these guys who is outraged that a war has actually ended and that all the lives lost were made meaningless by a peace treaty. It's how i'd imagine some in the Gaza conflict would feel.

Did you not watch TWS? t:

But I do agree there is plenty to latch on. Sometimes it makes the films feel a bit generic, but I guess that is the price for BO sometimes.

 

[Aesop Rocks]

Cap isn't supposed to be funny...

Because "on your left" is actually a metaphor for youth escaping you as you grow older, watching it helplessly trail off into the distance.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Yeah, thank you, I do mean 'preserve the ESSENCE of the characters', and 'make sure the characters are the real attraction'.

To figure out what works so well for Marvel, you don't need to look any further than the movie that started it all, 'Iron Man'. The Tony Stark from the comics was NEVER as charismatic and hilarious as Robert Downey Jr. But he worked brilliantly in the role and he made so much sense as Tony Stark that the comics started imitating HIM.

The crucial thing is, Marvel didn't do anything radical to Tony Stark on paper. They kept him almost exactly the same as in the comics, but allowed the actor to create a real personality for him.

It's really the same with Evans and Cap-- I remember being bored by Cap in my 'Secret Wars'-reading childhood. But Evans made the guy so real, that he's now my favorite character in the MCU. Marvel has always been the company that has privileged human quirkiness over super-powers, and that's what's carried them through.

But that is the thing. Star-Lord, Gamora and Drax are nothing like the essence of their characters. I completely agree with Tony not being Tony either. Though he is a far closer in terms of characterization. I am cool with the actors doing their thing, but I just don't want to hear about getting the "essence" of the comics when it comes to films like Iron Man series and GotG. I think Cap has been by far the best at "getting" the character and delivering the awesome.

 

[Ghostcrow13]

Because "on your left" is actually a metaphor for youth escaping you as you grow older, watching it helplessly trail off into the distance.

There were jokes but TWS had the least amount of attempt at jokes in a MCU film for a while.

I think that is what he meant, that loads of people are saying GOTG is a comedy almost as much as an action sci-fi film, whereas no one would say TWS was trying to be a hilarious film.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

There were jokes but TWS had the least amount of attempt at jokes in a MCU film for a while.

I think that is what he meant, that loads of people are saying GOTG is a comedy almost as much as an action sci-fi film, whereas no one would say TWS was trying to be a hilarious film.

While GotG and TWS both have different types of comedy, I feel they achieved what TDW and to a lesser extent IM3 failed to. Comedy did not undermined the drama, and thus fit their respective films to a tee and really enhanced them.

 

[parkerpete]

But that is the thing. Star-Lord, Gamora and Drax are nothing like the essence of their characters. I completely agree with Tony not being Tony either. Though he is a far closer in terms of characterization. I am cool with the actors doing their thing, but I just don't want to hear about getting the "essence" of the comics when it comes to films like Iron Man series and GotG. I think Cap has been by far the best at "getting" the character and delivering the awesome.

Maybe you're right, but 'Make sure the characters are the real attraction' is definitely a principle at work in the GotG movie. You may not like the adaptations/changes made to the characters, but I loved these guys and I want to see more movies featuring them. I stopped regularly following superhero comics in the early '90's* so I'm not an expert on the new GotG.

*although i probably memorized every page of 'The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe-- So I know how different Movie Yondu is from Comic Yondu. I still love Movie Yondu, because he's awesome.

 

[Leenie]

Thinking about it now, here is how I rank the MCU Phase II films so far:

1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
2. Guardians of the Galaxy
3. Iron Man 3
4. Thor: The Dark World

Captain America: The Winter Soldier just outranks the others, in my opinion. That's more than likely due to the story and the awesome revelations that happen within the movie. CA:TWS is so good, in fact, that it makes Iron Man 2 a better film, and it made Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. a much better show.

That said, Guardians of the Galaxy is still excellent! It's pure fun, it's hilarious, it's beautiful to look at, and hey ... It's even cute to some extent. This movie's lighthearted nature is infectious, and I dare people to walk out of the theater without smiles on their faces. I know I walked out of the theater smiling.

 

[Darkraid]

After seeing the film, I rank GOTG alongside Cap 2.

I agree, Cap's relationship with Bucky was great in that movie.

Here, we have Rocket and Groot. Tears my heart when I saw Rocket crying.

Doing characters justice does not mean comic accuracy. It means giving them a heart.

 

[The Endless]

While GotG and TWS both have different types of comedy, I feel they achieved what TDW and to a lesser extent IM3 failed to. Comedy did not undermined the drama, and thus fit their respective films to a tee and really enhanced them.

Pretty much. Everything in this film felt "earned" for me. The action scenes, the comedy, the emotional moments. They all come naturally from the characters.

The big sequence on Knowhere for example, i love how Drax is the cause of that. A lesser film maker might find some silly way for the villains to find them, or not even acknowledge it at all (Michael Bay i'm looking squarely at you!) But it just makes perfect sense how it all comes about.

 

[ctsketch]

An absolute blast in every way imaginable. My only issues with it were how far it, at times, deviated from the comics

Spoiler

Quill's mom, Drax being an alien, etc

but screw all that, it was great! I really hope we see more of them, as well as more cosmic Marvel.

What was wrong with Quill's mom?

 

[Tanin]

What was wrong with Quill's mom?

Spoiler

Death by cancer rather then aliens