Our very own #Calyxium took to the cinema to watch the new Marvel blockbuster Guardians Of The Galaxy. Let's see if it holds up to the criticism of TVBF's finest.
Despite being a huge Marvel, superhero, and sci-fi fan, I regarded the buzz for Guardians of the Galaxy with a lot of scepticism. Two of the heroes are a giant tree and a talking raccoon, for goodness' sake, and I consider myself well past the age when it is appropriate to find anthropomorphic foliage and furry critters charming. Imagine my chagrin, therefore, when I find myself forced to say that the walking plant and the talking raccoon really do steal the show. Guardians of the Galaxy Genre: Comedy, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Action. Age Certification: PG-13 / 12A. Director: James Gunn. Writers: James Gunn, Nicole Perlman, based on the comic book by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning. Notable Actors: Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana. Released: 31st July 2014, English. Plot Outline: Light years from Earth, 26 years after being abducted, Peter Quill - an intergalactic scavenger and outlaw - finds he's bitten off more than he can chew when his newest score is being hunted by the terrifying Ronan the Accuser. Review Acting: 6.8/10 The acting in this film is incredibly polarized. On the one hand, the performance Bradley Cooper gives for his character is outstanding. Rocket, ironically, is by far the most believable, human character and Cooper delivers perfectly. Likewise, against all odds Vin Diesel (playing a sentient tree!) manages to bring the character of Groot to life and make him seem considerably more human than any of the human characters, although how much of that is Vin Diesel and how much is excellent CG1, I have no idea. Chris Pratt as Peter Quill does the best he can with the writing he's given, and pulls off most of the comic moments very well. In contrast, Zoe Saldana's performance is flat and mediocre, Lee Pace as Ronan is another pedestrian supervillain with confused and unclear motives, and does nothing to inject life or menace into his character. Michael Rooker, best known for his role on The Walking Dead, gives an astonishingly poor performance, over-acting to the point of disbelief, and delivering one cringe-worthy cheesy moment after another. It's all downhill from there, with the rest of the supporting cast only adding to the embarrassing cheese-fest. Writing: 5.6/10 When the writing is good, it's wonderful, but when it's bad, it's dreadful. This is a long entry, so I'm splitting it into sections to score individually.
Sound/Music: 8/10 Although the music wasn't to my personal taste, it was a plot point and the music selections and timing perfectly punctuated the tone of the film, and of certain action sequences, as well as adding to the character of Peter Quill. Visuals: 10/10 I'd like to rate this higher. This was, without doubt, the best visual cinematic experience I've had. Avatar at the IMAX, eat your heart out. I saw this in 3D and was impressed by just how much 3D technology has improved in the last couple of years. The special effects were magnificent, the CGI and costuming were absolutely perfect, which was of particular importance in adding emotional depth to the characters of Rocket and Groot. Beyond that, the visual design for characters, costumes, ships and objects, and in particular the huge settings and starscapes were absolutely breathtaking. They were ingenious, creative, colourful and stunningly beautiful. "Feels": 3/10 Feels is something I really look for in a film. I want to emotionally connect with the characters, care about them, worry for them, hurt with them. I didn't get that here. This could partially be because I had part of the film spoiled for me before I watched it, but when that scene came I thought it was handled clunkily at first. There was only one moment when I actually connected with a character and felt something beyond the general humour and fun of the film. Personal Experience: [MILD PLOT SPOILERS] So far, this review has been pretty critical. I should stress that I hugely enjoyed this film, and I had a great time watching it. If I was only scoring "comedy", "fun", and "visuals" it'd be a resounding 10/10. Unfortunately that's not the case, and the film does have its problems. In spite of that, however, it's extremely fun to watch with non-stop, beautifully choreographed action, genuinely funny humour, absolutely amazing visuals, and some really great characters. I particularly enjoyed the ships that connected together to form the huge shield, and the visual design of Knowhere was as ingenious as it was gorgeous. While the outlaw crew of space cowboys isn't a new idea (*coughFireflycough*) it's still an incredibly fun premise to watch, and a nice change from the previous Marvel films. I was hoping to connect more emotionally with it, but the only moment I did, and consequently my favourite part of the film was watching Rocket have a vulnerable moment when he expresses his frustration at being constantly reviewed as a rodent when he had no control over his creation. This film set-up events for future Marvel films, and I will be really excited to see the Guardians of the Galaxy return, and see them tackle Thanos with the Avengers. I spent almost every moment of the film delighted, either by the action sequences, stunning design and visuals, or laughing. The moments that I didn't, however, I was cringing at the awful support characters, confused by the plot holes or annoyed by the lazy writing of poorer characters or character decisions that didn't make sense. Would you recommend this movie to others? I'd definitely recommend this film to others. Although I suspect it was aimed at a younger audience, and I missed some of the humour, there was plenty for adults to enjoy. It certainly wasn't perfect, but in spite of its flaws it was incredibly enjoyable, a 2 hour fun-fest of action, genuinely funny humour and the most breathtakingly-stunning visuals I've ever seen. I'd recommend it based on the visuals alone, but the film also brings plenty of fun, a couple of genuinely loveable characters and a lot of humour as well. Overall Rating: 6.7/10 Averaged from above scores. However, as I said, this film was incredibly enjoyable and I'd certainly recommend seeing it. |
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