C.J. Foxx Movie House Reviews #1: Guardians of the Galaxy

The first hour of “Guardians of the Galaxy” was on par with any other good sci-fi flick you could watch.  The crescendo Marvel had skillfully constructed finally has come to an apex.  I wondered if this fell flat on its face according to my expectations, would people own up to it?   Or, would they figure they were in too deep, buying all the merch, buffing up on all the books even the original GOTG (before the re-boot, where none of the cinematic characters existed).  All of those posts, all of the retweets… quoting “I AM GROOT” at every plausible scenario.  Even if it was a horrible production, owning a story that made no sense, had unlikable characters and made no attempt to adhere to the canon already established, jaded fans and Marvel would continue cramming this down our throats.

Fortunately, this was none of that.  The movie was a spoonful of sugar enveloped in honey and did I mention the spoon was made of licorice.  I may have gone into this picture with the wrong attitude but I couldn’t help but think of one thing:  After Marvel’s (and DC’s) initial success and their reign had covered multiple generations.  There was a time and place where they took a leap of faith that led us to this movie. 

Figuring their younger audience had grown into adult readers, an industry had fully taxed all the original storylines.  The answer was to use previously explored genres (like science-fiction, fantasy, horror, detective stories, etc.) and make a mash-up of grander sorts, a more experimental approach.  Things of this nature were incorporated into the stories before, but until this point it wasn’t as strong as a focal point.  In Marvel, the original Guardians of the Galaxy, Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange, Ghost Rider, The Secret Defenders, The Mighty Thor, Deathlok, S.H.I.E.L.D (or Strange Tales), The Days of Future Past, the whole 2099 chapter, etc., are some prime examples.  The reason why I’m giving this half-cocked history lesson is because… it was successful.  It was successful then and it was successful now. 

That same decision retained the older readers, creating a broad spectrum of ideas for younger readers to choose from while supplying the story arcs for years after, but in my opinion, the most important was creating a higher echelon of evil or super-villain.  The most identifiable change in this transition: the standard of what a comic book hero was.  Spider-Man, Iron-Man, The Hulk, Fantastic Four, The X-Men were built on the traditional bullet-points of what a hero stood for: extraordinary things happening to ordinary people.  Introducing heroes as a group of aliens that flew spaceships saving the galaxy instead of earth, Norse gods from another realm protecting our way of living, protagonists using dark magic or sorcery for good, these characters helped make the modern mold of hero.

Marvel relied on the same savvy formula again, the same leap of faith.  Guardians of the Galaxy, like Thor, was a linchpin in making this whole new Marvel-Cinematic-Universe/Avengers initiative work.  Having to satisfy not just the fans that have already jumped this hurdle but fast-tracking a whole new movie-audience through it had to have been a tall order.  In the midst of watching, I felt they passed that test with flying colors, broadening the horizons of the novice to moderate fans.  At times the story glossed over, revealing insight on the Celestials, the Nova Corps, and a background to the Infinity Gems.  Fans of the original content may have wanted a bigger segment dealing with their importance of these items, but instead was met with a plethora of good jokes and enjoyable characters.  The story was predominantly centered around the shipmates and their meeting. 

The importance of FRIENDSHIP, and none of them had any friends until the GOTG formed concept wore me down a little bit.  Drax was a family man with a wife and child (he talks about it a skillion times in the flick, I guess understandably) until they were murdered (basically, a cosmic version of the Punisher) and had no friends, killing his way to the person who had robbed him of his family, Ronan the Accuser.  Rocket, a spliced science experiment with an inferiority complex that only rivals Napoleon.  His biggest claim to fame was “escaping twenty-two prisons” with Groot, one of the rarest most undecipherable aliens.  Gamora, a killing machine, abducted and trained by the enemy.  On the run and as a fugitive, she separates herself from her past, corrupted life, you guessed it… she’s alone on her voyage.  Peter Quill (or Star-Lord): as a child abducted by aliens, trying to find himself, going through an identity crisis every second of the film.  Through the uproar created by a discovered gem, a series of events unites the rejects.  Individually they are extremely flawed and vulnerable, together they’re a lovable, quirky family.  I get it.  I just think they stretched a little too far for the family friendly grab.  Trust me, they mention friendship, being friends and an honorable death, alongside friends one too many times.

The most enjoyable scenes involved the absolutely light-hearted, free flowing, funny dialogue between lovably crafted characters.  The movie gives proper homage to each individual and in exchange for a detailed, elaborate structure, heroes and villains told their stories through natural, unforced, and hilarious interactions. 

Oddly enough, when it contrasted the family friendly aspects, the movie was at its best.  There was a moment where Groot, in a violent outrage, savagely impales a whole platoon of soldiers and thrashes them around.  The rest of the team stops in their tracks.  They observe the tree monster with a prolonged caution, amazed at the brutality…only to be met with a giant childish “Groot did good?” like grin on his face (in case you didn’t know by this point, Groot doesn’t talk, except when he repeats “I am Groot.”  Best job ever: spend half a day in a studio recording three words.  Thanks Vin, the checks in the mail). 

Peter (who establishes himself very early as the captain, or the Han Solo of the group) and Rocket (the snarky co-pilot) could be viewed as a pair of bad parents, babysitting three socially dysfunctional aliens (Drax, Gamora and Groot) constantly getting themselves into superhero hi-jinks.  During these giant cataclysms the subtext was coated in a palatable chemistry disguised as bickering between the actors.  At one time Rocket, as a joke during the melee, he tricks their captain into stealing a prosthetic leg from an amputee.  The constant running joke, and marketing campaign, was that they were a bunch of “A-holes.”  Star-Lord leaves an immature, last-resort message with Nova Corps.  The viewer gets to watch the message being delivered through the ranks, it reveals along with other stuff, Star-Lord admitting to be an “A-hole” but not being a “100 % Dick.”  As the Guardians battle and peril is faced, Nova Corps is nowhere to be found.  They predictably arrive at the last minute to help.  Then Star-Lord shouts in delight, like it had meant the world to him “They got my dick message.” 

The jokes were a little racier than I first thought they would be, but in my subjective opinion it was tastefully done.  After the initial conclusion and as the after credit ending concluded I wondered what part the others will play in the Infinity Gem saga.  I also began to hope the next puzzle pieces, or Phase 2 in this modern universe will be as efficient in its adaptability and its cleverness.  I give it seven lightsabers out ten lightsabers.  

C.J. Foxx 

Author of Super-Hero Bowl VI
@CJFoxxAuthor on Twitter
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