Guardians of the Galaxy Review

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY when it was first announced garnered a pretty big surprise response from comic fans. The team has never been mainstream. One could say the same thing about Iron Man once upon a time, but at least he was a founding Avenger. These guys have never been that big or involved in many huge events. It was pretty much the definition of a "risk" for the studio. The first trailer captured a positive response for the most part. Marketing since then has been modest, but its over 90 million opening weekend speaks volumes. Guardians is the most unique film from Marvel yet. It somehow introduces brand new characters and gives them each notable scenes. THE AVENGERS had it off easy because the audience already knew the characters from previous movies. Somehow Guardians replicates what made the 2012 film so much fun. The comedy isn't forced like in Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World; it's actually pretty funny. The main characters are all likable and the main villain isn't a throwaway like Malekith. Director James Gunn delivers one of the best films from Marvel Studios yet.

The film opens up with a rather emotional scene. In fact, it might just be the saddest scene from any Marvel movie to date. 26 years later after Peter Quill, aka Star Lord (Chris Pratt) watches his mother die, he's put on a scavenger mission to retrieve an artifact which houses an Infinity Gem. This leads to spiral of events which puts him in the path of other "losers" such as Gamora, (Zoe Saldana) Drax, (Dave Bautista), Rocket (Bradley Cooper) and Groot. (Vin Diesel.) These five realize that in order to save the universe they'll have to work together and stop the Kree extremist known as Ronan the Accuser.

Peter Quill isn't the most well-known superhero, but after this film you'll be hard-pressed to find someone who didn't know the name 'Star-Lord.' When the first trailer came out some viewers accused him of being basically another Robert Downy Jr. Tony Stark. Thankfully from the time-skip in the opening it's evident that Chris Pratt brings a whole new, interesting character to the table. While he was a lot of fun for his love of 80's pop, each character brings something unique. Gamora at first from early marketing didn't seem like much other than a love interest for Quill. Thankfully that element has very little focus. Drax was solid, though despite arguably being the strongest brute-strength-wise, he didn't get to really showcase it as much as you would think. Still, he had some of the funniest scenes, such as not understanding Quill's Earth metaphors. 

"I am Groot!" Groot, like in the comics, is always an interesting character to have around. Despite only being able to utter three words, he displayed the most emotion from any of the characters. Of course, as expected, Rocket Raccoon was a highlight, perhaps the highlight. He steals the show in every scene he's in. One has to give credit to Bradley Cooper for such an incredible job; he perfectly nailed the character. At some point in time people would have laughed at the idea of a talking raccoon on the big screen; today they laugh with the character at almost every line he has. There are a couple other notable characters. Michael Rooker portrays Yondu: a bandit who could have been throwaway villain, but thankfully ended up being a little bit more. Karen Gillan as Nebula, the biological daughter of Thanos, was solid. She'll most definitely be appearing again; though it would have been nice if we had any idea of what she's going to do next. Also the film makes a point to bring up that Quill's father was not of Earth, yet the story doesn't delve into that. Hopefully in the sequel we'll get a little more backstory regarding this.

One thing that happens perhaps a little too fast is the Guardians deciding they need to work together. Rocket targets Quill, who is battling Gamora, then after they're all thrown in jail decide they need to team up. It's definitely feasible, but it happens rather quickly. It's just a minor thing, since by the middle of the film you're fully absorbed into the story and action. Ronan the Accuser is a big character in the comics, so fans were anxiously looking forward to his appearance here. I'm happy to say that he's one of the best Marvel antagonists to date. He has a commanding presence every time he's on screen, hats off to Lee Pace for delivering such a great portrayal. 

One of the most hyped things in this movie was the first talking appearance of Thanos. The titan first appeared in the after-credits scene of Avengers and fans have been eagerly awaiting his next appearance. In a scene just under 5 minutes he steals the show. It is a shame that the film teases a Ronan/Thanos fight, but doesn't actually happen. The soundtrack is very solid and unique since it utilizes a bunch of songs from the 70's & 80's. One thing that needs to be said is the incredible CGI. Groot and Rocket look fantastic and fit right alongside the actors. The scenery is beautiful, with Morag in the second part of the opening being a highlight. 

Guardians of the Galaxy delivers one of the most fun times I've ever had in the theater. Each main character brings something unique to the table. Marvel films are known for its comedy, but sometimes that humor is horribly forced. Most of the comedy here is natural; there's never a dull scene. As stated earlier, the film replicates the things which made The Avengers such an enjoyable movie. A year ago I didn't think I'd be saying this, but I'm more excited to see Star-Lord and his team's next adventure than Iron Man's or Thor's. Everyone involved deserves a thumbs up for churning out the most fun movie of the year.

4.5/5

Star Trek: Into Darkness Review

Star Trek is the most popular Science Fiction franchise, aside from Star Wars. It's no surprise that the reboot movie from 2009 did so well. It introduced the series to a whole new generation of fans, plus it somehow managed to be a prequel/alternate timeline for Trekkies. I have quite a few gripes with that obnoxious flick, but I won't deny that it succeeded in being a modern adaption. It's been four years, way overdue for a sequel. In fact, if we're going by two year deals, this should have been the third film. It's just too big of a gap. Was it worth the wait? Directed once again by J.J. Abrams, Into Darkness is not a perfect movie, but definitely better than its predecessor and a step in the right direction for the series.

The story follows James T. Kirk, whom is relieved of his duties after disobeying protocol. This changes when he's put back into the captain's seat to hunt down a Star Fleet traitor by the name of John Harrison. The film opens up with a fast-paced sequence on a planet called Nibiru. The scenery is quite lovely and shows how far special effects have gotten to the point where it can show off an alien planet's beauty. The plot gets going once the assault on the Starfleet commanders happens. Before that two major things happen, Kirk is told he's going back to the Academy and a Starfleet person accepts a deal from Harrison to save his daughter. It's a pretty powerful dynamic when you think about it, the guy blew himself up and the archive building with all the people to save his daughter. It gives the viewer an early impression on just how ruthless Harrison is. But is he the only really good character in the whole thing?

The primary thing I didn't like about the Star Trek reboot was the characters. It looked like Abrams and the team were doing their best to make all of them 'edgy' and 'modern.' Captain Kirk for example was one the most unlikable, arrogant, and obnoxious characters in the last decade. Bones and Scotty brought nothing to the table and Spock was a pale representation of his former self. Thankfully, almost everything wrong there is fixed in the sequel. Kirk (Chris Pine) is arrogant and annoying, but to a much lesser extent. This time we do get the feeling that he genuinely cares about his crew. When he said "I'm sorry" to them, it was one of the most powerful scenes in the movie. Spock (Zachary Quinto) is a highlight, instead of just trying to be a modern take on the classic character, he actually feels like a younger version of the Spock we all know and love. The battle between him and Harrison in the climax was fantastic. And finally, Scotty, Bones, Sulu, and Chekov are all great and actually feel like characters. Even Zoe Saldana as Lieutenant Uhura was pretty solid.

Dr. Carol Marcus got some mild hype in the trailers and such. Alice Eve just did not do quite a believable job. This is one of those cases were eye candy was the primary factor involved. I'm not saying it's Michael Bay bad, but really this character was truly unneeded and added nothing to the table. (To further the eye candy theory, just look at the short scene in the Shuttlecraft with her and Kirk.) Now, let's get on with the main event, the antagonist, John Harrison, or as I like to call him, KHAANN! Abrams and the marketing team did a stellar job hiding the fact that Khan was in this. There were constantly rumors of the egomaniac being in it, but he was hidden until the very end. He's rather different than his previous incarnation which hardcore fans may not like, but I thought he was great. He's definitely villain of the year material, Benedict Cumberbatch was easily the best actor in the whole thing.

One of the greatest parts of the film is the arrival of the USS Vengeance, which is basically a larger, darker version of the Enterprise. The trailers had you believe it was Khan's ship, but it ended up being commanded by Admiral Marcus at first. The second biggest plot twist, (the first obviously about Harrison being Khan) was that the Admiral was a traitor. It's pretty well done since the film has you believe that Khan will actually end up being a misunderstood hero and Marcus the villain. But, it doesn't go that way. First, you really have to admire the Vengeance's design and how it looked in conjunction with the little USS Enterprise. One of the best scenes is when the Enterprise goes into warp and then the Vengeance actually chases them and shoots them out of the warp field. The climax might be disappointing to some since Kirk doesn't get into a fight with Khan, it's Spock. It's definitely disappointing, but the battle between him and the Vulcan was fantastic nonetheless. The soundtrack is pretty solid, no complaints. It was nice to hear a remastered version of the classic theme.

Overall, Into Darkness is an enjoyable second installment in this rebooted series. Kirk is still too arrogant for my taste, but he isn't as grating to watch as the previous film. It's very nice to see the crew having a chemistry that was lacking in the origin, they actually feel like the Star Trek crew we all know and love. John Harrison, or rather Khan, is a fantastic antagonist and easily more memorable than Captain Nero. I look forward to the next installment. (Which hopefully will include antagonists other than the Klingons, because they weren't that impressive here, though their Predator helmets were pretty cool.)

4/5