‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Early Reviews & New Clip

[SaP]

Guardians of the Galaxy is coming whether you’re ready or not, and San Diego Comic-Con 2014 is buzzing with excitement for Marvel Studios’ newest movie, which is set to drastically expand the boundaries of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper are all dressed up and ready to go, but does Guardians of the Galaxy actually deserve all the hype it’s been generating?

If the swathe of overwhelmingly positive early reviews are any indication, the answer to that question is decidedly a “Yes.” Guardians of the Galaxy is now only a week away from release, and despite featuring a relatively obscure team of heroes that the average moviegoer (and probably quite a few comic book fans) might not have been aware of prior to the first trailers being released, it has the potential to be one of Marvel’s biggest hits.

Before the Guardians of the Galaxy can actually guard the galaxy, they have to break out of prison, which means that they need to come up with a plan (ideally more than 12% of a plan). Rocket Raccoon does just that in a new clip from Guardians of the Galaxy, which showcases some of the humor that has been so highly praised in the early reviews. Check out the clip above, and read on to find out what the critics thought of James Gunn’s space adventure.

Variety – Scott Foundas:

The Wrap – James Rocchi:

“An unusually prankish and playful Marvel Studios vehicle, director James Gunn’s presumptive franchise-starter is overlong, overstuffed and sometimes too eager to please, but the cheeky comic tone keeps things buoyant… The adventures here comprise a fairly standard set of Saturday-serial cliffhangers and hairsbreadth escapes, and Gunn puts them across with a B-movie savoir faire that keeps ‘Guardians’ from ever getting too high on the hog or too bogged down in its own mythmaking.”

Total Film – Matt Risley

“The film… owes as much to the space-faring fun of Joss Whedon‘s ‘Firefly’ and ‘Serenity,’ with its blue-collar approach to traveling the cosmos in search of profit, than it does to the other Marvel movies, and that’s a good thing: Unlike the stiff-jawed heroics of the other Marvel films, this feels a little looser and lighter.”

“A weird, wonderful and wildly surprising sci-fi that if not the year’s best blockbuster, could at least end up being 2014’s most fun… As indebted to ‘Serenity’ as it is ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Avengers Assemble,’ GOTG reboots the space opera in the most surprising, entertaining and emotionally satisfying of ways. It’s your move, ‘Episode VII.’ “

Coming Soon – Edward Douglas

The Playlist – Oliver Lyttelton

“Possibly one of the funniest (and strangest) Marvel movies yet, James Gunn and his cast deliver an infinitely entertaining space opera that’s really something quite special. J.J. Abrams’ ‘Star Wars’ movie now has even more to live up to.”

Digital Spy – Simon Reynolds

“The film feels, even more so than this spring’s ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier,’ a deviation from the Marvel formula, a gloriously, defiant weird movie that nevertheless proves to be an enormous crowd-pleaser. The final credits promise that “Guardians Of The Galaxy Will Return,” and for once, you’re actively looking forward to it.”

“This is not the superhero movie you were expecting; dark and brooding internal angst gets traded in for a breezy cosmic adventure and crackling comedy quips. Marvel Studios has never been one to embrace the idiosyncratic or eccentric, but director James Gunn brings a fresh point of view to a genre that’s fast becoming to sag with predictability.”

The Guardian - Steve Rose

Screen Daily - Mark Adams

“Pratt carries the show marvelously, it must be said. Gym-toned and scrubbed up, he’s come a long way from his dim-bulb shoeshine boy in ‘Parks and Recreation,’ but he retains that puppyish everydude charm. An action hero with expressive comic timing, he could become the Harrison Ford of our age.”

“A fabulously freewheeling space adventure brimming with action, humor and spectacular special effects… The little-and-large pairing of Rocket Raccoon and Groot could well be the film’s secret weapon. Rocket, with his feisty sarcasm and very large gun is a real cult hero, while the lumbering tree creature Groot is sweet but deadly, and often offers the film’s funniest moments.”

IndieWire – Eric Kohn

“When the Guardians engage in large scale combat, particularly during the explosive (and explosively dull) giant spaceship-set battle in the final half hour, the whole enterprise sags, only regaining some ground when the banter returns… It’s just dumb enough to please complaisant viewers, but finds inspiration in a sarcastic attitude that transcends its factory-mandated conventions.”

Guardians of the Galaxy currently has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 74% rating on Metacritic, and even reviewers who had gripes about the movie agreed with the consensus that it’s a lot of fun. In particular what stands out are the comments that it doesn’t feel like a Marvel movie, which is interesting in light of fan speculation that Edgar Wright departed Ant-Man due to his vision for the movie being too far outside of Marvel’s prescribed style.

One of the main challenges facing Guardians of the Galaxy was to take a group of characters that are predominantly very weird and to make them accessible to wider audiences who aren’t familiar with the comics and might have been put off by a straight-faced movie about a talking raccoon and a sentient tree that can only say, “I am Groot.” Giving the movie a heavy dose of comedy mixed in with its sci-fi action and weirdness definitely sounds like it worked out well.

The fact that the final credits promise the Guardians of the Galaxy will return indicates that Marvel is pretty confident about the potential for Guardians of the Galaxy 2, which Gunn has already confirmed he will direct – if and when it happens.

Itching to know more about Guardians of the Galaxy? Check out Screen Rant’s interviews with star Chris Pratt and director James Gunn, and stay tuned to the site over the next few days as more Marvel news emerges from SDCC 2014.

Guardians of the Galaxy arrives in theaters on August 1st, 2014.

http://screenrant.com/guardians-galaxy-early-reviews/

[i148d]

I enjoyed the trailer, and i think this movie won't be a waste of time.

Can't wait to see it.

P.S

I really like Chris Prat (because Parks and Rec) and i really hope he goes big in Hollywood.

[GreatManKing5]

I enjoyed this movie.

[malizajec]

Nice :)