It's 2012 and Kevin Feige has announced that the Guardians of the Galaxy are coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and everyone said, "who?" I had heard of the Guardians, Rocket Raccoon and Groot, but never read the title before. But after Kevin said a film was in development, I decided to check out these soon-to-be live-action heroes. So, I went and investigated the 2008 series by Dan Abnett, and then started reading the 2013 series by Brian Michael Bendis. By then, I couldn't wait for this movie to come out.
Cut to the first trailer. I'm sitting in the theater with my wife when the teaser is played and she says, "we don't have to see that, do we?" Cut to the morning of opening day for Guardians of the Galaxy. I'm at work, getting the store ready to open, listening to my iPod, dancing through the sales floor. Cut to the opening titles in the movie. I laugh my ass off and immediately feel a connection to Christ Pratt's Star-Lord. Cut to the closing credits of the film. My wife asks if we can go see the movie again.
Aside from the Captain America films, Guardians of the Galaxy has been my favorite property in the MCU. The characters are whacky, and a mess, and so much fun to watch. I had every faith that James Gunn was going to stick the landing for several reasons. First, before he was fired (and then rehired) by Disney, Kevin was setting Gunn up to take control of the MCU's galactic division. Second, Gunn proved he could do more than just Guardians when I saw The Suicide Squad. And finally, the entire Guardians cast rallied around Gunn when he was let go from Marvel, proving how much they love James Gunn, and how much fun they have making these movies.
From the early reviews I was expecting a film that was going to be a tearjerker with a lot of deaths. Especially since it was the last film Gunn was doing before switching teams to DC, and a lot of the cast said they were not planning in doing any more in the MCU. I was very surprised none of the Guardians died. The one that came closest (besides Rocket) was Peter, and in that moment, I remember Chris Pratt being the only cast member in interviews saying he'd come back for more films. I thought those quotes were a visaed to make us think Star-Lord was the only safe character, but then kill him. For several seconds, I thought Marvel was pulling off a great "gotcha" moment. But they weren't.
Some of the weak points in the film for me were the villain and the slow motions shots. I'm not saying Gunn is as bad as Michael Bay, but slow-mo I think is most effective when you only have it in one or two points in the film to show the importance of that scene. Any more than that, I think it loses its emphasis. The MCU isn't known for great villains, and the High Evolutionary wasn't a bad villain, but he also wasn't that menacing to me. He wanted Rocket back, to create new life, and he spazzed out when things didn't go his way. He's nowhere near top MCU villains like Thanos, Loki, or Vulture in my eyes.
The things that stood out to me in this film were obviously the music, and the relationships. Between the hallway scene and The Marvels trailer, the MCU has got me relistening to the Beastie Boys music on my iTunes. The first film brought this group of misfits and loners together. The second film solidified them as a found family, and this film showed us what that family meant to each of them. The Guardians did everything they could to save Rocket, without hesitation. And like the rest of the MCU, the heroes shined enough that you didn't mind that the villain wasn't as strong. I was expecting a little more out of Adam Warlock, but I think this is a good start for the character with lots of potential to grow.
As for Peter and Gamora. I think that went exactly how it should. This Gamora never tried to steal the orb from Peter on Xandar. She never traveled to Nowhere with them to see The Collector, and never refused to leave Ego without Peter on board. I wasn't expecting them to get together, and they may never do so, especially with Zoe Saldana saying she's done playing Gamora, but the one sound that is louder than "no" is "cha-ching" and a dump truck full of money.
The film ended with Rocket leading a new team of Guardians that I'm curious to see, but no really excited for as some of favorite Guardians are no longer on the team. However, I do expect to see those former members show up in other MCU projects. But, the new additions of Adam and Phyla-Vell (who has a connection to Captain Marvel) could lead to some interesting storylines. I think the success of this film also has to do with its disconnection to The Multiverse Saga. You can go straight from Avengers: Endgame to this film and be fine, unless you want to watch the Holiday Special on Disney+, which you should have already done!
Confession Time. There are several sad moments in this film that made the people I saw it with cry. But my tears came at a time I did not expect and had only a little to do with the movie. The morning I was about to see Vol 3 my Facebook Memories were of my grandfather's funeral 8 years ago. So, with that on my mind, when I saw Peter hug his grandfather after decades apart, I lost it. I started to sob like it was Happy and Morgan Stark on the porch 4 years ago.
I think James Gunn showed everyone in the entertainment industry looking to adapt comic properties that you can take unknown characters and make them popular by highlighting why they have endured and making a great movie around them. Batman, Superman, and Spider-Man are great, but I can't wait for people to meet Kyle Rayner or Ben Reilly!
