Guardians of the Galaxy Movie Review

-



So what makes a good action movie and does Guardians of the Galaxy have the ingredients?

You have action by the loads – check
Funny lines and snappy dialogue – check
Underdogs fighting against overwhelming odds or a very powerful opponent – check
Swashbuckling – check
A little romance, yet it doesn’t overwhelm the plot – check

So you have an ensemble movie, set in space, with a plot not unlike a half dozen others, where a young Terra man gets brought up to be a space scavenger, but really ends up doing incredible things to save the world or in this case, the universe Along the way, he picks up more oddball characters and side kicks plus the inevitable romantic connection, which comes in the form of a green and very feisty Zoe Saldana, who prefers to kick than kiss him. True romance doesn’t run smooth …

The gold standard for the devil may care, swashbuckling, dashing anti-hero is Hans Solo, played to perfection by the young Harrison Ford. Buck Rogers was a distant second, and you need a person who has that effortless ability to carry off this combination well for the movie to hang together. Then the other characters all fit in.
Using Stars Wars as the analogy, you have the Chewbacca in the form of Groot, the Ent-like character who has less lines than old Arnie did in the first terminator, which suits Vin Diesel well..  He plays a tree like creature with interesting powers. He in turn is the trusty companion and side kick of and a talking raccoon, which probably has the highest IQ of the group. There is also a vengeance element, played by a very menacing, and muscular ex MMA sort, that likes to take things literally and call Zoe the ‘whore’..
The feisty Princess type comes in the form of Zoe, and we also the powerful Darth Vader villain sort, which is well fleshed out by the Accuser. This Accuser, is one mean guy with lots of power, an ego to match who is bent on doom and destruction.

So technically it should succeed and bring it the crowds. It does succeed to a certain extent, and it’s funny, action packed but…

So what’s the BUT…

Chris Pratt tries his best to strut, talk and fight his way to stardom- literally, but he is not Hans Solo, and somehow I feel I have seen or heard parts of the movie elsewhere before. Even so, it’s still a very enjoyable 2 hour distraction, with plenty of funny scenes, and action to keep us distracted, but it won’t make it into the same revered category as Star Wars or Indiana Jones, two movies it borrows heavily from. Neither will it have the nostalgia of The Last Starfighter, as most viewers will not have read the comic. However to be honest I am glad the plot moves along well, with good pacing and chemistry between the actors, and more importantly you don’t need to have done homework and read the comic to follow the plot.

For me, the highlight was the accompanying music, and the first scene when we first encounter the adult Starlord, and the music he plays as he recovers the Orb. I for one, will be buying the soundtrack first, and possible the BR disc, especially since this movie was processed in Dolby Atmos.


The movie is recommended and I look forward to the disc too.

Story 3/5
Action 4/5
Chicks who look good – ok ok

Watch it and buy the BR disc for the surround.
______________________________________________________________
 I have no financial interest or other interests in any of the items / events I write about.

Comments

  1. Unknown5 May 2015 at 00:12

    It’s entertaining, funny, and has the best music ever. Even though it wasn’t shot in native 3d, the post 3d is very well done and worth it.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

KEF LS 50 Meta review and comparison with the LS50

-
Image
The original KEF LS50 was one of those landmark speakers, a pocket rocket which performed at a much higher level than what it’s price tag might indicate. The original LS50 has been widely reviewed, and is well regarded by audiophiles everywhere.  However it does have some bite in the treble and lacks some deep bass, and works better for music which does not go too deep or with a sub to reinforce the bass. But what it does have is fabulous imaging, which allows you to how off great soundstaging, depth, and definition. If you are into details, you’ll love them. The coaxial design is also wonderful for those who sit a bit off axis. The construction is a marvel in itself and with a modern design, a beautiful gloss finish and a quality build. No wonder it’s loved by music lovers the world over. Now recently KEF has introduced the new KEF Meta. This is an updated version of the original and whilst it can look deceivingly the same, there are significant differences. First a link to the of...
Read more

Dynaudio Heritage Special Speaker Review

-
Image
Dynaudio is a company that has been in the speaker business for more than forty years and prides itself on making most of its components in house, especially the drivers and most of the cabinetry. Through the years they have developed many beloved components for their top end products and have also distilled them down to the masses whenever they launch a special edition. So they have adopted a similar format and take some of their finest drivers, an Esotar 3 tweeter and a woofer derived from the Evidence range and placed them into a more traditional walnut veneer speaker for us to sample.  Thus the Heritage Special (HS) was born. The catch ? Well there are two.. firstly it’s by no means cheap, even though it uses choice components. Second there are only 2500 pairs so if you’re waiting to get one, don’t ! And that’s the sum of my review if you may. If you’re a Dynaudio afficiando, just plonk down the deposit that had planned for the annual summer holiday and get this instead. Now re...
Read more

Haiku fan review II - Mounting a Fan and Using more than one Fan

-
Image
A long long time ago, you had but a handful of choice of fans, and well, they mostly looked the same. The luxury fan market was almost non existent and then Haiku came along and all that changed. My original review is linked here:  Haiku fan review - how to choose a fan Since then, things have moved on and now we are into the fourth generation of the Haiku fan, or fifth if you count the more budget orientated version as well.  Well let's mention what is still present first. The cool, sleek design is still here. And you get both composite ABS blades, as well as bamboo options. It is still a DC motor, with the attendant energy savings, and the silent motor. But most importantly for most buyers, it still looks good. So what is new?  The size options have increased, from 52", 60" and now 84". You still get the option of a longer stalk for higher ceilings, but the longer mount  which extends from 40 to 70 cm comes with a rather bulbous base, instead of t...
Read more