First things first…who the fuck is James Gunn and where the hell has this director been all this time? Oh yeah, he’s been honing his craft like a true auteur, laying back and learning what’s most important “writing a good screenplay”. In the early 2000’s James wrote films like Tromeo and Juliet, Scooby Doo, Scooby Doo: Monsters Unleashed and the 2004 version of Dawn of the Dead directed by Zack Snyder. Stop right there…Dawn of the Dead was awesome!
In 2006, he switched gears and started directing, his first project which was the 2006 horror film Slither. He also got together with his brothers Brian and Sean to create the web series James Gunn PG Porn. In 2010, he teamed up with actor Rainn Wilson for the movie Super and this was it before he The Guardian’s of the Galaxy, before he seriously ROCKED OUR WORLDS!!
How long had he been campaigning for this job?! Every frame of this film oozes with his undying passion for the content, like he had been dreaming about this day since he was a child. Guardian’s is filled with tropes that reflect films he clearly loved growing up and he cleverly squeezed them into almost every scene. You’ve no idea how hard it is trying to stifle my enthusiasm in the theater as director James Gunn pays homage to all the same films I enjoyed in the 80’s, but as if that wasn’t enough, he pairs that imagery with the sounds of the seventies. Bowie, J5, The Runaways and The Five Stairsteps are just some of the amazing tracks I heard while watching the most amazing “3D friendly” visual effects I’ve ever seen. The marriage between sight and sound has never looked better!
SYNOPSIS:
Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” finds space adventurer Peter Quill the object of a bounty hunt after stealing an orb coveted by a treacherous villain, but when Quill discovers the power it holds, he must find a way to rally the quartet of ragtag rivals hot on his trail to save the universe.
As we all know, the 80’s was filled with films that were over the top, most of that over the topness came through in the acting, but that level of cheese, although “grates” on me now, looking back, still etched itself in my mind. Well this is were a bit of now-ness comes into play. The films star Chris Pratt who plays Quill, isn’t Jack Burton (Big Trouble in Little China) nor is he Buckaroo Banzai, but he eases into a part that he’s smart enough to know, has to be played with honesty. For the most part, the majority of Americans didn’t know who TGOTG were up until now. So here’s the chance for everyone to make the roles their own like Star Wars (minus the completely unknown cast) and if the cast and director James Gunn, intend to get the most mileage out of this new franchise, they all have to bring that level of honesty that’ll make kids, thirty years from now, go “I fucking loved that film” and thankfully… they’ve all done just that.
Everything about this film is fresh and new (well that’s everything except the easter eggs), but those were respectfully done. You get a real sense, while watching, that you are in fact watching a group of misfits doing the best they can in seemingly insurmountable odds. It’s still a comic book film, but not in the Avengers/Spiderman/XMEN way. It’s fresh and undoubtedly material that studios wouldn’t have gone anywhere near ten years ago. My how time flies. TGOTG is living proof that even with a huge company like Walt Disney taking over MARVEL, there is still fresh property i.e ideas yet to be touched. The success of this film is a result of passion. Everything came together for this movie. The art direction, the brilliant cast, the director, the latest advances in vfx, the cinematography and above all…..DAH MONEY!!! This was marketing and PR done right! Again, no one except the fans, knew who TGOTG were and yet they broke 11 Million on opening weekend. There is something to be said about that kind of public relations.
(Via. THR)
Marvel Studios and Disney’s Guardians of the Galaxy grossed a whopping $11.7 million on Monday, the best showing of the summer, save for Memorial Day. It’s also the best Monday gross for any Marvel title outside of The Avengers ($18.9 million).
Make no mistake, I will be seeing this film again “in the theaters”. It’s so worth the few dollars extra to to see it in 3D. As I was saying to my wife ,while watching it, the nebulus backgrounds and colorful/visceral environments constantly popped and did what most 3D films don’t..it reminded me, all through the film, that I was watching 3D. Not like most where you forget why you paid the two dollars extra. Which in itself is more than enough reason to see this action packed, fresh and visually amazing film. I highly recommend The Guardians of the Galaxy and if you have kids bring them, this experience will hopefully stay with them forever!
