We've seen 17 minutes of Guardians of the Galaxy. Here's what we thought of our best look yet at Marvel's space opera.
I'll get right to the point. I was fortunate enough to see 17 minutes of Guardians of the Galaxy with a mixed crowd of press and fans in a theater in New York City. What I saw was basically a reinforcement of everything we've already come to know from the trailers: Guardians of the Galaxy looks nice, doesn't take itself too seriously, and has some serious tunes on its soundtrack. Essentially, this was one extended sequence (with some creative editing by way of the intro), followed by a new trailer, which you can see down below.
The biggest takeaway here is probably something you may have already surmised from the trailers, but it's still nice to see it confirmed. Rocket Raccoon and Groot are going to be huge. Think of them like a considerably more badass C-3PO and R2-D2. Rocket and Groot are both impressive pieces of special effects, but they also come across as memorable. Potentially scene-stealingly memorable. It's tough for folks to compete with things like a raccoon wielding an automatic weapon on the back of an anthropomorphic tree as it is, but Bradley Cooper really helps make Rocket the center of attention, and there's plenty of fun comic timing to be had with someone else who only says "I am Groot."
In terms of plot, we were shown what is probably the safest action sequence they could have shown. You've seen the trailers, you know the team is in space jail, you know they have to get out in order to accomplish whatever it is they have to accomplish, so they may as well show us how this (mostly) happens. It's both a fun getting to know you segment for the personalities involved and a showcase for what the characters can do. In the case of Gamora, who has been underrepresented in nearly all the early marketing, we get a much better feel for what she's all about, and that's quite welcome.
I wasn't too involved in looking for Marvel clues here, but I was struck by just how much there is to look at on screen at all times (and on the screens displayed, which I'm sure will provide ample fodder for Marvel obsessives on repeat viewings). Guardians of the Galaxy certainly looked nice in IMAX, although the 3D wasn't particularly distinguished (but what else is new?) The aesthetic here is more late '70s/early '80s space opera than it is modern Marvel superhero movie, with enough alien races milling around to fill an old Star Wars RPG sourcebook, and even a Wilhelm scream. While the sets look big, busy, and lived in there are just enough splashes of color to remind you where the film's roots are, without going anywhere near the full Dick Tracy. As for the tunes, it wasn't all "Hooked on a Feeling" and we even heard some snatches of a rather forceful sounding Tyler Bates score.
Despite a certain familiarity in tone, this really feels the least like a Marvel movie of anything we've seen since, well, the original Iron Man and we probably have James Gunn to thank for that. As we already know, there will be plenty of opportunities for this film to namecheck all manner of alien races and characters that should excite the die-hards, but for most of the ticket buying public, Guardians of the Galaxy may very well feel like a return to a pre-Avengersstate, with characters who haven't achieved that full-blown pop culture saturation.
After this sequence was completed, we were treated to a new trailer, this one set to The Runaways'"Cherry Bomb." Watch it here and you'll see a little of what we saw.
It's tough to think too critically when you've got that insistent riff chugging away. Once that concluded, that was it. There was some applause, a few shouts for "more," and one gentleman proudly exclaiming that this was "the best 17 minutes of my life" (it wasn't me, I swear). I would imagine that any Disney reps gauging reactions here should be encouraged. Everyone can see the other 100 or so minutes of Guardians of the Galaxywhen it hits theaters on August 1st.
Keep up with all our Guardians of the Galaxy coverage right here.
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