I'll be pondering this in more detail over the next few days (and as I allow myself to read more about the film), but …
… That was a damned fun movie. I laughed, I gasped, I laughed some more, I winced, I enjoyed myself a lot.
It was not a great movie. It was not even the greatest Marvel Cinematic Universe movie (I'll still give that to The Avengers). But it was a lot of fun, I'm glad I went to see it in the theaters (and the 3D was well-used), and I will ponder seeing it again while it's still there.
The Guardian characters themselves were a heroic hoot (Zoe Saldana's Gamora was the weakest, but still worth the watch). The supporting cast were — okay (both good guys and bad guys), nothing Oscar-winning but playing well their part. The story was decent, the FX were spectacular, the after-the-movie bits were fun-but-disappointing, the music was as advertised, and …
Well, they'll be back. And I'm looking forward to it.
Good enough for me. I'll see it Monday, most likely.
Umm… There were rumors that a certain duck makes an appearance in this movie. Can you confirm or deny…?
Wait. Maybe I don't want to know.
Yes, I do. Tell me!
Hold on. Maybe not.
Aargh!
Agreed on all counts. I went in expecting Dave Bautista's Drax to be one of the weakest, character-wise, yet found myself laughing at him the most.
+Scott Randel It's already been confirmed. He appears in the scene when the Collector first appears. He's in a box directly over and behind his head.
+Les Jenkins There are many reasons I want this movie on Blu-Ray ASAP, and a dissection (so to speak) of the Collector's collection is one of them. All sorts of interesting bits and bobs there.
+Mark Means I agree — I wasn't impressed by the trailer segments with him, sadly, and was disappointed early-on by the changes in his origin, but over time he really grew on me as a character. Also, I got more and more fascinated by his tatoos.
Oeigin changed? Was Drax no longer created to destroy Thanos? Does Thanos have no history yet in the. MMU?
+Scott Randel Yup. Nope. He has history, but it's not very well defined as yet; more reputation than anything else.
So who is Drax now? I knew he wasn't going to be Moondragon's father, but I figured that his mission to kill Thanos would figure in a story where the villain is Thanos!
+Scott Randel I … won't offer more spoilers until you've seen the movie. It works, moderately well, without pulling in more backstory than needed. I'm not thrilled, but I also understand the creative decisions made.
Well, the Marvel Universe (comics edition) has so much backstory they can't be expected to adhere to it all. At least Captain America fought in WWII, eh? Not like the first two TV movies.
I'd still like to know how somebody got this approved. I can't see the suits going for it unless… somebody used… !!!
The Infinity Gauntlet! It must be real! It's the only explanation.
GotG set a record for an August opening! And only $1,000,000 less than Captain America 2! Impressive.
+Scott Randel I'm going to be curious to see what sort of legs it has — what the drop-off will be next week. There was a lot of positive buzz ahead of time — will that translate into word of mouth this week? (It's sitting at 92% on Rotten Tomatoes at the moment.)