OMG this movie is so awesome. I'm a big Marvel guy, and went in with expectations that it would be good, but it blew those away in a very good way. Excellent throughout - every second. Great acting, writing, comedic timing, effects, heart. Just awesome. All five of the main characters were terrific, and they have excellent actors in secondary roles as well. I went in expecting a fun movie that would be part of the greater Marvel universe, but came out with a movie that may be one of my all time favorites. I think that highly of it. 9+/10 stars. Highly recommend if you were on the fence.
saw it in IMAX 3D last night, unbelievable. loved it. of course, that was after drinking 5 pints and stumbling into the movie theater.
One thing I loved about Guardians of the Galaxy, is that it helps prove the myth that darker is better. Not all super hero movies need to be dark to be good. In fact some super hero movies (Superman) are hurt by doing the darker route. It is not about being "dark" or "campy". You can make a great campy Superhero movie (Spider-Man) or a great dark super hero movie (The Dark Knight), what matters is have the essentials for a movie. A plot that makes sense and you can follow. Characters who are enjoyable to watch and are grounded enough to be believable (for instance reacting to seeing your truck destroyed). Good writing and directing. basically make a good movie and people will like it. Make a bad movie and people will hate it. Doesn't matter if it is dark or campy, just needs to be enjoyable.
Saw Spiderman 2 on my flight out to San Fran (so night before I saw guardians of the galaxy). Was not a fan of Spiderman 2 at all. surprisingly, I didn't dislike Garfield as P Parker as much as I anticipated, but the remaining cast (outside of H Osbourne) was pathetic. I didn't really see the point of recruiting a big name like Giamatti to play the Rhino and then only giving him a couple of minutes in the movie, why not leave it out entirely?
Giamatti was pretty much campaigning to get that role. He's a huge Rhino fan (You can find videos online of him stating that long before he was ever associated with the movie).
Unless I'm misunderstanding you, I have to really disagree. I felt that the movie was the absolute opposite of dark, and thats one reason that I loved it so much. Other than the opening scenes that set the background for Peter, it was upbeat and fast paced for the most part, and I thought that Quill was a wonderful, goofy, fun character. The material was light and could get laughs, even through dark topics. I actually thought of some of the threads on the board talking about dark shows and movies, and thought of Guardians as a shining example of how something could be the polar opposite and be wonderful. I couldn't help but think of Firefly at numerous points, and even though Whedon only had a minor role in the movie, I would imagine that James Gunn was heavily influenced by him.
So far, the first part of my prediction is coming true: http://www.digitaltrends.com/movies/guardians-galaxy-director-hints-identity-star-lords-dad-return-thanos/#!bC1lb3
Gotta try and steal some X-Men thunder... Since Marvel can't use the word "mutants" in their movies, Inhumans is a pretty safe bet, IMO...