I must say to start this off that this may have been the most enjoyable experience I've ever had in a movie theatre. AMC was ready for Guardians. The double feature included a poster, "backstage pass", & two buttons. A not so shabby amount of "swag" to make the movie seem like more of an event. Also always a plus the large cups & large popcorns were themed for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, something that was left out for Beauty & the Beast's Event. Yours truly even nabbed a prize in a comic book Guardians of the Galaxy themed trivia contest during the intermission between Vol 1 & Vol 2. An answer one letter shy of my own name, J'son, won me a choice of T-shirt or Soundtrack. (Of course I went with the Soundtrack) The most impressive thing though, as with the last event we attended, was the fans. You can feel the electricity in the air & it's like everyone knows they're amongst friends almost. It's an awesome experience. Now the movies at hand:
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 1
The first time I saw this movie I fell in love with it. Every single part of it. It not only jumped to be one of my top 5 Marvel films, it became one of my favorite Sci-fi films as well. (Right under Star Wars of course, probably over the prequels though.) First of all, James Gunn is the true star of this movie. He having written & directed, this movie is like a "sandbox" video game is has everything in it. Drama, Comedy, Sci-fi, Action/Adventure. Hell, there's so much great music you could probably almost call it a musical too. You would think that would be too much to be crammed into one film, but it's blended together perfectly. Then, there's the cast. If someone was ever born to play a part, Chris Pratt was born to play Star Lord. Star Lord is the human-born taking the part of leader for this group of miscreants. Zoe Saldana plays Gamora, one of Avengers behind-the-curtains baddie Thanos's daughters. Vin Diesel finds as many ways as possible to emote the words "I am Groot" as the giant one-phrased tree creature Groot, & Bradley Cooper doesn't "call in" his amazingly entertaining voiceover as Rocket Racoon. Dave Bautista was the wildcard coming in for me though. Being a wrestler turned actor doesn't have a successful track record despite The Rock. However, he was used to perfection in this, & gave a very entertaining performance. Lee Pace's Ronan the Accuser, though he could have used a littlemore backstory, was one of the more successfully pulled off villains in the Marvel universe as really coming off menacing. He was also convinced he was doing something he was supposed to be doing, which always tops your I'm in it for money, power, or destruction type villains. There were many characters introduced as well. There's a pirate like character that took in Star Lord as a boy when his mom died Yondu (Michael Rooker), Gamora's ready to kill her sister sibling Nebula (Karen Gillan), Korath (Djimon Hounsou) ally of Ronan, Nova corps member Rhoman Day (John C. Reilly), Nova Prime (Glenn Close) & collector of all things in the galaxy rare, The Collector (Benicio Del Toro). I've heard older people say that this is how they felt when they came out of Star Wars for the first time, & that totally makes since I've never seen anything quite like this. The ending point was a little lack-luster, but those have been just been hit or miss thus far in the Marvel universe. I would suggest this movie to anyone & be very surprised if they did not enjoy it. I just have to add as well though, that the use of 3D in this movie is amazing. I love 3D, I even have a 3D television. I'm not in it for the things popping out of the screen though, I'm in it for the depth it adds. Almost like looking through a giant window. Now for those who have not seen the first, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 1, the following will most likely have Spoilers due to it being about the sequel.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2
Let me start this off with this is how this movie is supposed to be seen, directly after seeing Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 1. These movies flow together seamlessly, even closing off plot points introduced in the first such as the identity of Star Lord's father, the sisterly feud of Gamora & Nebula, & the evolution of the newest addition to the cutest character ever created club, Baby Groot. This movie seemed to never take itself seriously as I'm not quite sure I've laughed out loud that much in a theater in a long time. Yet, in it's few somber moments it would immediately shift & bring you to tears. James Gunn is back to write & direct (hopefully forever), as well as the main team plus Yondu. Kurt Russell joins the fray as Star Lord's father along with the empathic Mantis (Pom Kementieff). Additional appearances include Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki), Taserface (Chris Sullivan), Kraglin (Sean Gunn), & Stakar Ogord ( Sylvester Stallone) along with a slew of surprises. This movie definitely holds its own with it's predecessor, as I enjoyed every second of it. The developing relationships between the characters are phenomenal. We get a lot more Rocket Raccoon this time too. Which is awesome as he's one of my favorite parts of the first. Then there's the "unspoken thing" between Star Lord & Gamora on it's way to becoming bigger than Sam & Diane from Cheers fame. The soundtrack was on point as well, like most of the movie feeling like a natural transgression from the first. They even nailed the ending, along with so many after credit scenes I lost count. I couldn't have asked for more from this film & Vol. 3 couldn't arrive fast enough. Definitely go see this movie in the theater while it is in 3D. It is worth it, transport yourself to another galaxy.
