Thursday 31 July 2014

Review: Guardians Of The Galaxy (second-pass)

World of Blackout Film Review

Guardians Of The Galaxy (3D) Poster

Guardians Of The Galaxy (3D / second-pass / SPOILER-FREE)
Cert: 12A / 121 mins / Dir. James Gunn
WoB Rating: 7/7



I think I'm still slightly overwhelmed by this film, so don't have too much more to add from my previous, stunned review (which is also spoiler-free, ftr). I enjoyed Guardians Of The Galaxy every bit as much as before, although some of the initial impact is lessened for obvious reasons. And seeing the film in a theatre where the volume isn't turned up to Deafen The Audience™, means that I actually caught all the plot exposition this time; it still arrives in blink-and-you'll-miss-it bursts, so a second-pass helps here.

The downside today was that there were only 30 or so people in the auditorium, and while the many jokes didn't fall flat, the empty-beats after the gags designed to be filled by laughter are underscored slightly by the lack of an audience to provide it*1. I think the film will be received more warmly by large audiences, so this is a one you may want to brave the Saturday night showings for. And in other grumblings, I still think the soundtrack element is pushed a little too hard, largely because while they're good songs, they're not all great ones.

But you know what? Guardians Of The Galaxy is still an absolutely outstanding movie. At a squeak over two hours, it's not the shortest film in the series but it's at the lower-end, and for director James Gunn to use that time not only to introduce the audience to a wealth of new characters, but more importantly to also get that audience to care about at least five of them? That's quite some achievement. There are a few notable differences from the comic-incarnations of the Guardians, but that's to be expected, and in this case applauded.

I have a little background reading to do before I see the film again, after which the next review will be full of spoilers and nit-picky questions. In the meanwhile, go and see this film.

The business-end:
• What's the 3D like? Nicely immersive with no ghosting, although the film will be fine without it.
• Yes, Stan Lee's got a cameo.
• There's no mid-credits scene as such, but The Jackson 5 segment serves the same purpose.
• Yes, there's a post-credits scene, so hang around. One for the old-schoolers.



Is the trailer representative of the film?
It certainly is.


Did I laugh, cry, gasp and sigh when I was supposed to?
I certainly did.


Does it achieve what it sets out to do?
It certainly does.


Pay at the cinema, Rent on DVD or just wait for it to be on the telly?
Go to the cinema for this one.


Will I think less of you if we disagree about how good/bad this film is?
Er, yeah. Yeah, I will.


Will I watch it again?
I certainly will.


Is there a Wilhelm Scream?
Well, even with a much more sensible volume level this time around, I didn't catch the Wilhelm. If you've heard one in here, be a love and let me know where it is, yeah?.


And if I HAD to put a number on it…


And my question for YOU is…
Without going into spoilerific details, aren't some of the songs on Peter's mix-tape a little… well, inappropriate, given the circumstances of him having it?




*1 Seriously though Cineworld; 8 showings a day? I know it's the Summer holidays, but there's no way they'll all be filled, meanwhile you're scattering your audience when you could be putting the screens to more efficient use, surely?

DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.

1 comment:

  1. To answer your question, Awesome Mix #1 was made by his mother, not by Peter.

    ReplyDelete