And it was a raccoon
Yeh, a kick ass raccoon. He lives out there in the galaxy and he's a bad ass bounty hunter and all round criminal. He was created, against his will and he has a chip on his should about it. He also has a wicked sense of humour. Goes by the name Rocket. And he's a Guardian of the Galaxy
Rocket does not roll alone. He has himself a partner. Name of Groot. He's a giant .. tree. But he's alive. He has a lot of surprising abilities and a surprising personality. Groot is a man .. or tree ... of action but a being of few words. In fact his vocabulary consists of a single phrase "I am Groot." As Rocket explains "He pretty much can speak three words I and Am and Groot and always in that order." As it turns out though, those three words are an entire language, one which only Rocket can understand. Groot may be my second favorite character that I've encountered in a long time
Groot, of course, is also a Guardian of the Galaxy though they never intended to be such a thing. He and his kick ass raccoon partner start out trying to fulfill a bounty. They need to capture a notorious intergalactic outlaw who is on the run from his previous partners and who has in his possession a mysterious orb that is desired by some very very bad people. The outlaw's name is Peter Quill. He is a Terran, a citizen of Earth and he prefers to be known my his nom de guerre, Starlord. A name that very people seem to take seriously. Upon an adversary's blank stare Peter mumbles "Yeh man, you know .. the Starlord" Another great character and the only one in an entire movie who does wear heavy makeup or who is CGI
So, yeh, I'm talking about the movie Guardians of the Galaxy. It follows the three aforementioned characters and several more on a romp through the galaxy. And romp is the right word. This is one of the funniest movies I've seen in a long time and yes, for a sci fi space opera with superhero undertones, all the humour is intentional. It also has tons of action, some really high end special effects, clever Marvel dialogue and some solid performances
There are more Guardians of course. Two more, in fact, all heading off to find the orb and lay waste to the bad guy who so badly wants it. Yes, there is a plot and no, it doesn't really matter. It really is about the characters and the humour and that wide eyed "oh shit did you see that" quality of classic space opera; like the original Star Wars movie. But where that movie seemed to have been dreamed up in a little boys bedroom, Guardians was definitely written in a bar. In Texas. With a fight in the background
The other Guardians are Gamora, the deadliest assassin in the galaxy and a woman with some very personal reasons to protect the orb. Deadliest assassin may be a bit of hyperbole, she often finds herself on the wrong end of a beat down but then even in space, the kick ass heroine needs to be rescued every now and then.
Then there is Drax the Destroyer, a giant hulking dude on the vengeance trail and the most literal being in all of space. When the big man misconstrues one of Peter's Terran references it is suggested that the statement went over his head. Drax responds "Nothing goes over my head. My reflexes are too fast. I would catch it"
The dialogue in this movie is flat out hilarious, the best example of Marvel smart assery I've seen since the original Iron Man. And it is perfectly delivered by a very strong cast.
Before this movie I really did not know much about Chris Pratt, who play Starlord but damn the guy is amazing. He is a very brave actor, not afraid to be goofy, to be silly, to temper the smart assery with vunerability. And he gets some juicy lined "I come from a planet of outlaws, Billy the Kid, Bonnie and Clyde, John Stamos ..."
As Drax, WWE wrestler Dave Bautista acquits himself well. He has the dry delivery of Literal Man down perfectly and wisely underplays the emotional content. Most of these characters are strangers to each other and must be shoved together to form a superhero team, this is done quickly and some of the details of their lives are omitted in the process but that just makes us wanting more and yes, there will be more.
Zoe Saldana plays Gamora. She is a seasoned hand at this sci fi thing. Avatar, both of the Star Trek reboots, not to mention kick ass female action movies like The Losers and Columbiana. She knows how to go about her job, mixing her high kicks with just the right amount of emotional content. And like Pratt, she is not afraid to be a little goofy. When Peter observes that a race has stick up their butts Gamora responds "Who was it that put the sticks up their butts?"
Now we get back to my two favorite characters, Rocket and Groot. They are not real. As in, they are CGI or mostly CGI and in Rocket's case all CGI. Animated. But damn, how well they are animated. The expressions on the raccoon's face are incredibly realistic, from the wrinkling of the muzzle, the movement of the whiskers to the glint in his teeth. It matches one of the best performances in the movie, the incredible voice work of Bradley Cooper.
I really really love this character. Funny, tough, poignant all at the same time. You can't take your eyes off him. He is a genetically altered raccoon with a stick up his butt and nothing makes him happier than laying down some mayhem, usually for no reason whatsoever. There is sadness to Rocket's story but the script and Cooper know just when to drop that in and just when to pull it back and let the raccoon blow up something. In Rocket's words "There ain't no thing like me, but me!"
Fucking eh brother
Then there is Groot. Ah, Groot. The giant sentient tree who can only express three words and can only be understood by Rocket and who has a lot of secrets and surprises up his sleeve ..er... bark. Groot is voice by Vin Diesel. Compared to Bradley Cooper, Mr Diesel seemed to have the easier job. But he is good at this. He uses that deep scratchy voice to good effect with very few words. Diesel has done this again, see The Iron Giant. Groot and Rocket's partnership is never fully explained but that is a story I really want to explore more fully
I started this post after seeing Guardians on its debut but got side tracked before I got posted it. So you have heard about this movie. I won't go into spoiler mode here. All I have to say about it, is that it genuinely one of the most entertaining experiences I've had at the movies in a long time. There are flaws in this film, the bad guys are not as compelling as they should be and some of the plot seems a little rushed but this is a crowd pleaser. People were laughing and applauding and all in the right places. The visuals and the 3D (and I'm not often a fan of 3D) are exceptional so if you can, see it in the theatre. But, regardless I really only have one thing to say
GO SEE THIS FUCKING MOVIE AND MAKE YOURSELF HAPPY
And oh yeh .. We are Groot
No comments:
Post a Comment