The top 12 things I loved about “Guardians of the Galaxy”(By Les)

Greetings Manic Fans. Les here to talk about “Guardians of the Galaxy.”(Just picked it up on DVD, and all I can say is AWESOME!!!!!!). Ahem….anyway, getting back on the topic. I think this film may just be more fun to watch than “The Avengers.”-which is really saying something IMHO. I have no idea if the film was faithful to the comic it’s based on, but if it is…I’m gonna start reading it. There are so many things about this superhero film that break all the cliches in superhero films. And so, I’m going to list my top 12 favorite things about “Guardians of the Galaxy.”

Warning: Spoilers and random cool stuff ahead…

 

12. Howard the Duck

I’m not kidding!…stay until the end of the credits and Freaking HOWARD THE DUCK has a cameo admonishing Tanaleer Tivan, the collector(Benicio Del Toro), for letting Cosmo the wonder dog lick his face. I didn’t think that character would ever see the light of day again after George Lucas crucified him back in the 1980’s!

 

11. Starlord’s(Chris Pratt) obsession with the walkman and cassette tape of awesome tunes vol. 1

Maybe it’s just my perspective as a music lover, but I think it’s just perfect how after breaking out of prison, he goes back in after the quartermaster who’d pocketed his tape and walkman instead of putting them in the impound. Never mess with another man’s tunes, my friends….especially if they’re the only heirloom from a deceased mother.

 

10. Rocket(Bradley Cooper) and his sense of humor

Sarcastic, confrontational, trigger happy and brilliant…as well as being a genetically altered cybernetic raccoon with all the attitude in the Universe gets you Rocket. I love this character who steals almost all his scenes. He also has a wicked sense of humor. “All we need to complete this plan is….THAT GUY’s EYE!….seriously…I need it snicker….It’s important to me…hee! hee!”

 

9. Ronan(Lee Pace) dispatching Thanos’ aide

I cheered this moment. I didn’t like that obnoxiously arrogant bastard when he was talking down to Loki in “The Avengers,” and the way he kept interrupting Ronan was really starting to grate on my nerves. When Ronan used his power mallet to turn that blue hooded freak’s head backwards to kill him it was magnificent!

 

8. Drax(Dave Baustida) comforting Rocket

When Rocket breaks down after the final battle that killed Groot, the big guy sits down and softly pets his head. These two have been hating each other through most of the film, and this moment is surprisingly tender without being “sappy.”

 

7. The Dialogue of this film was smartly paced and wickedly funny

Corpsman Dey(John C Reily): “Nova Prime, I received a message from one of the Ravagers. He says that Ronan is in possession of something called an ‘Infinity Stone and he’s heading to Xander.”

Nova Prime(Glenn Close): “My God…”

Denarian Saul(Peter Serafinowicz): “It’s a trick! He’s a criminal!”

Nova Prime: “Did he say why we should believe him?”

Corpsman Dey: “He says they just broke out of prison and they’d have no other reason for coming back. He also said that he is an ‘A’hole, but he’s not, and I’m quoting him here…100%..a dick…”

Nova Prime: “Do you believe him?”

Corpsman Dey: “Well, I’m not sure that I believe that anyone is 100% a dick…”

Nova Prime: “I meant do you believe he’s HERE TO HELP…”

Corpsman Dey: “…..Yeah….”

To be honest…John C Reily makes any line 20% funnier, my friends.

 

6. Yondu(Michael Rooker)

For the entire film, I kept thinking, What is Merle from AMC’s”The Walking Dead” doing with blue skin and an orange plastic mohawk? The two characters are nearly identical…with Yondu being just a touch crazier. Plus, I love his whistle activated arrow, that weapon kicks serious ass, my friends.

 

5. They made Kevin Bacon a folk hero

Starlord tells the legend of “Footloose” when Gamora(Zoe Saldana) refuses to dance, and the awesome that is Kevin Bacon becomes a galactic hero LOL!

 

4. Groot(Vin Diesel)

When I re-do my top 12 favorite CGI characters list, Groot will be on it. He’s such a compelling and unpredictable character. One moment he’s gentle and kind, then another moment he’s killing enemies like a total bad-ass. Also, he conveys so much meaning with a mere 3 word vocabulary. That makes 2 great animated characters voiced by Vin Diesel(The Iron Giant was the other one).

 

3. Starlord’s dance off with Ronan

It’s just so irreverent! Ronan has triumphed reaching the surface of Xandar. He’s given his grandiose villain speech and is about to use the infinity stone of death to annihilate the entire planet. It’s a serious moment, and “Oooooh child…things are going to get easierrrrrrr” Starlord sings the Mowtown classic and is doing serious 1980’s dance moves. Ronan is perplexed. He hasn’t a clue what he’s doing. The planet is about to become charcoal, and Starlord is doing a dance off competition! It’s the best villain stalling tactic I’ve ever seen in a film.

 

2. Rocket’s plan for breaking out of prison

When I get around to doing a top 12 cinema prison breakouts, this will be high on the list. “I’m gonna need a few things…” says Rocket. Using a prison light battery, a prison guard security band and a prisoner’s prosthetic leg(HEE! HEE!…), Rocket engineers a plan to commandeer the prison watch tower, turn off the artificial gravity everywhere except inside the watch tower, use the tower controls to turn the security hoverbots into rocket jets and flies the tower out of the prison and sealing it back up. When Starlord says “THAT…was a pretty good plan,” he’s not kidding. It’s positively brilliant.

 

And my #1 favorite thing about “The Guardians of the Galaxy” is….

 

1. The slow motion hero walk

This cliche is done in EVERY superhero franchise sooner or later. The heroes are walking towards the final fight in slow motion with determined expressions on their faces. What do the Guardians do? Well….

Starlord is the only one with the determined expression on his face….until he wipes his nose…

Rocket is adjusting his “package.”

Drax is doing arm flaps.

Gamora is yawning…SERIOUSLY! She’s YAWNING LOL!

Groot is just ambling without expression.

It’s just another great example of how this film doesn’t take itself too seriously and it’s really funny.

 

And those are my top 12 favorite things about “The Guardians of the Galaxy.” Did you see this film? What were some of your favorite things about it? I’d love to hear what you loved, my friends. Peace.

About Author