For those of you not lucky enough to get into one of the secret screenings that previewed 17 minutes of “Guardians of the Galaxy” (in nationwide release August 1), you’re in luck– several of our robots in Salt Lake City and Austin got in and we’ve got some opinions about it. (Minor spoilers throughout– but you wouldn’t be reading about a preview screening if you cared about minor spoilers? Right? Right.)
First, it rocks. James Gunn opened the show talking to us, the audience, about how they really worked to fill the entire screen in the IMAX format. And boy, did he deliver. These space scenes look epic. I’m not a huge fan of 3D, but you haven’t experienced real 3D until you experience Rocket Racoon piloting a spaceship through a giant explosion that fills the screen and then him coming at you screaming. Bet you duck when it happens.
Second, the plot. What we were treated to was probably not the first 17 minutes of the film, a couple of trailers as the bread around the sandwich filling of maybe minutes 7 through 20. We saw the “Usual Suspects” lineup trailer that we’ve seen in several trailers, and then our heroes are processed into the prison known as the Kyln. Rocket and Groot immediately express their dominance by picking a fight with the biggest guy around. (Like you do in prison.) And then Rocket immediately begins devising a plan to get out. Thanks to Groot, their opportunity comes sooner rather than later, and each member of the nascent “team” has to assemble one item to be able to make their escape. They argue, they kick butt. . .violence, mayhem, jokes. . .
We then got to see a new, extended trailer.
In this, there are some great, important reveals. The biggest of these, in our collective opinion, is getting to see Ronan (the Accuser). Ronan also gets name-checked in the scene we saw, teasing us with just how important he might be.
This likely means they’re going with more of the Ultimate Universe’s take on Ronan, where he was also one of Thanos’s children. Sibling rivalry between Gamora and our big bad? I’ll take it.
Those are my first thoughts. Anyone else?
Clang! Boom! Steam!: I think that Rocket is the star of the show.
Ronan looks soooo cool.
Drax got the biggest laugh by far.
Groot’s powers look way cooler than I thought they would.
There’s some subtle string work they’re doing with Gamora that I think will be really cool in her fights and I just f@#$ing love Gamora regardless.
Peter Quill will hold it all together and ground it with no problem at all.
It’s going to be a weird movie for sure but I still have every confidence in it.
More than anything I just loved the aesthetic of it all.
Looked like something straight out of Heavy Metal magazine and the space ships and battles looked completely nuts.
Swankmotron: Did they tease anything extra?
Clang! Boom! Steam!: Thanos.
I mean we already knew that and they show the tiniest half second of him from behind and it still sends shivers up the spine.
I’m actually more excited for Ronan. Ronan is a bad ass and he looks super creepy.
Citizen-Bot: Ronan I thought was THE big reveal, as was Gamora’s relationship to Thanos and intentions (as in she’s on the outs with them and looking to betray them). Nice that they settled that quickly. This script is really tight. They do a lot with a little in terms of establishing character, motivation, etc. All killer, no filler.
Agreed Rocket stole the scene, but everyone got something awesome to do. Really showcases that they truly mean this as an ensemble piece.
And that Drax line with the thesaurus and metaphors. . .even more priceless was Gamora’s reaction.
And this is gonna be weird to say, but. . .I really lose every single one of the actors into these characters. . . maybe a little less Andy Dwyer, err. . . Chris Pratt, but he’s going to be our anchor as the audience, so that’s ok. But I didn’t get a hint of ol’ smugface Bradley Cooper or Vin Diesel and I totally forgot that was Zoe Saldana.
I’m hooked. I’m sold. Several people yelled at the screen to be able to watch it again. I think everyone in our theater would’ve liked to see that again.
August 1st can’t come fast enough.