Guardians of the Galaxy

 

After spending a few months perfecting my vocal performance of Hooked on a Feeling Guardians of the Galaxy finally arrived in the cinema.  A convincing trailer, general Marvel excitement and internet hype meant that Guardians was always going to be one of the most anticipated films of the summer.

Would it deliver?

PLOT:  Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) is taken from earth as a young boy and grows up to be a thief working for Yondu Udonta (Michael Rooker).  Quill steals a mysterious orb and is hunted by half the galaxy.  After a street brawl Peter, Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Rocket (Bradley Cooper) and Groot (Vin Diesel) are all sent to prison where they meet the already incarcerated Drax (Dave Bautista).  The inmates work together to escape and are chased across the galaxy by Ronin the Excuser (Lee Pace) and Yondu who has placed a bounty on Han’s Peter’s head.  Quill and the others must learn to trust each other and work together to save the galaxy.  END PLOT

Guardians of the Galaxy marks the first time that I have gone into a Marvel film completely blind.  I had no prior knowledge of the characters or the events which unfolded and I spent the vast majority of the film thinking that Nova Prime was a planet and not Glenn Close. 

Not a planet since 1947.

 

As the film was introducing the unknown it was essential to have a strong script as there were a lot of new characters and relationships which needed to be set up in a relevantly short space of time.  The plot was fine but there were segments which were very clunky and towards the end of the film a throwaway line involving Peter’s father made the entire cinema exclaim “huh?” in unison.  The story felt familiar and on occasions there were feelings of déjà vu but any issues were forgotten whenever the five Guardians were on screen as their chemistry sizzled and the film became a pleasure to watch.

The tone throughout was fun although some of the humour did miss the mark.  There were some very decent dramatic scenes and I was surprised that the big emotional moments came from Rocket and the loud laughs from Drax and his literal understanding of the English language.  It was nice to see that the team offered more than the two minute trailer suggested.

The Guardians of the Galaxy introduced a brand new cast of actors to the Marvel Cinema Club and they did a fine job of it.  Chris Pratt was very likeable as Peter Quill and grew into his role as group leader with ease.  Zoe Saldana has been typecast in this role for years but when she does it so well is there really any reason to complain?  Former WWE star Dave Bautista was much more entertaining than expected however it was Bradley Cooper’s Rocket and Groot who stole the show.  Overall the main players were very well cast but with all ensemble pieces there is always a weak link and with Guardians it is Lee Pace who claims that award.  Pace got the balance between a grandiose performance and over acting like hell very wrong.

Bromance of the year: 2014

Guardians of the Galaxy gave us some more Thanos (Josh Brolin) who was teased at the end of The Avengers.  I hope I am forgiven when I say that I really don’t know where the Thanos storyline is going or what the significance of the character is.  I am not asking either; I am happy enough to let Marvel play it out on screen.  We also got more time with Benicio Del Toro’s character, the Collector, but this added absolutely nothing to the film other than a room filled with head nods to fans of various comics.

My biggest complaint about the film was the proclamation during the closing credits that the “Guardians of the Galaxy will return”.  Everyone knew before the film was released that there would be a sequel and I have no problem with this at all.  I just don’t want Marvel to cross the line from confident into cocky filmmaking.  A little bit of humility goes a long way.

The Guardians of the Galaxy successfully expanded the Marvel Universe and gave the audience exactly what it wanted – a great time.  It gets 8/10.  Now the Guardians have been established the next instalment can motor on without as many introductions.  I have already saved the date in my diary.

Mundane Rambling will return to review Guardians of the Galaxy two.

Fast and Furious 6

The Fast and the Furious franchise confuses the hell out of me purely and simply because I love it.  I probably shouldn’t, but I do.  It baffles me that we have are now on film number6.  The fact that the films genuinely get better with each instalment makes the situation all the more ridiculous.

In terms of my favourite summer blockbusters it has always been between Pacific Rim and Fast and Furious 6 (herein after referred to as Fast6) to be at the top of the list.

PLOT:  Dom (Vin Diesel), Brian (Paul Walker) and the gang are happily living in non-extradition countries following their heist in Brazil (Fast5).  Their crime free lives are interrupted when Agent Hobbs (The Rock) offers them all full pardons if they help catch Owen Shaw (Luke Evans). The team head to London but Shaw is a step ahead of them with every rev of an engine.  Things become personal between Dom and Shaw when it becomes apparent that Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) is alive and working with Shaw.  END PLOT

The Fast films are not famous for their intricate plotting.  This isn’t a criticism as they are heavy on fast cars and action which is what we all pay to see.  Unfortunately with a running length of 130mins (IMDB) Fast6 becomes a tad too long and it loses some of the fast paced mayhem that we have come to expect.

The return of Letty is the main problem as far too much time is spent on the character.  Letty wasn’t that interesting to begin with and Rodriguez’s special brand of acting, in which she always appears to be mentally computing really hard sums while smelling something bad, makes this subplot drag.  The promise of a full pardon and a return to LA was enough motivation for Dom and his crew to return.  Letty should have remained dead.

The main plot is the basic “stop the villain from stealing components to make a weapon that will destroy the world” caper.  The technology and science are thankfully kept to minimum.  It is all preamble to the car chases and rightfully so.

The action is fast, slick and totally in keeping with the Fast franchise.  There is more hand-to-hand combat this time around but the car action doesn’t take a back seat.  The car chases are standard fare and if you can look past the fact that the finale takes place on a suspiciously long runway it is very well put together set piece.

Character development isn’t something that the Fast films attempt but it doesn’t matter as we know the characters and if we are honest with ourselves; have affection for them.

Diesel, Walker and Jordana Brewster owe their careers to Fast and Furious and although they are never going to be bothering the Oscars they are as solid as ever.

The Rock is a very welcome returnee and although Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Sung Kang and Gal Gadot are also back it doesn’t feel like a case of the-gangs-all-here-itis.  There is plenty of humour from the supporting cast and the banter between Gibson, Ludacris and The Rock caused a respectable amount of giggles.  Family is a key theme in Fast6 and it pays off at the end of the film when there are a few shocking moments and, as a fan of the characters, I felt them.

Luke Evans is a decent villain but is hampered as his screen time is minimal; again, if the Letty subplot wasn’t shoehorned in I think Evans would have been given a lot more to do.

It would have taken a lot for me not to enjoy Fast and Furious 6.  This was probably one of the easiest trips to the cinema I’ve had in quite a while as I knew exactly what I was going to get and I got it.  There are arguments to be had about the top speed of a tank but this isn’t the blog that is going to make them.

Fast and Furious 6 didn’t disappoint and it will in all likelihood be viewed again in glorious 2D before it leaves the cinema.  Fast7 is coming next year and Fast6 laid the groundwork for anticipation levels to be ridiculously high before I had left the screen. 

Fast6 gets an 8.5/10 – it won’t be the best film of the year but the franchise knows its strengths and plays them well.

Fast Five

There are some franchises which suck you in and you could not, even if your life was dependant upon it, offer up a respectable reason as to why you are on board with this particular turbo charged bandwagon.

I blame clever release dates aka there was fuck all else out. It is the only viable explanation as to why this is the third instalment of the Fast and Furious saga that The Nerdy Trio have been to see on opening weekend.

PLOT: Fast 5 opens exactly where Fast 4 finishes. I realised this in the cinema and subsequently I died a little shortly thereafter. Dom (Vin Diesel) Brian (Paul Walker) and Mia (Jordana Brewster) are on the run in Rio where they chance upon a micro chip that leads them on an adventure whereupon they stand to steal $100,000,000.00. Agent Hobbs (Dwyane Johnson) and various local criminals are unhappy about this. There is a car chase. There is a nice little “get the gang back together montage” and before The Rock can scream “BRING IT!” the explosions start. There is a fight scene between two big bald headed lumbering juggernauts of manly testosterone. Paul Walker has very blue eyes. Diesel and The Rock stare so intently at one another I thought I saw a brief glimmer of man love. There are cool cars. They get the money. Down town Brazil is destroyed forever. END PLOT

The plot is irrelevant but allows us to have some minor car chases in order to build up to the big finale which is as ridiculous as it is awesome.

Paul Walker is a very bad actor who has struck it lucky as all these movies require him to do is to smile and look attractive until the stunt double is ready to take over.

Vin Diesel cannot be considered an actor as he always come across as some sort of doughy mechanical retard whose batteries are in dire need of changing. The Rock just plays The Rock and even then I think he is always slightly miscast. It is only a matter of time before these two play brothers in the LOUDEST (but mostly dialogue free) action film of all time.

If The Rock had taken up the offer of a hug this would have been a totally different movie

The supporting cast through are quite fun. I think that Ludicrous has this wonderfully dry delivery (either that or I am giving him way too much credit) and although saddled with some god awful lines Tyrese Gibson is charming. These two were fun together.

I am not even embarrassed to admit that there was always something cool about the character of Han. I am glad that we are forgetting that he actually died in Tokyo Drift in order to keep the character around - either that or the Fast & Furious movies are trying to mind fuck us all with a complicated time line of events.

In action franchises each instalment gets bigger and louder with each passing movie and Fast 5 is no different and to be honest I am grateful. I could sit here and type out a list of faults in the movie, the fact that it is totally unrealistic and of course the bad acting but what would be the point? If you are wanting a thought provoking critique on the modern failings of society then you have walked into the wrong screen.

Fast 5 is a classic leave you brain at the door and enjoy the noise, pretty cars and explosions kind of film. It gets an 8/10 for the cinema experience - I will never see a Fast and Furious movie outside of the cinema