Note: This review is for the 17 minute preview on July 7, not the feature length film.
Today, IMAX, Disney, and Marvel hosted a 17 minute preview of their upcoming GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY film and I had the pleasure of attending it nearby. Now, you might be curious why they’d only show us 17 minutes instead of the whole movie, and to answer that question…is that they simply weren’t done with the film till 2 hours prior to our screening. This was confirmed by James Gunn’s twitter today as he said the last shots were finalized today.
Instead of focusing on what we didn’t get, I’d like to go ahead and confirm what small preview I did see was spectacular. They didn’t waste time and jumped right into a longer introduction of the Guardians a la John C. Reilly in the Xandar police station. This extended preview helped cement the characters more in the pre-established Marvel universe, as well as showcasing us their personalities to us.
This was followed by 10 minutes of the Guardians in the Kyln, the prison of the cosmos. This longer scene contained action, humor, and lots of ‘fuck yeah!’ moments that made me root for the characters, despite their criminal status. It showcases how alien, yet familiar the location and characters will be in the film, while definitely delivering on all fronts. It doesn’t sacrifice other aspects for non-essential humor/action, which made the 17 minutes definitely feel like it only last five.
I have to admit, that Rocket portrayed by Bradley Cooper was the most brilliant decision ever, as well as Vin Diesel’s Groot. These two really are the heart of the film and bring these two alien creatures to life. Star-Lord and Gamora play second seat to those two in the preview, but rest assured they will definitely be instrumental to the rest of the film, especially Star-Lord/Chris Pratt. Drax was the only one who I felt got short changed, but it seems there was some history between him and Star-Lord prior to this scene. Everyone looks visually incredible, including Rocket’s close-ups and the way Groot grows and expands parts of his body for weapons/shields.
Without spoiling the scenes, I can say that my face was lit up with a giant grin the entire time, as well as silently fist pumping for the Guardians almost every minute. As the short preview dwindled down, they did a trailer-esque vibe playing Cherry Bomb from the soundtrack. It gave us better looks at Ronan and Yondu in quick succession, and some of the crazy/amazing scenes we can expect to take place on Knowhere. Needless to say, if I wasn’t already excited for this film to premiere next month, this preview only cranked it to 11.
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