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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Review Round-Up
- Thread starter Blablurn
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Even though the film is getting fairly positive reviews, I imagine James Gunn must be pretty disappointed. Considering how long he's been working on this and given how he's spoken about to how committed he was to really "topping" the original in every conceivable way, having the sequel judged to be inferior must be a bit of a blow.
Incidentally, I really don't agree with the people in here who are stating that the first film would have been "difficult to top", and that any efforts to improve upon it in a meaningful way were most likely already doomed from the start. I think that coming into this film, Gunn had the immediate advantage of not needing this new story to be tied down to any of the usual woes that follow origin stories, primarily not having to dedicate the entire first act of the film to setting up this universe and all its key players. Admittedly, I wasn't a huge fan of Guardians of the Galaxy. I felt most of the characters were shallow, cookie-cutter archetypes who were all unanimously under-serviced by the script....transitioning from cut-throat enemies to wise-cracking best buds who cheerfully announce themselves as "family" far too quickly. Not to mention, that movie featured the most hackneyed, shallow central antagonist I think I've ever seen in a comic book film. As a result, I felt this film had a lot of opportunities to really build upon the foundation laid out by the first film....by going a lot deeper with its characters and their subsequent motivations in a far more meaningful way. Given the initial critical response to the sequel however, that doesn't appear like it will probably be the case for me.
Obviously, I haven't seen the film myself yet...and of course, it's still relatively early days in regards to the film's critical reception, but going by some of the specific comments in these reviews, I'm left a bit disappointed. I hoped this would finally be the film where I could finally get onboard with Guardians of the Galaxy by giving me the things I felt the original so sorely lacked, but this film doesn't seem like it's going to do it for me either.
Incidentally, I really don't agree with the people in here who are stating that the first film would have been "difficult to top", and that any efforts to improve upon it in a meaningful way were most likely already doomed from the start. I think that coming into this film, Gunn had the immediate advantage of not needing this new story to be tied down to any of the usual woes that follow origin stories, primarily not having to dedicate the entire first act of the film to setting up this universe and all its key players. Admittedly, I wasn't a huge fan of Guardians of the Galaxy. I felt most of the characters were shallow, cookie-cutter archetypes who were all unanimously under-serviced by the script....transitioning from cut-throat enemies to wise-cracking best buds who cheerfully announce themselves as "family" far too quickly. Not to mention, that movie featured the most hackneyed, shallow central antagonist I think I've ever seen in a comic book film. As a result, I felt this film had a lot of opportunities to really build upon the foundation laid out by the first film....by going a lot deeper with its characters and their subsequent motivations in a far more meaningful way. Given the initial critical response to the sequel however, that doesn't appear like it will probably be the case for me.
Obviously, I haven't seen the film myself yet...and of course, it's still relatively early days in regards to the film's critical reception, but going by some of the specific comments in these reviews, I'm left a bit disappointed. I hoped this would finally be the film where I could finally get onboard with Guardians of the Galaxy by giving me the things I felt the original so sorely lacked, but this film doesn't seem like it's going to do it for me either.
Corpsepyre
Banned
Schmoes saying the first hour is like a sitcom, with jokes left right and center. Ummhmm.
A big budget sitcom in space sounds good to me.
cartoon_soldier
Member
I mean Marvel's second movie record is pretty terrible so this being okay is good.
Then again, Winter Solider does remain Marvel's best movie.
SolidChamp
Banned
I can see this as early as Thursday here in Taipei.
This might be the last Marvel movie I pay money to see in a theatre, given that everything since the first Guardians has been utterly forgettable.
The trailers don't sell me, though. The movie looks like it's trying way too hard and doing way too much. We'll see, I guess.
The opening moments of the first film are still ingrained in my head, which isn't something I can say about any other Marvel film, really. So I owe it to James Gunn & co. to see how this one pans out.
This might be the last Marvel movie I pay money to see in a theatre, given that everything since the first Guardians has been utterly forgettable.
The trailers don't sell me, though. The movie looks like it's trying way too hard and doing way too much. We'll see, I guess.
The opening moments of the first film are still ingrained in my head, which isn't something I can say about any other Marvel film, really. So I owe it to James Gunn & co. to see how this one pans out.
TheSkullPrince
Member
Marvel's best movie? That's either Iron Man or Guardians of the Galaxy.
Iron Man would probably be a contender if it wasn't for its third act.
Overall I'd say Spider-Man 2, as for the new MCU, I'd go with Iron-Man.
SlowRevolution
Member
for some reason i thought ted danson was in this movie. disappointing morning.
Bubba_Sparks
Member
I felt like the first movie was lightening in a bottle. Not something you could recreate without it coming off as forced. They probably should have went for something unique again, rather than trying to recreate the feeling of the original.
Corpsepyre
Banned
But they're all big budget sitcoms, just not in space.
Space makes all the difference.
Thatonemoor
Member
If we want to talk about best movie I'd say winter soldier. Even though the third act isn't all that good. But none of them have a good third act honestly. Actually a better lis would be finding the best third acts in the MCU. If we were doing that I'd say Civil War probably has the best one.
TheSkullPrince
Member
Yeah I meant MCU. As for Marvel in general (including Fox), it would be out of Spider-Man 2, Deadpool, and Logan for me.
cartoon_soldier
Member
Winter Solider was an anomaly in the 2nd movie quality department for Marvel
This is the truth.
IndoAssassin
Banned
For me Civil War and Winter Soldier are tied for first as they always switch places when I re-watch them.
YesNOnoNOYes
Member
just got out from gotg2
it was so much fun. very funny, of course, and loads of actions, and it has heart, too :>
i really enjoyed it \o/
it was so much fun. very funny, of course, and loads of actions, and it has heart, too :>
i really enjoyed it \o/
To be frank I don't even understand why the first one is rated so highly. Really didn't like the whole Gamora - Quill aspect and the best parts where always around Groot, Rocket and Drax. And that dance at the end is one of the worst 3rd acts on film I've ever seen. It totally ruined the emotional moment with Groot.
Marvel really needs to step up their game imo. Sure their films are well received for the most part and heck I enjoyed Dr.Strange more than most Marvel films (thanks to its clever 3rd act) but it's time for them to evolve and not become ''just another Marvel film''. Why does everything have to be a trilogy ? Why does everything have to follow a formula ? Why can't we have tonally different, darker films ? Don't get me wrong I enjoy most of their films. But after 10 years you start wanting more instead of the same. Just look at their sequels. The only one that was better than the 1st is CA and that's because the first one wasn't that great and was tonally a bit different so the second had more room to play with. If the first CA was tonally like TWS and was critically praised the 2nd one would have been suffering from the same issues...despite the fact that TWS is one of Marvels best.
My point is 2nd and 3rd films etc. should have the same foundation but it shouldn't be a copycat of the first with bigger jokes, explosions etc. It should still very much be different in ways for it to be viewed fresh. Not more of the same.
Marvel really needs to step up their game imo. Sure their films are well received for the most part and heck I enjoyed Dr.Strange more than most Marvel films (thanks to its clever 3rd act) but it's time for them to evolve and not become ''just another Marvel film''. Why does everything have to be a trilogy ? Why does everything have to follow a formula ? Why can't we have tonally different, darker films ? Don't get me wrong I enjoy most of their films. But after 10 years you start wanting more instead of the same. Just look at their sequels. The only one that was better than the 1st is CA and that's because the first one wasn't that great and was tonally a bit different so the second had more room to play with. If the first CA was tonally like TWS and was critically praised the 2nd one would have been suffering from the same issues...despite the fact that TWS is one of Marvels best.
My point is 2nd and 3rd films etc. should have the same foundation but it shouldn't be a copycat of the first with bigger jokes, explosions etc. It should still very much be different in ways for it to be viewed fresh. Not more of the same.
Prism Sentence
Banned
I agree with some of these sentiments. I adored the first film as a theater experience and even watching it a few times at home, but I never flat out thought it was great. Characters were corny and dimensionless but everything else had much heart, which is what mattered. But I've liked the original less and less upon every subsequent viewing.
I'm also in the boat that I may stop prioritizing MCU films if they don't turn around their current trajectory this year. Ever since Winter Soldier/Civil War, they've just become less and less impactful and more forgettable, which is hard to say, because I consider myself a big fan and hate identifying with one of the many rote criticisms of naysayers.
I'm also in the boat that I may stop prioritizing MCU films if they don't turn around their current trajectory this year. Ever since Winter Soldier/Civil War, they've just become less and less impactful and more forgettable, which is hard to say, because I consider myself a big fan and hate identifying with one of the many rote criticisms of naysayers.
Checked out the rotten tomatoes page, found it pretty funny the first review straight up calls it a disappointment and RT counts that as a positive review lol.
I had faith in James Gunn, but it looks as though he wasn't able to capture the magic of the first one. Reading some of the reviews, looks like this falls into the same trap as other MCU movies. Oh well, there's always #3.
As for for all the rankings: Winter Solider was meh. MCU top movie goes to the first Gurdians or the first Iron Man. Marvel top movie goes to Spider-Man 2.
I had faith in James Gunn, but it looks as though he wasn't able to capture the magic of the first one. Reading some of the reviews, looks like this falls into the same trap as other MCU movies. Oh well, there's always #3.
As for for all the rankings: Winter Solider was meh. MCU top movie goes to the first Gurdians or the first Iron Man. Marvel top movie goes to Spider-Man 2.
RT asks the reviewer if its fresh or rotten.
IndoAssassin
Banned
CA > Wnter Soldier > Civil War are all completely different from one another and from any other Marvel movie.
Sure there are jokes but no where near as many as any of the other Marvel films. I think these movies have the least amount.
All three movies end with Cap losing somebody. Whereas all the other movies end on more happier notes.
I thought the first Guardians was my favorite MCU movie until I rewatched it a few days ago. It's way too fast-paced, has too many obvious info dumps, the characters are shallow and Quill's decision to stop Ronan after Knowhere comes out of nowhere (no pun intended). He becomes heroic because the script calls for it. In comparison, Age of Ultron has become a better movie for me on every rewatch. So I guess my point is that Vol 2 is probably gonna be better than the first, which really isn't that great if you sit back and think about it a little.
Plus, if you though the first was a 4.5/5, and the second was a 3.5/5, it could be both fresh and a disappointment. See TDKR, which the binary gaf types categorize as shit for being worse than the first two, but which most reviewers were still favorable to.
It will be hard for any other MCU trilogy to top Captain America's, they knocked his arc out of the park with each entry, taking him on the best possible direction they could.
YesNOnoNOYes
Member
I know that I'm a Marvel stan but... all of their sequels have been reviewed positively. Including this one by the looks of things. Plenty of studios would kill to have that record.
IndoAssassin
Banned
The only Marvel franchise I see with a shot to top it is Black Panther.(That is if it makes it to a trilogy before the superhero genre goes bust which is most likely since we gonna hit 12 movies in one year in 2019) I really do hope we get a BP trilogy since he's my fav character.
Civil War was pretty much an Avengers film. That's another film I have issues with much like Age of Ultron. It tried to combine TWS with Avengers and for me it fell flat because of the 3rd act and the whole Tony Cap aspect they forced on us. Remember that ''I thought we were friends'' line ? That took me right out of it. I never once thought he was a friend. Even in the Avengers films they were more enemies than friends. It's pretty much another Avengers 3rd act but this time with even more tension between those two. I actually like the first Cap movie more than the 3rd because it was more its own thing.
Maybe if Coogler stays on for the sequels. If not, whoever they get to replace him is likely to be a step down.
TheSkullPrince
Member
Civil War has terrible pacing issues though. It's isn't until Spider-Man shows up that the movie is redeemed.
Should have removed the Wanda-Vision section.
This describes every Marvel movie.
well apart from the ones that aren't that fun
exactly - and also vol. 1 was supposed to be "mcu's first flop"
expectations make a huge difference in a film's enjoyment imo
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