Everyone’s been talking about this trailer all week. There was even a 15-second teaser to get us worked up for the main event. Which is still just an ad for a movie. Not the movie itself.
And now that we can actually see the damn thing… I’m not seeing it. What’s supposedly so cool about this story? That one of the characters is a raccoon? And another one is a houseplant? That they’re all assholes? It all looks pretty generic-space-opera to me.
This is directed by James Gunn, who made Slither and Super (“Shut up, crime!”), so maybe it will be smart and funny. But I don’t see much evidence of that here.
Part of me thinks that this is Marvel deliberately thumbing its nose at DC. It’s effectively saying, “Look, we can pull anything – seriously, anything – off our shelf and make a hit movie. How’s that Batman/Superman thing coming along?”
If Marvel really is confident about making anything into a hit film, then I hope they start working on a Captain Marvel movie soon. Katee Sackhoff is ready and waiting.
Black Panther is another one that gets tossed back to the DC-haters. Also, Marvel doesn’t even have control of all of it’s A-list characters.
True. Which is probably another reason why they’re mining oddball titles like this. Wouldn’t mind a Black Panther movie either. Chiwetel Ejiofor would be awesome.
I am all for anything that involves Katee Sackhoff. I think you mean Ms. Marvel, though. Captain Marvel, through an odd twist of history, actually belongs to DC now.
My understanding is that DC’s Captain Marvel now appears under the title Shazam!, to avoid copyright infringement on Marvel’s current Captain Marvel comics.
Carol Danvers, formerly Ms. Marvel, is now Captain Marvel in an excellent series by Kelly Sue DeConnick, which I’m following. The new Ms. Marvel is apparently a Muslim teenager from New Jersey. Come to think of it, that sounds like it’d make an interesting film as well.
How are they assholes? Because the plant is too tall? Because Starlord didn’t want the guard fussing with his music? Because the raccoon spit?
Are you not having a good day?
I’m quoting the guard character in the trailer, who’s supposed to be an authority figure that we’re supposed to see our heroes tweaking the authority of.
Duh. Stupid me. Apologies!
I dunno, it made me smile. I don’t care if it’s not top-shelf superheroes, I dig teams.
I don’t care if they’re not top-shelf superheroes. I just don’t see what’s allegedly interesting enough about them that I should want to sit through a two-hour movie with them.
Looks like the people who made the trailer didn’t like it. Too soon to tell about the movie itself.
The people who made the trailer didn’t like the trailer they made? Interesting. Is there an interview online somewhere?
Nothing like that – just that it felt kind of perfunctory to me. I’ve cut a few trailers in my day and if the studio doesn’t know how to sell a movie it tends to grind most of anything interesting or cool out of it. I could be wrong, of course – friends of mine who know all about the Guardians are over the moon for this trailer, so what do I know?
I’m with you, MaryAnn. The trailer did nothing for me. The movie just looks…odd…to me.
Granted, I never even heard of these characters until recently, so I have nothing invested in them like some diehard comic book fans might.
Still, as of now, my interest is pretty much nil.
The comics are good natured comedy. Kind of like Buckaroo Bonzai, which is why a lot people are scratching their heads over the tons of money thrown at it. Is there really an audience for this?
It’s a space opera that doesn’t seem to be taking itself too seriously. Looks like fun to me.
io9 has a breakdown of the trailer with some background information from the comics (which I haven’t read). I know, I know, the movie should stand on its own, but I just think the source material looks like it has some pretty crazy world-building, with a “why not?” spirit (Rocket Raccoon helps protect some kind of cosmic Gideon’s Bible? awesome Beatles reference!). If the movie manages to capture that spirit it should be a hell of a lot of fun.
I really like Chris Pratt in his role in Parks and Recreation. Hopefully he’ll be as enjoyable to watch in this film as RDJ was in Iron Man. (And it looks like if you’re an actor named “Chris” your chances of being in a Marvel film go up considerably…)
Yay, petty self-important manchildren are still a thing in the spacey future. I’m so relieved.
Hey, you Marvel and DC fans who keep telling me that there’s more to your favourite comics than trying to appeal to generic twelve-year-old boys who want lots of action and (safely delineated) sexuality? This.
You know, I’m tempted to quote that space cop right here.
The Marvel and DC series that I enjoy DO have more to them than action and sex pitched to 12-year-old boys. But I’m not gonna bother telling you about them if you insist on painting all the comics (and all the fans) with the same brush.
The best Marvel and DC comics have social commentary, compelling characters, difficult moral questions, and witty dialogue. I wish some of those things had been in this trailer.
I keep telling myself: James Gunn made Slither and Super. Then I think: He also wrote Scooby-Doo.
Yeah, that’s exactly what the fans always say. “Not all the comics are like this! There’s good stuff too!”
Nobody ever seems to be willing to name a title, though. Go ahead; I won’t laugh at you for your tastes.
Yes. Not all comics are the same. There are good ones and bad ones. This is the basic argument against prejudice, in any aspect of society. What’s your problem with it?
Maybe not to you, because you’re being a dick about it and people may be asking themselves what’s the point. I could mention Morrison’s Superman or DeConnick’s Captain Marvel or Azzarello’s Wonder Woman, but if you won’t bother to try them and put some nuances into your assumptions, I won’t waste effort trying to convince you.
Yeah? You’ve preemptively laughed at any defense of superhero comics, which is why it seems pointless to engage you on this topic.
Saga, preacher, y the last man, the sandman, the unwritten, unknown soldier, joe the barbarian, watchmen, v for vendetta, fables, the walking dead, the league of extraordinary gentlemen, persepolis, maus, the five fists of science, hellboy, john constantine hellblazer, sin city, just to name a few. Why are books with drawings so offensive to you? Do you live in an 80’s teen movie or something?
No, but I do expect people to be able to understand the question. Foolish of me, I know.
Hint for the hard of reading: I didn’t say “all comics”.