shu Back in July of 2012, Marvel Studios announced a slew of movies that would be hitting theaters in 2013 and 2014. The Dark and America: The Winter were no surprise. Both of those sequels were major cogs in the design of the movie machine. It was the other one that left people baffled. A little movie called of the would be coming to theaters in the summer of 2014.
Wait, That was my reaction. At the time, I felt that Marvel Studios should be putting more effort into telling quality stories with some of its most iconic characters. The Hulk been honored with a good movie yet. Neither has Daredevil or the Fantastic Four. Why, I thought, should the Guardians of the Galaxy be given a movie when Marvel done those bankable characters justice? I remember talking to my dad the week after the of the movie was announced.
He knows much more about comic books and the Marvel universe than I do, so I asked him who the Guardians of the Galaxy were. never forget what he told me. have a raccoon with a big I tried to keep an open mind as he went on to tell me about an anthropomorphic tree named Groot, but I could only wonder what the heck Marvel was thinking. In the recent past, weirder and more obscure comic tales have often yielded the worst movies. If you believe it, go rent or even which were all critical and commercial disasters.
If a devoted superhero movie attendee like me buy into a talking raccoon, a green alien chick and an extraterrestrial oak, why would the average movie-goer? Some comic book characters should stay in the pages, and I was convinced that the Guardians of the Galaxy were among them. A year and a half later, I saw the rst trailer during the Super Bowl and instantly set aside my skepticism. So did my friends. So did the chippy critics. So did just about everyone else.
That general optimism only ballooned over the next six months and finally reached a fever pitch last weekend. Not only did of the exceed Brought to you by: the people behind St. Joe Live Who is your favorite Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle? Andrew Gaug writer Donatello He had a sweet weapon, could kick butt, but was reserved enough to be content on working on machines. Shea Conner writer been the rebel in red, Raphael from day one. basically the Wolverine of the Turtles.
Yes, grumpy, but he also kicks the most butt. Plus, rather wield twin sai than nunchuks, a stick or a boring old sword any day. Jess DeHaven editor I know not a turtle, but how can I not say April the only girl (like me in this lineup) AND a reporter. Sean Hagewood netdude I consider myself a bit of a geek, so always liked the Donatello Plus, his weapon of choice was easy to re-create with a broom handle, yardstick, etc. 4 stjoelive.com Guardian greatness its box of ce projections, it absolutely obliterated them.
The movie raked in $94 million in its rst three days, making it the biggest opening ever for a movie released in August (previous record-holder Bourne hauled in a relatively paltry $69 million back in 2007). Only Age of ($100 million) and America: The Winter ($95 million) had bigger opening weekends this year. of the also made an additional $66 million overseas and it opened in many major markets like China, Australia, France and Spain yet. In earning that kind of response, the team at Marvel has pulled off a miraculous feat. Despite the fact that roughly 99 percent of people heard of the Guardians of the Galaxy before 2012, millions and millions of movie-goers connected with this lm.
Part of it has to do with the way it was marketed. Part of it has to do with Chris Pratt and the rest of the extremely likable cast. But, more than anything, because of the offered a refreshing change of pace. Ever since Dark captivated audiences and was bestowed the unof cial title of greatest superhero movie filmmakers have routinely tried to replicate much of what made it so successful. Notably, aimed to make comic book tales that are dark and gritty, and led to a lot of solemn superhero flicks.
Last summer, for example, of was so self-serious and brooding that it probably slashed its wrists if you gave it a razor. of the on the other hand, is naturally fun and emotionally genuine. The greatest belly-laughs of the movie come from this oddball quirks, not cheesy one-liners or the zingers that Man forced down our throats. This movie also makes viewers feel for its group of outcasts and fret over the way treated. a scene in which Quill (Chris Pratt) uncomfortably sees Rocket nightmarish science experiment scars more effective than anything from other so-called outsider franchises like or Amazing of the also approaches the notion of friendship far better than its comic book peers (here comes a few spoilers).
You feel it when Drax (Dave Bautista) warms up to his pals for the first time. You feel it when Groot impales a bunch of bad guys and looks back at Quill and Drax with this big, goofy, praise-seeking smile. You certainly feel it when Rocket cries over shriveled-up splinters after his tree-like pal saved them all from certain destruction. The skeptics myself included doubted that something as weird as of the could be a hit in the mainstream, but this movie proves that something weird can still touch a nerve. And exactly what the comic book movie genre needed.
SHEA CONNER STJOELIVE STAFF.
