"There are two types of beings in the universe: those who dance, and those who do not".
This is the 15th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, released in May 2017. It's a family drama of a different kind. Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord, has never met his biological father. This has been troubling him ever since he was abducted by Yondu's spaceship in 1988. Now he meets his father, and he finds out that his father is a planet. Only in Marvel films.....
Things don't run smoothly after he meets his Dad, who has the tell-tale name Ego. After initial mistrust Peter thinks they can live together forever, because Ego tells him he's inherited his immortality. Then Peter finds out that his Dad wants to destroy all life in the universe, apart from the two of them. Even his friends in the Guardians of the Galaxy will be snuffed out. That's not the sort of Dad I'd want to be with either.
You only have to look at his face to know he can't be trusted.
Ego takes on the form of David Hasselhoff to make Peter like him more. Is that really an improvement?
Does Ego look better as Kurt Russell? Yes, that's a friendly face that might win me over. Deceptively friendly.
But what about Stan Lee? In this film he appears in two different scenes, a 10-second scene in the middle of the film and a 17-second scene after the credits. Rather than being
just another cameo it's a significant role. It ties together all of his MCU appearances. He's sitting on a rock in space talking to three Watchers. Do I really have to explain to you what Watchers are? They're one of the most highly advanced races in the universe, but they've sworn never to get involved in the affairs of lesser races. They just watch. They're scattered around the universe stationed at significant points of activity, although they leave their posts when something of importance is happening somewhere else. There's a Watcher who lives on the Moon called Uatu. He's a rebellious Watcher, because he loves the human race and repeatedly acts to protect humanity against attacks from alien races.
Stan Lee is sitting with the Watchers discussing things he's seen and done. We overhear him saying,
"At that time I was a Federal Express Man", referring to his appearance in
"Captain America: Civil War". That's interesting. Can we deduce from this that he's playing the same character in every film, someone who is gathering information for the Watchers? Let's not think about it too much, because there might be contradictions when we try to thread all his appearances together. It's just a humorous theory.
This film gets my vote for the best opening credits scene ever. While the names flash onto the screen, telling us who's in the film and who's worked on the film, Groot is dancing, oblivious to the fact that his team members in the Guardians of the Galaxy are fighting for their lives.
My recent reviews of the MCU films have been more like picture galleries than verbal descriptions, and I don't intend to change now. Here's a photo of Star-Lord, a character created by Steve Englehart in 1976. I was a big fan of Steve Englehart in the 1970's and owned most of the comics written by him, including Marvel Preview #4 featuring Star-Lord. Unfortunately my son Norman destroyed all my comics to
make room in the cellar while I was in America. That was one of the most foolish things he's ever done. He could at least have sold them. My collection was worth at least $200,000 but probably closer to $500,000. My most valuable comic was a near mint copy of Giant-Size X-Men #1.
Star-Lord is played by the actor Chris Pratt, a real life gun nut. He says he owns 40 guns for home defence. Anyone who needs that many guns has serious problems.
This is Gamora, a character created by Jim Starlin in 1975. I also owned every comic he ever wrote for Marvel prior to 1997.
On the subject of guns, Gamora is the character in the film who carries the biggest gun. Size matters!
Don't you think that Gamora's gun looks like a severed male phallus?
Drax is a character created by Jim Starlin in 1973, but he's so unlike the comic book character that Jim wouldn't recognise him. The only thing that links him with the comics is his name.
Rocket was created by Bill Mantlo in 1973, but forgotten for more than 30 years before returning to comics in a slightly altered form.
Groot was created by Stan Lee in 1960 as a one-off character, but he was re-introduced in 2008 by Dan Abnett.
Those are all five members of the Guardians of the Galaxy, but I'll add one more photo.
Ayesha is loosely based on a character called Paragon, created by Len Wein in 1977. Very loosely. The Australian actress Elizabeth Debicki was picked for the role because a tall actress was needed, and she's 6'3". Wow! Does that make her the tallest actress in mainstream films?
Both Guardians of the Galaxy films are all about music. In the first film Peter Quill carried a Walkman with a mix tape given him by his mother. At the end of the film he finally opened a present given him by his mother, and it contained a second mix tape, the tape used in the second film. Neither of them are quite the mix tapes I would have made from the 1970's, but overall they're good mixes. I prefer the first mix tape.
Ego calls "Brandy" by Looking Glass the best pop song ever written. Tastes are different, I suppose. It's a song I heard when I was young and forgot until I watched the film. If it weren't for its prominence in the film I would have had no reason to ever think about it again. To me it's a cute song, pleasant background music with no lasting value. Here's the full text, which I'm quoting because of its relevance to the film.
Brandy by Looking Glass
There's a port on a western bay,
And it serves a hundred ships a day,
Lonely sailors pass the time away
And talk about their homes.
And there's a girl in this harbour town,
And she works laying whiskey down,
They say, "Brandy, fetch another round",
She serves them whiskey and wine.
The sailors say, "Brandy, you're a fine girl,
What a good wife you would be,
Yeah your eyes could steal a sailor from the sea".
Brandy wears a braided chain,
Made of finest silver from the North of Spain,
A locket that bears the name
Of a man that Brandy loved.
He came on a summer's day,
Bringing gifts from far away,
But he made it clear he couldn't stay,
No harbour was his home.
The sailor said, "Brandy, you're a fine girl,
What a good wife you would be,
But my life, my love and my lady is the sea".
Yeah, Brandy used to watch his eyes
When he told his sailor's story,
She could feel the ocean fall and rise
When she saw his raging glory,
But he had always told the truth,
Lord, he was an honest man,
And Brandy does her best to understand.
At night when the bars close down
Brandy walks through a silent town
And loves a man who's not around.
She still can hear him say,
She hears him say, "Brandy, you're a fine girl,
What a good wife you would be,
But my life, my love and my lady is the sea".
He said, "Brandy, you're a fine girl,
What a good wife you would be,
But my life, my love and my lady is the sea".
Success Rate: + 2.3
