BLOOD WORK: SILVER TONGUED SILVER SCREEN: GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 (2017)

It's a wonderful world we live in where I can say "Guardians of the Galaxy" and almost everyone has an idea of what I'm talking about. If this was 2013 and I said "Guardians of the Galaxy" or even the first half of 2014 most everyone wouldn't know what I was talking about. The joke we would say was that only three people knew about the Guardians, when in reality it was a few thousand. Still, a few thousand out of 7 billion people on the planet isn't much in the grand scheme. Now, Guardians has become something I never dreamed it could be. It really is a miracle.

I kind of feel like I should be grateful that these movies are even being made. Because, let's face it, in the order of comic book characters that should be made into movies and deserve to be made into movies, Guardians of the Galaxy is likely way down the list. But somebody took a chance on the Guardians and a miracle happened. Makes me kind of feel like I shouldn't complain and have no right to complain about anything regarding the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. I should merely consider myself lucky that Guardians even exist at all. And I am.

It's like this, I was already sold on the Guardians of the Galaxy even before they ever announced it as a movie. So I'm looking at these movies as adaptations of one of my favorite novels, in this case a comic book series. The first Guardians movie is undeniably entertaining and enjoyable. But I wasn't 100 % happy with some of the character adaptations. And I go back and forth on whether or not I'm okay with how they defeated Ronan, mainly the dancing part. Long story short, I still enjoy the first movie but there are aspects of it that I wish were different. If only it were closer to the source material.

Regardless I am still giddy as a schoolboy with anticipation for GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2. Guardians kicks off the 2017 summer movie season and is the first of three films from Marvel Studios this year.

THE PLOT

Shortly after the war against Ronan on Xandar, the Guardians have set out to help those in need. Their first stop is with the Sovereigns in which they complete their mission with flying colors, sort of. Then Rocket steals from the Sovereigns and soon the Guardians are wanted fugitives again. They escape the pursuit ships thanks to a mysterious stranger who takes them to an even more mysterious planet. When the stranger reveals himself to be Peter Quill's father, the Guardians start down a path they may never be able to return from.

WHAT I LIKED

The New Additions. Without spoiling too much, I really liked Mantis and how actress Pom Klementieff played her. Mantis wasn't exactly like she is in the comic books but they left room for her to grow into the character she is in the comics. Then there's Ego. Ego is one of Marvel's strangest characters and conceivably one of the most difficult characters the filmmakers could've ever attempted to translate to the screen with success. I loved Ego and thought his character was one of the greatest strengths of the film.

I also really liked Ayesha (Her name is Kismet in the comics) even though she's vaguely like her comic book version. There's a little flirting between her and Star-Lord at the beginning and the dialog exchanged between them is spot on for her character motivations from the comic books. Her people, the Sovereigns, are kind of like the classic Guardians enemies the Universal Church of Truth from the comic books. The Universal Church of Truth, in the comic books, have no direct connection to Ayesha but there is an indirect one. They worship one of the Guardians' greatest enemies, the Magus, and it looks like at least part of that is being set up here for the future.

Nebula. I never expected much at all from the character Nebula in the first film. But I came away from the first film feeling that she was my favorite character. I loved her intensity and ruthlessness. Her characterization was how I wished Gamora was characterized (like her comic book counterpart). She was just as awesome here as she was in the first film. Her character is further developed making her more three-dimensional than she was in the first film. I really hope she is utilized well in Avengers Infinity War.

In the same way I liked how the main Guardians were further developed from merely coworkers to finally understanding each other and becoming a family. Now they feel like a solid team. Much of this film's plot follows a familiar story, which kind of feels predictable. But in that predictable story the characters are serviced very well. Instead of repeating the pace and scatterbrained plot of the first film, Guardians 2 slows down a bit to really explore the core characters, rounding them out, and fully forming them as real people. Given, this is all in keeping with how the characters were setup in the first film. The most surprising of all of these was how much the character of Yondu is developed. By the end of the movie, Yondu, is perhaps one of the favorites.

NITPICKS

I shouldn't say anything. I should just be grateful that these movies are even being made. And I am. So I'll leave it at that. I should just skip to the verdict...

My main question is who decides which Marvel characters receive a faithful comic to film adaptation and which characters don't?

Obviously some things have to change in order to fit the particular mold that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And you can't include every detail from the novel (in this case the comic books). But if one can somehow preserve the essence of the characters being adapted then that's all that matters, right?

What I'm getting at is that this movie brings in a bunch of characters that are very near and dear to my heart, albeit their roles in this movie are very small. But even so, they're there. I like the actors playing them. I was happy to see these actors. But I never would've picked these actors for these characters. They look (with a few concessions) and act very different from their comic book counterparts. They're nothing like I hoped these characters would be when I'd eventually see them on screen.

There's a lot about the Guardians of the Galaxy that has been altered from comic book to film. A lot. And it's no surprise that the changes continue to get further and further away from the source material with this new film.

But, man, if this movie didn't leave me feeling conflicted. As a film and not an adaptation, I really enjoyed it. As an adaptation of some of my favorite comic books and characters... I kinda hate it. That's a little extreme but it just doesn't sit well with me.

So what's a nerd like me supposed to do? I guess I just have to treat the Guardians films like the X-Men fans treat the X-Men films, as their own separate entity apart from the comics. While some aspects of the X-Men films and the Guardians films are good representations of the comics, there's an equal portion or more that doesn't quite do the comics justice.

These films are the vision of director James Gunn, not the visions of Jim Starlin, Steve Gerber, Jim Valentino, Keith Giffen, Dan Abnett, or Andy Lanning... as much as I'd want them to be. I guess in the end Guardians Vol. 2 is very much unified with the first film, which is what's ultimately best for the film. The problems really lie with my own personal hang ups as a fan of the comic books and not seeing my favorite characters represented in the way that I wanted to see them.

THE VERDICT

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is a sequel in service of its characters. If you loved the characters from the first film, this film, if it does anything, makes you love them even more. It has everything you loved about the first film but takes the time and effort to really develop the core heroes. James Gunn's vision for the characters and the cosmic realm of Marvel is perfectly intact from the 2014 film. As for an adaptation of the comics, some elements the movie gets right and then there are others which leave me very conflicted. But those are my problems and not necessarily a problem with the movie. The movie itself is very good. But my personal feelings toward it are complicated.

Where I personally fall, taking in everything I know and love about the Guardians of the Galaxy from the comic books into account... I just don't know how I feel about it. I've only seen the movie once. Time and repeat viewings will ultimately tell how I will feel about this movie. If you've made it this far and are still with me, thank you. I hope my ramblings were at least coherent.

**UPDATE**

So I've now seen the movie twice and enjoyed it far more the second time around. I was more prepared for the changes and could just sit back and enjoy the movie for what it is. I still wish certain things were different but there's nothing I can do about any of that. In the end I do enjoy this movie quite a bit.

***UPDATE***

So, it's been longer since I've seen GOTGV2 and I have to point out some other observations. This is more nitpicking so be prepared or stop reading now, your call.

NERD RANT AHEAD!

Gamora, aside from killing the monster at the beginning of the film, contributes nothing to the overall plot nor does she really have a personal character arc in the film. If anything she merely acts as piece in Nebula's character arc, helping to complete Nebula's journey. Oh yeah, and Gamora is relegated to being the "nagging girlfriend/mother figure for the team. So, while Zoe Saldana is awesome in everything she does, Gamora is almost completely useless in the film! If you don't care about Gamora, that's great! If you actually like Gamora then her character really takes a backwards turn in this film. What's worse, if you liked the Gamora from the 2008 Guardians comic on back then this film Gamora is really disappointing.

Next is Drax. Oh my god, is Drax useless in this film! He contributes even less to the plot in this film than even the useless Gamora. Yeah, he's funny. Maybe the funniest character in the movie and I guess that in itself serves a purpose to the film. But as far as moving the plot along he does absolutely nothing. Maybe... just maybe you could say that Drax's emotions and words propel Mantis' character into action. If so then Drax, like Gamora, only serves to reinforce someone else's character. His character has no arc or journey in the film whatsoever. Gamora and Drax are MAIN CHARACTERS!! Fricken secondary Merle-Yondu has more to do in this movie, a character in which I neither cared for nor wanted to see further developed based on how the character was used in the first film. Even in Captain America Civil War, a film with double the amount of characters, the characters who have less than twenty minutes of screen time like Ant-Man, Hawkeye, and Spider-Man have more to do and are more memorable.

There is no reason why Gamora and Drax should play second fiddle to trailer-trash pirate hillbilly Merle-from The Walking Dead-Yondu!

Then there's the visual storytelling. There's a lot of sitting around and talking in this film, something not inherently bad but is a poor example of visual storytelling. Instead of showing us Ego's past we are simply told Ego's past. How cool would it have been to have seen a slightly extended prologue in which we are shown his origin? In the movie MAN OF STEEL, we could've easily been told Krypton and Jor-El's fate but instead the filmmakers showed us. Ego's little history lesson is so boring and forgettable, made tolerable only because Kurt Russell is so amazing.

There. I just had to get that out. I don't hate the film but my feelings toward it are so complicated and conflicted. I have to downgrade it from my initial ranking. So far in Phase III of the MCU this is my least favorite. It's not a bad film by any stretch. In fact it is a very good film. But while Star-Lord and Rocket seem to move forward Gamora and Drax don't and Groot is just Groot. Yondu moves forward but did we really need that? Nebula moves forward and she is by far my favorite character in these movies. And by god do I hate what James Gunn has done with the original Guardians from the comics. Ultimately this movie feels like a drop from the first film.

Overall Ranking: 6 out of 10

(my initial ranking: 7 out of 10)