Amph "You think you're the only superhero in the world?" - The Marvel Cinematic Universe

So that's where all the stray socks go.

 

We need a Phil Coulson "Cap'n Crunch" box. Yeah, I know that it's a different brand, but dammit, I want one.

 

Either that or the Collector had a flash sale after Thanos raids his place.

@Bilbo Fett - Stray socks would indicate one sock. Although Dormammu is pretty keen on all becoming One, so you might be onto something.

 

Just those three characters? They really missed my favorites.

 

There's 2 different characters on the kids size socks, I believe. Ah, here are the details, the other in kids size are Groot, Rocket and Iron Man (again).

I also just noticed in the promo art for Thor he has both eyes



I think this is just a Canadian promotion so that's probably why haven't heard of it that much. I do love the promo art of Thanos with all the Infinity Stones. Spoilers on Canadian cereal!



Canadian cereal freebies unrelated, this is going to be in 2 and a half weeks but ain't no way opening night show will be that empty (oddly, you still see at least a quarter of the theatre bail even on very first opening night shows sometimes)



I'm putting the post credit game at only 2 - mid credits after the title card and final post credits. But the real question is, will they just be materiel from Avengers 4? Oddly, I think no because the movie is so darn big they probably need that post-credit to set up A4 stuff proper. Like I was totally convinced the Black Panther stinger was from Infinity War but it was straight up made for Black Panther.

 

Funny thing about the end credits, when I saw Black Panther, 90% of the audience stayed put until the Bucky scene. The only people who left seemed to be parents with young children.

 

Disgraceful. I force my young children to stay until the very end. Spare the stinger, spoil the child.

 

Continuing on the road to Infinity War, next up Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Release date: May 5, 2017 - Worldwide Box Office = $863,756,051



Really, nothing at all worth mentioning in regards to any production problems or controversy for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. The only real question going into the film was "Who is Peter Quill's dad?" And so, when Kurt Russell was reported to play the role of Peter's dad, many felt it was perfect casting as the Guardians has a huge amount of 80s nostalgia and Russell would further that in Vol. 2.

So Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 starts off with a flashback where the audience see Peter's dad on a date with Peter's mom. And it's totally Kurt Russell from the 80s complete with the long feathered following hair. So perfect! And film is literally planting the seed for the film's plot and twist.



Next we get the first scene with the Guardians and their mission which serves for the opening credit for the film. To me, it serves as the microcosm of the film's problems, which is a lot of fluff that runs too long and not enough substance. Moreover, it's accompanied by a song that wasn't as catchy as Redbone's "Come and Get Your Love" to which Peter was dancing along to in the original film.



Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2, falls into the same trappings of most sequels and that's the mindset of "go bigger!" Vol.2 definitely goes with bigger guns and really plays up the yuck, yucks, but a lot of the jokes fall flat.






Vol. 2 is pretty much a two act film and it is not character driven as the original but rather driven by the plot, which doesn't get going until later in the film, and the therefore the jokes and humor fill up most of the screen time. I felt kind of bored and a bit frustrated as there wasn't much going on with the characters or the story. The film offers up Ayesha and the Sovereign as the early antagonists of the film, but their villainy is pretty much undermined because of Rocket's antics.



And thus we get the space chase and the feels of good guys vs. bad guys. But that's not really the case as it's a-holes vs. a-holes.






Anyway, I think Vol.2 is the most adult oriented MCU film as it depicts a brothel, Rocket curses and there's the bit of Ego spreading his seeds across the galaxy. I mean, was taken back a bit when Yondu was zipping up his pants standing next to (assuming) a hooker. I suppose it's world building and further development of the Ravagers.






The moment that it was revealed that Kurt Russell was Peter's dad felt kind of flat, as there wasn't much of a build up to it and not much of an emotional reaction by the characters. But, I suppose it was more satisfying that finding out the truth of Rey's parents in The Last Jedi.




The Mantis character was a nice addition to the team, as she has chemistry with Drax and contrast his character. However, last left Nebula with the short end of the stick as she really doesn't get much to do except be bitter and angry most of the time.




Again, despite how adorable and cute baby Groot is in the film, the gag of his scenes run too long, such as the scene where Rocket and Yondu try and give him clear instructions but baby Groot just keeps getting it wrong. It's fluff.



The only character that really gets the full arc in the film and the real heart and emotional impact of the film is Yondu. He the character that actually had the interesting and secret backstory as he was helping Ego find his children for Ego's twisted machinations. It's why Sylvester Stallone's character exiled Yondu's faction from the rest of the Ravagers. Therefore, it's Yondu that is helped by this film more than any other character. Plus he gets to show off his arrowing skills again.



Again, this film falls into the trapping of a sequel and just goes over the end with it's humor. This little bit of the film took me out of it, and I thought I was watching Who Framed Roger Rabbit?







So, as noted above, I felt Vol. 2 was pretty much a two act film. The first was was pretty much this... (characters hanging out and being funny)



The second act comes about when the Guardians learn of Peter's father's true motives for reuniting with his son. It wasn't a very compelling twist considering the film opening scene literally planted the seed for this twist. Moreover, there's no inner struggle for Peter to deal with when he finds out his father wants to take over the galaxy. I mean, it wasn't like Peter was searching for his dad in this film or the previous. Nor did he really ever express wanting to me him or be reunited with him. IIRC, Peter was apprehensive about his father when they first met as Peter long considered David Hassellhoff as his father. Obviously, Peter's emotions were all for his mother. Although, there was that nice scene where Peter did play catch Ego.




At any rate, one of the underlying themes about Vol.2 was family. That unlike the Avengers, the Guardians have a tighter bond because they don't consider themselves as friends/co-workers, but rather real family. They were all brought together because they were alone and misfits. As such, it was easy for everyone to accept Yondu as Peter's father, in all the ways a father is to a son. And that's why the line that Yondu says "He may have been your father, boy. But he wasn't your daddy” really hit and resonated. Yondu saving Peter was really the father and son moment of the film.




Of course, Yondu's funeral becomes another tearful scene in the film as not only did it remind the audience of his fatherly sacrifice but also convey his redemption in a beautiful and colorful scene.






Yondu was the heart of Vol.2 and the character that pretty much carried the film in the second act, as his own crew turned him but he stayed true to himself and to Peter, and thus he gets the final salute.





Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is one of the MCU films that that the audience could skip in preparing for Infinity War as (of right now), really didn't appear to have any connection to Thanos or the Infinity Stones. However, perhaps down the line as there are reports that the future of the MCU will be heavily in the cosmic side, and will include Stallone's version of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Additionally, the MCU setup the introduction of Adam Warlock.







Overall, I enjoyed Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2, but there's not much a story as it really isn't character driven film but rather a plot driven film. Therefore, there isn't really a second act of the film and it just goes from character introductions and jokes and then into the third act's twist. The film also doesn't have the totally awesome soundtrack of the original film, which was a very key component to the enjoyment. Hopefully, Peter's Zune will have been tracks for Vol.3 or even Infinity War. I imagine the Zune will have songs from the 90's and some tunes from the early 2000s, so it will be interesting to find out what's on it.

I love that Vol.2 had five end credits, so the audience had fun with the movie until the very end.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 doesn't offer much substance or impact to the greater MCU, but did does lay the ground work for the future path and it's enjoyable at the characters are very entertaining for the most part. Additionally, it's a visually stunning film. The CGI is one point from beginning to end. I mean, it's easily forgotten that Rocket isn't an actual person but a CGI motion captured character. It's worth watching the film for the visual artwork and costume designs.

 

@Sith_Sensei__Prime - you listed all of my issues with Vol. 2 and the Guardians as a whole. I dislike the characters more with every new bit of media (I want to drop kick Rocket into the Dark Dimension), so it's safe to say that I was not crazy to hear that Thor would have the biggest arc in Infinity War besides Thanos (because Odinson may spend so much of his time with the Guardians . Or maybe his presence will allow me not wince while watching them for once? )

For me, Yondu and Ego made Vol. 2. Everything you said about Yondu was on point.

As I've said somewhere on this board, I quite enjoy Marvel cosmic in the comics. I thoroughly enjoyed the GoTG Star Lord limited series a decade ago, thought it was hilarious. Oh well. I'll stick with Doctor Strange for my MCU cosmic and hope that whomever comes after these Guardians might work for me.

 

You're not alone in feeling the Guardians of the Galaxy was too jokey and not enough drama. The original film nearly failed with me when Peter challenged Ronin to a dance off.


But, I enjoyed the film because I didn't have my usual fanboy baggage with me, as I wasn't a fan of the comic book series before the movie.

I didn't hear Thor would have the biggest arc for Infinity War, but rather the Hulk as noted in this CinemaBlend article, "Apparently Mark Ruffalo And Kevin Feige Have Planned A Special Trilogy For The Hulk" :

 

i recently watched the lindsay ellis video essay on guardians vol. 2 and i thought it was a fresh take. she would agree with you that yondu is the emotional core of the film, but i feel she might disagree that the film lacked substance or that it wasn't character driven. anyway maybe watch it when you have time.

 

I liked the first Guardians better than the second. The second one just didn't work for me, but I loved the first one, especially the first reaction to Peter Quill's nick name:

 

@Sith_Sensei__Prime - The Quill-Ronan Dance-Off gag for the climax of Vol 1 doesn't really bother me, because it fits in with the story and the flow of the movie. Kind of like I'm not bothered by the Baby Groot keeps grabbing the wrong thing in vol 2. I felt a lot of the humour in Vol 2, however, didn't naturally flow into the movie and was kind of forced. And I completely agree about the space jump eye pop thing. Hated that in thater viewing, hated it at home, too.

 

Thanks! I spend alot of time on YouTube getting other people's views and perspective and I certainly value the ones that differ from my own. I'll most likely check this out on my train ride home from work today.

And just to further elaborate on why I don't feel Vol.2 is character driven is that Peter or the rest of the Guardians are not on the typical hero's quest. The plot is revealed to the characters pretty much as the same time as the audience, so they're really not up to anything that drives the plot forward; they mainly reacting to the plot as oppose to driving it. So, I'm curious to see Lindsay Ellis' take on it.

Yeah, see the "space jump eye pop thing" was my knee jerk reaction with I saw Peter throw down the dance off challenge, but then it cued in Gamora who rightfully turned down Peter (which was a call back moment in Vol.2 when Drax tells Peter there are two kind of people; those do dance and those that don't. Drax's wife didn't dance), and then the film let the audience know it was a distraction to allow Rocket and Drax to set up and fire the big gun. If the film didn't play it off that way, it would have completely taken me out of the film.

 

the gags in GotG, which may be jarring to some, all come from a place of character. Peter does a dance off cuz he digs music and is clearly looking for a way to put off Ronan. Baby Groot grabs the wrong stuff because he doesn't know any better and he's just trying to be helpful. This is slightly different from Thor: Ragnarok which kind of throws out character for the sake of a gag. Thor I don't think would holler in fear when strapped to a chair or would he cry at the prospect of having his hair cut. But the gags are really hilarious in Ragnarok so it gets a pass due to funny. But I think the gags in Guardians films never lose sight of who these people are.

 

I didn't enjoy Guardians 1, partly because it reduced a lot of characters I grew up with into stupid versions that didn't do the originals justice, but I did enjoy the second movie.

 

@Sith_Sensei__Prime - did not know about the Hulk, works for me. I like Mark in the role, so yay if it true.

As far as Guardians, no baggage, they just are not my bag. I am not much on Asgard in the MCU either, but that is okay. I understand TPTB have to tweak things for mass audiences. Most times, I can role with it (and I will probably warm up to Doctor Strange even more as time goes on). I get it, my tastes are limited across the board, but I will be the first to admit if I warm up to something. Who knows, I may just dig the Guardians after these Avengers movies. Or not.

 

i will let you watch the video, i'm curious to hear your thoughts. i will say though that i think ultimately what happens to the characters and the machinations of the plot are less important than their internal growth, the emotional progress that they make and resolution that they find. that's the sense in which i'd say it's more character driven than plot driven.

 

I’m almost as Guardians 2 in my marathon, and I can’t wait! It’s my 2nd favourite MCU film just behind Winter Soldier. Definitley the funniest MCU film. I was literally crying with laughter in the theatre at Rocket mocking Taserface’s name.

 

hahah yeah the entire Taserface anything pretty much makes up for any and all of GotGV2 flaws.

The Soverign laughing at his final pronouncement is so great. But even Rocket's impression of him is even better. Also a moment of respect for how great Bradley Cooper is in just Rocket's vocal performance, it may be some of my favourite work Cooper has ever done.

I know the this version of the Guardians is on the out after the 3rd movie but I would totally love, and see if they could pull it off, an entire just Rocket and Groot movie, basically putting two CGI main characters in an established real-world setting. And I think it would be fantastic!

 

Also, Taserface is Toby from This Is Us so...

 

hahahah I didn't know that but he was on a Talking Dead episode after Fear the Walking Dead that I watched for five minutes and he busted out "IT'S METAPHORICAL!!!"

So Black Panther is probably going to still be in some theatres by the time Infinity War hits, due to it's long run and I can't see it disappearing in just 2 weeks so if anyone hasn't seen Black Panther, do up the BP/IW double feature, that would rock.

 

I thought GOTG vol1 was undermined by its 1-dimensional villain and some choices throughout that undermine the premise and setting (basically, I don't buy that the Nova Corps can stop the bad guy even when he doesn't have the cube, so the whole plot doesn't feel necesssary). That flaw was corrected for Vol2, and I think that's why it works for me more. Unfortunately, Vol2 chooses to have nearly all of its characters exposit their feelings and loses points on lack of subtlety. There are too many moments where a character is shouting out why they are the way they are.

 

Unlike you I love Vol 1 and prefer it because of what you pointed out as the flaw in Vol 2. I just found it a little too conspicuously self-aware.

"Hey guys, look! We're doing all of that Guardians of the Galaxy stuff you liked so much the first time."