Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume 2

  The Guardians of the Galaxy; those madcap misfits that cruise the stars for fun and glory returned to the big screen today. All of the major players return as Peter Quill/ Star Lord (Chris Pratt) finally learns who his father is. Turns out, it's not the fanatical J'Son of the Spartax Empire but instead Ego, the Living Planet, played by veteran actor Kurt Russell. 
     Meanwhile, Rocket Raccoon, (baby) Groot, and the space pirate Yondu (Michael Rooker) find themselves in the middle of a mutiny sparked by the deadly Nebula (Karen Gillan). Will the daughter of Thanos get her revenge on her sister Gamora, portrayed by Star Trek's Zoe Saldana? While Rocket and friends get out of the mess they are in? And what is Ego's true motive behind his long overdue reunion with his son?

     Guardians Volume 2 was a fun ride but it doesn't quite match up to the original. The soundtrack filled with tons of 70s and 80s hits was just as good as in the first film. The humor was actually better than in the original (Dave Bautista's Drax was a real hoot!) and it's a visually stunning film. But the plot just wasn't as good as the first film. Thus, it's not another Empire Strikes Back.
      Sadly, with the very adorable and oh so marketable Baby Groot- this film actually comes really close to becoming another Return of the Jedi. But thankfully, it doesn't pander too much in that direct. But man, every young girl in the theatre just oohed and aahed with every scene that feature the lovable tree-being. You would have thought Orlando Bloom was Groot it was that much of a love fest...
      The first half of this film looked like it was going to be a sappy love story or film about father son bonding like the scene when Star Lord finally plays catch with his father. Yes- family is a big theme in this flick. But for a solid hour, I didn't have a clue where this was going and was really afraid this was going to be a dull interlude between the first film and the purported 'Epic' third act due in 2019. 
      Thankfully, the second act really cranks up the plot, action, and adventure. I don't want to give too much away about the plot, but if you are familiar with the character of Ego the Living Planet then you have a pretty good idea what's going to happen. So in other words, while exciting to watch, if you are a Marvel Comics expert, you know how everything is going to end and it's not something that will vest too much interested- meaning I wasn't on the edge of my seat wondering what's going to happen next.
       That being said- I do wonder how events of this film will pan out in next week's episode of Agents of SHIELD. 
       Also, if you've ever wondered if Stan Lee is Uatu the Watcher in all of the Marvel films, you get your definitive answer in two great cameo scenes. But believe me when I say if you blink you will miss at least 1 of them.
      Lastly, as we all know, this being a superhero feature, the kids are going to want to see this. Let me warn you- there's a couple of scenes in which Ego explains the birds and the bees to his son. Not graphic, but it could spark some 'Where do babies come from' conversations. The violence is pretty mild as is the language. But there are several penis jokes as well. So, if you have little ones, this could be an interesting car ride home.

     A very enjoyable movie that doesn't surpass the original. But at least it isn't a complete repeat of the first blockbuster either.

     Worth Consuming!

     Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Captain Marvel, Volume 2: Stay Fly (Marvel Now!)

 

The adage 'don't judge a book by its cover' applies here. Well, at least that's the case for the back cover. I must have found a misprint at the library because the little blurb on the back of the book didn't match the contents at all.

   In big bold letters, the back cover says that the secrets of Chewie (Captain Marvel's cat) are revealed. That part was true and I'll discuss more on that in a minute. Underneath that blurb is a paragraph that describes Carol Danvers continuing her mission in space by saving a princess from the dread Sspartax, all the while being tempted by a man from her past, guest starring the Guardians of the Galaxy.  Well, there were no Sspartax whatsoever, there was a princess but she didn't need saving, some folks from Carol's past did pop up by they were girls, and one Rocket Raccoon does not a full roster of Guardians make.

   So, let's discuss what DID happen in this volume. Well, as I mentioned earlier, the truth about Carol's cat Chewie is revealed and it's "not a cat." To make matters worse, Chewie has just gone into labor (turns out the 'not a cat' is also not a boy) all the while Rocket lets it slip to the local bounty hunting community that he's got a rare alien in his possession. Then Captain Marvel and her young ward meet up with an intergalactic rock star and must help her find a way to not become the trophy wife of a young Prince. This is where the princess comes in, but I won't spoil who marries who.

     Lastly, Carol takes an emergency trip back to earth for 24-hours to visit a sick friend and winds up in the Big Apple on New Year's Eve. When she and a department store Santa are kidnapped by some deranged foes from Carols past (once again girls, not guys) the Avenger may have to rely on some Christmas magic to save the day.

   Don't get me wrong, this volume by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Marcia Takara was really good. The art was stunningly well executed, with lots of action and humor. Tons of cool Easter Eggs, mostly in the Christmas issues, are sprinkled throughout the book. And did I mention there's a Christmas-themed story in this volume as well?

    It's just Marvel's production team dropped the ball when it came to recording the events that transpire on the back of the book. This is not the first time Marvel has done this in the past couple of years, but this is perhaps the biggest goof they've made as a whole. Not only that but I feel like if you piece together some of the things that happen in this book together with the incorrect plot synopsis on the back cover, you'll actually be spoiled as to what will most likely occur in volume 2.

   I'm torn how to rate this book. The story itself is Worth Consuming but the cover sure as heck isn't. To be fair, I'll only deduct one star from a book I'd otherwise rate a 9.

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume 2: Angela (Marvel NOW!)

  I've got to get my hands on the crossover event 'Infinity.' With completing volume 2 of Guardians, that will make it 4 'Infinity' tie-ins that I have read. If there's one thing I can tell you about that storyline is that I know Thanos is involved and he has his sights set on earth. Other than that, I am at a loss as to what that series really is about.

   Marvel's done a fantastic job getting just about every one of their series to tie-in together. The bullpen of the 2010s have built upon Lee and Kirby's philosophy established during the Marvel Age of Comics in the 1960s and exceeded that vision to the Nth degree. Events in this volume relate to important storylines in the various Marvel NOW! Avengers titles as well as Iron Man. I give major kudos to the editors at the House of Ideas for keeping all of these threads straight. I know I've would've made a few knots if that was all up to me.

  In this volume, the bounds of reality have continued to crack throughout the Marvel Universe. Star-Lord is plagued by a terrible vision of all his possible realities and now he seeks out his biggest enemy for answers. Meanwhile, the rest of the Guardians attempt to exercise some R & R  but when an Asgardian princess from an alternate universe that shouldn't exist attempts to kill Gamora, the most dangerous woman in the universe, it's back to business as usual. For the Guardians, that means rescuing SWORD from the clutches of Thanos' armies and eventually saving the earth from the Mad Titan himself.

    'Angela' sees the end of Iron Man's tenure with the team. But I suspect that with the appearance of the assassin of Asgard, the Guardians are going to have a new teammate albeit probably only for a short while. Having two deadly women on one team will make for some killer moments but eventually there's only going to be room for one alpha female.

   The art is dynamic and it matches the might of this action-packed volume. The array of variant covers is stunning as well. But I must say that as an EC Comics fan, I just adore the Weird Science variant covers the most.

   Now to get my hands on that Infinity book I mentioned earlier...

  Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.
 

Guardians of the Galaxy (Prelude to Annihilation Week)

Finally, I saw the 2014 film Guardians of the Galaxy. I'm not 100% sure why it's taken me this long. It's been a weird mash of financial shortfalls, injury, and surgeries that have culminated in me putting off seeing it and putting it off, and putting it off- until now. So, what changed?

  Recently at my local library, I found the Annihilation Omnibus. Having read it and granted a free PPV rental by DISH Network, I was finally inspired to check it out. More on this later. But first let's discuss the film.

  The movie begins with a young Peter Quill being abducted by aliens in 1988 after his mother dies of what is assumed to be cancer. We then jump 26-years to find an adult Quill now calling himself Star-Lord. When Quill finds a mysterious orb, he becomes the target of the Scavengers, a ragtag bunch of aliens who abducted Quill for some reason and now have a bounty for his capture, bounty hunters Rocket Raccoon and Groot, and Gamora, daughter of Thanos and associate of the crazed Ronan.

   After the group ends up in Nova Corps prison, they meet up with Drax the Destroyer whose got a blood lust against Ronan for killing his wife and child. With this fifth member, the line-up for the Guardians of the Galaxy is complete. Together they trek across the universe seeking to sell the stolen orb to the Collector. There, the Guardians learn that the orb contains another of the Infinity Gems and has the power to destroy worlds. When Ronan steals the orb, the team must race back to the Nova homeworld of Xandar to protect it and the rest of the galaxy from being destroyed by a now power-mad Ronan.
 
   With any superhero film that begins a franchise and an origin, the film starts off a little slow. It really isn't until the group finally all meet that it became an instant classic. Many consider lovable Groot, the living tree, to be the fan favorite of the film, but I really like Drax. He's very droll, but he's given some of the funniest lines. I felt like he stole the show though Groot does give the Destroyer a run for his money.

  Another element that stole this flick was its soundtrack. Peter has an old Sony Walkman that belts out some classic 70s tunes such as Blue Suede's 'Hooked on a Feeling.' It's these catchy songs that help make this cosmic odyssey seem more familiar and more like 'home.'

    One part of this film that I thought was hit or miss was the special effects. The home world of Xandar looked like Starfleet Academy's's wet dream. It was beautiful, but many of that's planet's residents looked fake. Some characters like Yondu, the Alpha-Centurian with the musical arrow, has blue skin. However, the skin looked like an FX computer tech just painted the image of actor Michael Rooker, in facial prosthetics, navy. I swear I was ready for him to move off screen quickly and his blue hue to follow him off screen. Zoe Saldana's green Gamora looked like that was her real skin tone but the pink-hued attendant to the Collector and many other characters looked like someone was playing around with the color on their computer monitor in order to get their desired effect and it just fell flat.

    There're lots of great Easter eggs in this film. The character of Yondu was a member of the original Guardians team from the year 3,000 (maybe this was his great-grandfather?) There's several minor characters in the background and zoo of the Collector (as well as a few baddies from previous Marvel Films.) Perhaps the biggest Easter Egg is that Thanos and his army are the same mystery characters from the first Avengers film. It's just another bit of evidence that though Marvel may not be following the comic books to an exact 'T' they do have an all-encompassing plan for their films and live-action series to help create a true live-action Marvel Universe.

Worth Consuming

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

(Wait a minute---- Didn't I say I was going to come back to Annihilation? About that- I was able to get my hands on a copy of the Annihilation Omnibus recently. In that massive 500-page plus tome, Star-Lord, Drax, Gamora, Thanos, Ronan, Nebula, Korath, and the Nova Corps play important roles. Since they were in that book as well as this film, I broke down and finally set aside time to watch GOG. 
    So, starting tomorrow I will begin a week-long review of the series Annihilation and its many prequels and companion pieces. 
     My friends, welcome to Annihilation Week.)