17 Minutes Of Guardians Of The Galaxy
By Steve Lam
If there was ever a time I felt like crying and screaming like a four-year old who got his ice cream taken away mid-lick, it would be tonight. Courtesy of SeeItFirst, I was able to catch seventeen minutes of Guardians of the Galaxy in IMAX 3D at my local theater. I think I went through some sort of time dilation phenomenon because what was supposed to be seventeen minutes felt like seventeen seconds. The sequence shown to the audience was nothing short of amazing!
I showed up an hour and a half early to get a good seat. There was already a line when I got there. As the clock ticked closer to 7:00PM, my anticipation got greater. Then, at 6:15PM, the doors opened and guys in suits started to check our SeeItFirst passes. After verifying me as a legitimate guest, one of the guys handed me a Guardians of the Galaxy SeeItFirst collector’s poster. Sweet!
At 6:40PM, the floodgates opened and we were allowed into the theater. The show promptly began at 7:00PM. With the lights dimming, director James Gunn appeared on-screen and welcomed us to the showing. As the sequence started, I almost ended up recreating the colorful poster that you see above with my lunch because of the excitement.
SPOILER WARNING: Review of 17 Minutes of Guardians of the Galaxy
Some Good Ol’ Banter: We start off with the much-played line-up scene introducing the motley crew of characters and Jason Quill’s (Chris Pratt) famous middle finger “machine.” As they walk in a line to get stripped and put into prison uniforms, the five trade some hilarious banter which plays double-duty in showing us their personalities. The quick verbal punches and comebacks reminded me of the original Star Wars when the group was in the Millennium Falcon.
Nothing Like A Plan: Getting to the common area of the prison, we see that it’s co-ed and contains the worst of the worst that the galaxy has to offer. Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper) comes up with an elaborate plan, but doesn’t give away the end result. He just tells his new friends what he needs (One of them is an absurd request for some prisoner’s prosthetic leg.). But Groot (Vin Diesel) has already started carrying out Rocket’s plan without hearing about the warnings. As Groot’s actions causes the alarms to sound, prison drones fly in and start to fire on Groot while Rocket jumps on his back for cover. Gamora (Zoe Saldana) quickly goes into action and we see her acrobatic fighting skills. The drones prove to be no match for Groot’s strength, so heavily armed prison guards make their way in. Drax (Dave Batista) quickly subdues two of them, grabs a rifle, and tosses it to Rocket. Now armed, Rocket let’s out an “oh yeah” and all hell breaks loose.
Did I Say This Felt Like Star Wars?: Fighting their way through the guards, the five make it into the control room. As each member presents the object requested by Rocket, Jason throws down the prosthetic leg. This is where the audience broke out into laughter. Rocket didn’t even need it. He just wanted to see what the guy would look like hopping around. Piecing and jury-rigging all the objects together we find out that Rocket’s plan was to cut out all the artificial gravity in the prison except in the location they are presently in. With some more hacking, Rocket commands the drones to link to the control room and turn it into a makeshift rocket-propelled craft. As the control room flies towards the doors, the music rises and it felt like the Millennium Falcon escaping. This was probably the most awe-inspiring and stand-up-and-cheer moments. I heard some clapping in the back row while this was happening.
An Extended Trailer: As the screen darkened after their escape, the audience was treated to a new extended trailer. All I can say is that the action we saw in the seventeen-minute sequence was nothing compared to what will be seen in the full movie. After the trailer, we got another round of banter between Rocket and Jason. It seems that their initial prison escape ignited a sort of competition between the two as Jason now claims he also has a plan. Rocket lets out a laugh after hearing that Jason only has twelve-percent of a plan and continues teasing Jason some more.
August Films Will Need Their Own Guardians
You know that Marvel only gave us an appetizer and the main course will be something so satisfying that we’ll think it can never be topped (sort of like how we felt after The Avengers). The dialogue was witty and the action was hands-down some of the best choreographed scenes I have ever experienced. The 3D was also beautiful. Each and every character was immediately fleshed out and felt like living breathing beings you can actually have a conversation with. Most importantly, the experience was pure fun and excitement. The stakes were raised, but Gunn knew when to pull it back so it didn’t get too dire. All I can say is that for the “galaxy” of films opening in August, you better have your own “guardians” protecting your box office. This is because Guardians of the Galaxy is ready to blast all the competition away with Rocket Raccoon-like ferocity.
Guardians of the Galaxy has a US premiere date of Friday, August 1, 2014.