Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 - May 5th, 2017

[Captain Clown]

You don't really want to know.

Fiiine.

 

[Wor-Gar]

I'm sure all this negativity will backlash in a day or two and the masses will be back to cautious optimism again by Friday.

Again, this movie is not DCU bad.

 

[kiwiatlarge]

Exactly right. Though there were hints throughout that there's something very wrong with this perfect world.


OK, so someone else here has seen it. What did you think?

I enjoyed it, but pretty much agreed with your summary a few pages back... It's a cartoonishy action-lol movie that serves as a second act of three..

Spoiler

For anyone who has seen all the trailers, you pretty much know what you are getting with Baby Groot, and Drax for that matter. My criticism there would be Drax is overdone. Outside of the opening sequence which the trailers show, he's not particularly bad-ass. More comic relief. And it does start wearing thin.

I thought Rocket had a lot of good moments.

Spoiler

The ****y trapping of the Ravagers

was almost the Prime in the Forest battle of the movie.

 

[kiwiatlarge]

I read some more spoilers, so I'm kinda curious about that scene, and the villain sounds kinda good. I guess it's far too comfy a movie, and super-hero flicks are so common, that in the end, it doesn't feel like a Blockbuster.

That's the thing, and that's where we are at now. There are three of these movies a year now. And I'm just talking MCU, not DC or Xmen etc. We all should know the formula walking in and out.

They'll all be good entertainment, be we won't necessarily get that X-Men 2/Spiderman 2/The Dark Knight superhero that people are still talking about years after as the standard to beat. MCU fans mainly still seem to put The Winter Soldier as the best movie, with Avengers maybe second. Thor Ragnorak won't top those. I doubt Spiderman Homecoming will. But they (hopefully) will be entertaining.

 

[meanstreak]

so...

Spoiler

Yondu dies? Anybody else?

 

[kiwiatlarge]

so...

Spoiler

Yondu dies? Anybody else?

Not of significance

 

[Victοr]

That's the thing, and that's where we are at now. There are three of these movies a year now. And I'm just talking MCU, not DC or Xmen etc. We all should know the formula walking in and out.

They'll all be good entertainment, be we won't necessarily get that X-Men 2/Spiderman 2/The Dark Knight superhero that people are still talking about years after as the standard to beat. MCU fans mainly still seem to put The Winter Soldier as the best movie, with Avengers maybe second. Thor Ragnorak won't top those. I doubt Spiderman Homecoming will. But they (hopefully) will be entertaining.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: CUs werefun when the MCU did it, but now with every studio doing it, it's stale. After Infinity War/A4 are done, the MCU should just retire. Let the rest of the studios experience the CBM fatique and come back later, with a reboot, less meme-flicks, a smaller world, and self-contained trilogies with nods to other characters. Easter Eggs in the past were a thrill. I remember people looking at that scene where Hulk throws a rock and seeing they could see Thor in the clouds. I remember Hawkeye's sly cameo in Thor. I remember Cap's shield in Iron Man. I remember Jonah's Dr. Strange nod in SM2. Those made you go "holy f-". But now? Eh, they've lost their magic... Maybe I've just grown up. Maybe it's the fact that Nerd Culture has become mainstream, and it's not special anymore. But it all feels... hollow...

 

[Wor-Gar]

That's because it is hollow. It never did mean anything. It simply pointed out to geeks that there were others like them out there and they were sending fun little signals to their brethren. But what it really was was master marketers selling you a bag of goods. You're simply seeing the Geek Age come to its tiresome end, as with all fads.

But really, is comic book knowledge of any real value? Its not like the more you know the more likely you will get a good job... or meet a hot woman.

 

[spindrift]

Thanks!

It's still worth seeing, but at bargain matinee price and with lower expectations.


The people I feel sorry for are the guys who preordered their GOTGv2 figures at $200+ each before seeing this movie. I wonder what they'll do?

I used BBTS and can cancel anytime- I already thought about that

 

[twistedfreak]

That is a great point. In day to day life, comic knowledge is not going to get you anywhere. I have a collection of comic books, but it has nothing to do with my everyday life. It is just there. At the end of the day, it just doesn't matter. Hell, the average person knows very little to nothing about comic books. Only the fanbase will have any knowledge, since it is of interest.

 

[Victοr]

That's because it is hollow. It never did mean anything. It simply pointed out to geeks that there were others like them out there and they were sending fun little signals to their brethren. But what it really was was master marketers selling you a bag of goods. You're simply seeing the Geek Age come to its tiresome end, as with all fads.

I'd like to think that it was more than that. The truth is probably that they just wanted to make money, but I think that at least of the people involved in the birth of comics wanted to do something truly revolutionary. And they kinda did. Comic Books are the modern myths, in a way. They began with super-heroes, but now a comic book can be anything. It's a whole new medium.

In the end, yeah, it is hollow because it got out of control. It didn't remain as a geek thing that made the jump to the mainstream once a while. Now being a nerd is rather typical. You can find Daredevil stuff everywhere. Iron Man is a household name. The companies are making billions off them, and have forgotten the people that made them.

But even if we accept that cape**** is a bunch of hollow stuff, the movies could have still been something special. A once or twice per year treat. When you walked into them, you didn't know what to expect. Now, everything's spoiled in boards, sites, trailers, etc, etc. The stories that can be adapted are fairly similar, so there's no difference between the flicks.

But really, is comic book knowledge of any real value? Its not like the more you know the more likely you will get a good job... or meet a hot woman.

Honestly? Not really. And I say that as a guy who still has a pull list. I'm spending about 60 bucks on average each month. For most that's a laughably short amount, but considering where I live and my circumstances, it's a luxury. It comes about to 800~ bucks per year (add the various annuals, extra-sized issues, etc, etc). And all I have to show for it are 5 pages of paper, strung together, that can be read in minutes. I pull most of them out of "eh, I like the character", and I keep reading the same ****, month in,month out. Some are still original, like East of West, but even indies have become boring. They're mostly writers adding gore and sex while taking shots at the super-hero stuff.

But when I pick up an older book, I can see that yeah, it's childish. It's outlandish. But it's just so.damn.entertaining. Comic Books nowadays are so obsessed with being mature, relevant, "diverse" and all the other buzzwords, that they stopped doing what they're good at. Telling stories. Sad stories. Happy stories. Funny stories. Whatever. Now, it's just a contest to see who can gather more brownie points from the various internet groups.

And this "hollowness" I'd say extents to everything else. Vigeo-Games no longer interest me. I look at my ~2k Minimate collection, and I think to myself, that I've spent at least 4k on it. And for what? 2" figs that can be easily broken or damaged (must have had their paint rub off, their arms crack, ec, etc), which are stored in a giant box. I see at all the new 1/6th stuff, and see prices of 300$+, for plastic figs. I'm tempted to buy one or two, but what's the point? What's the point of buying Marvek VI IM when IW IM might be better? Why buy GotG Thanos if A4 Thanos has the Gauntlet?

Generally, everything that used to make me happy back in the day, now seems empty. And that's sad, honestly. It's not a "Gee Wiz, I was so foolish, comics r dumb" rant. I'm just sad I can't seem to enjoy the things I used to love. I constantly check comic book websites, read the same old ****, and then think to myself "why am I still doing this?". Sometimes I feel as if I should get rid of most of my Nerd-Related stuff, trim my pull to the absolute essentials (5 or so books), and buy an HT fig once or twice a year. Keep in touch, but stop being such an avid consumer.

 

[spindrift]

That's the thing, and that's where we are at now. There are three of these movies a year now. And I'm just talking MCU, not DC or Xmen etc. We all should know the formula walking in and out.

They'll all be good entertainment, be we won't necessarily get that X-Men 2/Spiderman 2/The Dark Knight superhero that people are still talking about years after as the standard to beat. MCU fans mainly still seem to put The Winter Soldier as the best movie, with Avengers maybe second. Thor Ragnorak won't top those. I doubt Spiderman Homecoming will. But they (hopefully) will be entertaining.

 

[Wor-Gar]

the people involved in the birth of comics wanted to do something truly revolutionary.

Well yes, the birth of anything new is generally like that.

Lucas is the perfect example: made Star Wars to create a modern myth and never thought it would be more than a b-movie, then in just a few short years he became a merchandising master and created his universe only to sell merchandise.

 

[Victοr]

Well yes, the birth of anything new is generally like that.

Lucas is the perfect example: made Star Wars to create a modern myth and never thought it would be more than a b-movie, then in just a few short years he became a merchandising master and created his universe only to sell merchandise.

I guess that's the final destination of anything that doesn't remain underground (and ultimately die off). It's just rather upsetting that in an age where I can see Thanos and his Gauntlet or the JL be translated to the big screen, I feel "eh", when compared to the times of SM2 or BB, when every cape flick was a special event.

 

[twistedfreak]

I guess that's the final destination of anything that doesn't remain underground (and ultimately die off). It's just rather upsetting that in an age where I can see Thanos and his Gauntlet or the JL be translated to the big screen, I feel "eh", when compared to the times of SM2 or BB, when every cape flick was a special event.

That is what happens when over saturation becomes so commonplace. A good thing becomes exploited, and now it becomes a case of too much. That sense of wonder and amazement becomes tarnished, until eventually it fizzles and dies.

 

[Wor-Gar]

The big thing coming: Pokémon.

 

[Victοr]

That is what happens when over saturation becomes so commonplace. A good thing becomes exploited, and now it becomes a case of too much. That sense of wonder and amazement becomes tarnished, until eventually it fizzles and dies.

True. Sad, but true. In the end, I guess only the memories of "better days" remain. The Ultimate line was my jam, for example, but now it shall be never spoken of again... which is probably for the best...

 

[Prime Clone]

The people I feel sorry for are the guys who preordered their GOTGv2 figures at $200+ each before seeing this movie. I wonder what they'll do?

First, I don't think the movie is bad enough to have buyer's remorse. I liked it almost as much as the original (which had freshness on its side).

Second, I've never understood the mentality of buying a figure based on how good the movie is perceived to be. You can appreciate a character and their design independently of that.

 

[Wor-Gar]

First, I don't think the movie is bad enough to have buyer's remorse. I liked it almost as much as the original (which had freshness on its side).

Second, I've never understood the mentality of buying a figure based on how good the movie is perceived to be. You can appreciate a character and their design independently of that.

I agree. Many don't though.

So how'd you like the movie? Let's hear it. I'm curious why it worked for you.

 

[Prime Clone]

I agree. Many don't though.

So how'd you like the movie? Let's hear it. I'm curious why it worked for you.

I'm disturbingly easy to please. Cases in point: I liked the PT, ASM2, STID, MoS and BvS!

But I went in with no particular expectations and found it a fun ride. I don't pretend to understand much of the in-universe backstory, so there may be elements of that that the hardcore fanboys don't like.

And Baby Groot didn't dominate, which was a relief.

Fave moments:

Spoiler

De-aged Kurt Russell (even better than RDJ!) and The Hoff's three-second cameo