It’s a strange feeling sensing a large number of hearts sink in unison, my own included. That seemed to be the general feeling after the 17 minute preview screening of James Gunn’s Guardians Of The Galaxy. Keep them wanting more is one thing, but keeping us foaming at the mouth for more is another story altogether. A number of IMAX cinemas around the world have screened some of Marvel’s latest movie for audiences, a few weeks before it goes on general release. Guardians has always been a gamble for Marvel. A bunch of characters (or A-holes as they’re affectionately known) which consist of an outlaw called Star Lord, an incredibly well built maniac who answers to the name Drax, an alien assassin titled Gamora, a walking tree with limited vocabulary called Groot and an insane, bad ass racoon christened Rocket. It’s a bizarre ensemble of characters from a comic book that really is only known to the comic book geek community. So plunging millions of dollars into this was always going to be a gamble for Marvel, which to be fair haven’t really missed a beat since Iron-Man hit movie screens six years ago. And that gamble is going to pay off….hugely. And you will absolutely LOVE these characters! Honest to Stan Lee you will.
Disney and Marvel asked me to introduce todays exclusive screening in the IMAX in Cineworld on Parnell Street in Dublin. With an entourage that included my four year old and a heavily pregnant wife we hit the road earlier today and after a barbequed feast at the Bison Bar on Wellington Quay, we arrived at Cineworld. With a truck load of people eagerly taking their seats, complete with a free copy of Guardians Of The Galaxy comic, courtesy of Forbidden Planet, I picked up the mic in front of one of the largest and finest screens in the country. After a few minutes of getting the crowd pumped up and I decided it was time to shut up and get on the IMAX 3D glasses.
After a brief intro by writer / director James Gunn, we got a short introduction to all the characters which has been played in most of the trailers available. Then we were transported to a gigantic, galactic prison where our “Guardians” find themselves quickly getting to know each other. What followed in the next 15 or so minutes was nothing but sheer insanity and hilarity as Rocket Racoon and company attempt to break out. I understand that this is walking a fine line on the spoiler front, so I won’t give anything else away, but trust me. This prison break was phenomenal stuff. Full of superb action and some wondrous touches this really got everybody so pumped. The standouts for me were Groot and Rocket Racoon. Voiced by Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper respectively, these computer generated creations stole minute after minute away from the rest of the cast. These two “friends” have phenomenal chemistry, but it’s the overall chemistry that is between the entire group that is really, really good. And considering that 2 of the Guardians are CGI, this was no mean feat. Originally, I wasn’t too convinced of Bradley Cooper being cast as the voice of Rocket, but after 15 seconds in his company today, I was totally convinced. This ensemble of unlikely heroes could seriously be more fun than the Avengers!
Visually, Guardians is really spectacular. Again, the standouts here are Groot and Rocket. The level of detail, care and attention put into these two characters is sublime. Individual, computer generated hairs have never looked so good. Sorry Sully! But what about the human cast, made up of Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana and Dave Bautista. To be honest, in these 17 minutes we didn’t get a whole lot of Dave Bautista, but what is there is solid. Saldana has a brooding intensity about her and seems very bad ass. And Chris Pratt’s Star Lord is as you’d expect. Hilarious and very, very likeable. While it would have been great to see a bit more of the human cast, what is there is really great.
And then a Marvel logo appeared, closely followed by a Guardians trailer and that was it. Hearts sank around the IMAX screen as a very lucky audience, who had spent 17 minutes on an incredible journey that delivered an phenomenal thrill ride, remained (g)rooted to their seats pining for more, before erupting into applause. And, while I accept that 17 minutes is not enough to judge an entire movie on, everybody was aching to see more. As far as I’m concerned, I’ve seen enough. This is going to blow people’s minds. Visually it’s incredible, it’s got an awesome cast, humour and epic set pieces abound in what is set to be one of most entertaining movies of the year. Seriously people, prebook those tickets NOW! You don’t want to miss Guardians Of The Galaxy. James Gunn has done an amazing job. This could very well be the biggest and best Marvel movie to date!
Our full review (when we see the final movie) will be online week commencing July 21st!
