When Guardians of the Galaxy was announced as one of Marvel's major features over the next few years i was fairly surprised. It never seemed to me to be an adaptation screaming out forcefully for a Hollywood release. Admittedly I wasn't as familiar with them as I was with other characters, but since the announcement I have taken time to delve in to their intergalactic stories and I still believe this property offers a huge risk for Marvel and their phase 2 plans. Obviously a movie on this kind of scale has never been done before in the comic book movie world but if successful it could very well dwarf the more outlandish features of The Avengers. The introduction of a gun-wielding raccoon and a noble-intentioned tree-like creature for example is not something even Joss Whedon and The Avengers could have got away with and i would worry for the future of the Marvel movie world if this is even slightly out-of-sync with what audiences are looking for at the time of its release. In deciding very early on to make Thanos the ultimate villain across a series of films maybe it was inevitable that this band of heroes would find their way to cinema screens all over the world but in order to move their franchises forward through phase 2 Marvel will have to convince expectant audiences everywhere that there is a place for these characters within this universe.
With the surprising announcement that Chris Pratt is to play the lead role of Star Lord in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy adaptation, a lot of questions have to be asked of the future plans of the highly respected decision-makers at Marvel. I'm a huge fan of Pratt's comedic work in Parks and Recreations, along with Ron Swanson, his character provides many of the laugh-out-loud moments, but playing an intergalactic cop in charge of a proactive commando unit is a long way away from the laid-back Andy Dwyer (his Parks and Recreations character). I just don't see him as a viable candidate for the job. I've recently seen Zero Dark Thirty and of course noticed his appearance as one of the soldiers in the latter half of the film. In what is a very serious film, he still came across as the comedic element of a movie that maybe didnt really need a comedic element. It was as if the director wanted a break from the tension of the events that came before his appearance and so panned the camera round needlessly to Pratt's character for a rushed one-liner. In Pratt's defence he certainly did look the part of a highly-dependable and resourceful Navy Seal after slimming down considerably for the part, but i would still have serious reservations about casting him as the lead character in a feature that could potentially cause the current steady ground beneath Marvel's feet to crumble violently from under them.
Up to this point, Marvel have given us nothing but quality in bringing their most popular characters to the big screen, so they definitely warrant the benefit of the doubt. They have done almost everything right up until now and deserve every ounce of respect, trust and credit they garner for their efforts so far, but the future is far from certain and if one failure were to lead in to another then this golden period they find themselves in could be nothing more than a distant memory. For the moment though, as i say, they warrant the benefit of the doubt.
- If there are any die hard Guardians of the Galaxy fans outhere that can ease my mind a little, let me know your thoughts.
-Racker
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