Review: "Guardians of the Galaxy"

In a perfect world, Marvel Studios would be thrilling us with their own versions of Spider-man, Fantastic Four, and X-Men, combining them into the same incredible onscreen world as The Avengers. Unfortunately, the rights to those other characters are tied up at competing studios (X-Men and Fantastic Four with 20th Century Fox, Spider-man at Sony), thanks to deals that were made long ago. Not having those characters in their cinematic stable forced Marvel to get creative, to reach into the not-so mainstream corners of their comics for characters and stories with cinematic potential. And it seems those limitations have turned out to be a benefit to the studio. Because if that "perfect" world existed, Marvel might not have had the creative or financial need for a movie about a strange band of alien misfits known as the Guardians of the Galaxy, and moviegoers would be all the poorer for it.

New Trailers: "Kingsman: The Secret Service" and "Guardians of the Galaxy"

Keeping up with the Hollywood Marketing Machine isn't easy sometimes, and in the last few days there have been a lot of new trailers released, including two high-profile comic book adaptations which will hit theaters later this year.

First up is the latest from Marvel Studios, Guardians of the Galaxy, which stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, and the voices of Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper. Described as "A group of intergalactic misfits who will need to band together in order to save the universe," Guardians has the potential to take the science fiction elements we saw in Thor: The Dark World and expand them into outright Star Wars territory. Director James Gunn (Slither, Super) also seems to have added a dash of 80's camp to the formula; there are moments here that hark back to films like Ice Pirates and The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai. I personally view that as a good thing, but it's a gamble when you're dealing with the success of a huge franchise film. This will be a good test to see how strong the Marvel brand truly is.





Next up, is Kingsman: The Secret Service, which is an adaptation of the comic series by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons. Directed by Matthew Vaughn of Kick-Ass and X-Men: First Class fame, the film stars Colin Firth as a veteran spy who recruits a resourceful young street punk (Taron Egerton) for his agency's training program. The film co-stars Michael Caine, Mark Strong, and a lispy Samuel Jackson.





I like Vaughn's movies. I really do. But, he's been hired to direct three different X-Men movies and has bailed on two of them (The Last Stand and Days of Future Past) very close to production, which in my book makes him fickle as hell. He was also in the running for the new Star Wars, a gig which later went to JJ Abrams, but his history of dropping big productions late in the game could certainly have been a factor in Disney's decision not to hire Vaughn for Episode VII.

When he does follow through on a project, however, it is hard not to argue that the finished products are stylish and entertaining. Layer Cake, Stardust, Kick-Ass, and X-Men: First Class is a pretty strong resume, and Secret Service looks polished and poised to deliver the goods. I like the cast, and the movie has that "John Steed Meets James Bond" appeal. Looks fun.

What do you think? Be sure to drop a comment here or on Facebook. You can also now tweet them to me @settingtheframe.

Review: "Furious 6"

I understand if you don't like the Fast & Furious franchise. They're easy to dismiss as loud, dumb car flicks for an image-obsessed MTV generation. The cast looks hand-picked out of Muscle and Fitness magazine and the Victoria's Secret catalogue. You're not wrong. But, what could be considered "stupid" has evolved into "silly" fun, thanks to Justin Lin, who directed the last four installments, and his writer, Chris Morgan. Through sly reinvention and subtle refinement, they've managed to turn this niche franchise into blockbuster entertainment, going bigger and improving the formula with each new chapter.