"Guardians of the Galaxy" is the Best Movie Franchise Out There Right Now

Microwave popcorn taste better with a better movie franchise

I finally saw "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" this past weekend. This is not going to be a review of the movie though. That being said, the movie was incredible. I loved everything about it. I literally cannot find one thing that made me think, "they should have left that out". It was amazing, and I highly recommend, if you haven't already, watching this movie multiple times. It is so great and makes me very excited for where they are going to take these characters in future movies.

My topic for today came up when I was watching the movie with my wife. We were about 3/4 of the way through the movie, and after being silent because we were both so amazed at what we were watching, I said to her, "Guardians has taken over the "X-Men" movies as my favorite superhero movies". That was not something I ever thought I would say. I love all the "X-Men" movies, save for "Origins: Wolverine", that was a pile of trash. But, other than that, I think they are all fantastic. I know some people weren't as high on "The Wolverine" or "Apocalypse", but I found both of those very enjoyable. I love the first 2 original "X-Men" movies, and the third one was great until the last 40 minutes lost all the credibility that the first 2 had built up. Then, after the debacle that "Origins" was, they really rebounded very nicely with "The New Class" and the second one in that franchise. I never thought anything would take away my love for the "X-Men" movies, as far as the superhero genre was involved.

Then I saw the first "Guardians of the Galaxy" and I was blown away. The movie was dark, fun, funny, fast paced, action packed, well acted and directed, it was a total homerun. I went out and bought Funko brand bobble heads of both Starlord and Groot after seeing the first movie. I loved Rocket Raccoon. He is probably my second favorite superhero now, behind only Wolverine. Gamorra is a total badass. I'd rather have her on my team than most superheroes. Drax is just wonderful. Every character, and everything about that first movie was perfect. I was already a built in James Gunn fan too (St. Louis pride), so he didn't have to do too much to win me over. But, he went above and beyond and made one of the greatest super hero movies ever with the first "Guardians".

I was very excited to see the second one right after watching the first one on Blu-Ray. I didn't get to see it in the theaters because I have 2 young kids and it is hard to get out, but when it was released on the 22nd of August, and after numerous people, RD included, kept praising it, I could not wait to watch it. I had very, very high hopes after the first one being so good and all the buzz the second one got. I was hoping it was going to live up to the hype, and from the first battle scene at the very beginning of "Vol. 2", I was hooked. I just knew that, not only would it live up to the hype, but it would surpass it.

First off, this movie was beautiful to look at. The colors and the set designs and every visual was magical. The Ravager funeral, semi spoiler alert for those that haven't seen it, but know what Ravagers are, was a sight to behold. The colors were so amazing, it looked like a painting. And the actors, once again, totally brought their A game. Everyone was stupendous, but Drax was especially wonderful. Dave Bautista does such a great job with this role. He is so, so funny and plays the role to perfection. Baby Groot was almost as adorable as my almost 2 year old daughter.(She is the most adorable person ever, so that is high praise) But, it was right around the time that Nebula broke loose and trapped Yondu and Rocket that I really started to think, "these are better than "X-Men". I was just, honestly, moved by what I was watching. There are times when the "X-Men" movies can drag a little bit, but with the first 2 "Guardians" movies, I have never felt bored or thought they could lose a scene or 2 that made the final cut.

Everything they put in these movies seems essential and important to the story they are telling. And the people that they got to play bit parts in "Vol. 1" and "Vol. 2" are incredible. "X-Men" does have major actors, Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian McKellan to name a few, but they play major roles. They are lead characters. In "Vol. 1", both Peter Serawincz and John C Reilly play future cops. They don't have many lines, but both of those guys are pretty famous in their own rights, and they just wanted to be in the movie. Glenn close has a small role as the chief of these futuristic cops. She is one of the better actors of all time. In "Vol. 2", Sly Stallone shows up, and he has one important scene, then a few lines near the end. That is it. Kurt Russell has a pretty big role, but I would probably bill him as the fourth or fifth person in the credits. That is amazing to me that stars of their caliber just want to be in these movies, no matter how big or small the role. You don't see that in many super hero movies across the board. Some may say, well what about JK Simmons in "Spiderman", or Gary Oldman in Christopher Nolan's "Batman" movies, but I think those roles are pretty important. They are both way bigger than what Stallone did in "Vol. 2". And, you don't see many people popping up for cameos in the "X-Men" movies because all the mutants are played by stars, so they don't have a Stallone or Russell type role for super star actors to just show up and play. Both "Vol. 1" and "Vol. 2" have allowed Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana and Dave Bautista to become household names. Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel are already known, but another point goes to the people that make "Guardians of the Galaxy" because we never see their faces. They are voice actors for these movies. That's amazing, especially in Diesel's case, because he seems like the kind of dude that wants to be the star of everything. The fact that he is willing to just say, "I am Groot" is a big deal to me. I don't know how the people who make the "Guardians" movies convinced him to do only that, but my hat goes off to them.

Both "Guardians of the Galaxy" movies are incredible. They are so much fun and just so great to watch. I will even go as far to say that I like "Vol. 2" more than I like "Logan", and I LOVED "Logan". This is not meant to sound like me crapping on the "X-Men" movies either. I will watch all of them , except one, anytime they are on TV. But, I will stop everything I am doing, turn my phone and computer off so I can watch both "Guardians of the Galaxy" movies. They are that good, and they deserve my full attention. I can't truly say that about any other super hero movies. But, "Guardians" is worth getting totally sucked into, and having a good time. I'm so excited to see where this franchise goes from here, and I cannot wait for "Vol. 3".

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He wants James Gunn to know that his hometown of St. Louis would be a good setting for Vol. 3, and Ty is ready to take on the role of "awestruck bystander". Give us a call.  

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Better Late than Never to Catch the Great "Ant-Man"

Early screen test footage

With the release of the new "Captain America: Civil War" trailer being dropped today, I want to talk about another superhero movie I recently saw and loved. Yes, it does feature one of the heroes that will appear in "Captain America: Civil War", but it's not Spiderman. That's right, Spiderman is going to be in the movie and his appearance at the very end of the trailer is awesome. Seriously, if you haven't watched the trailer yet, read this, then watch it. "Captain America: Civil War" looks like it is going to be great.

The superhero movie I want to talk about today is "Ant-Man", and yes he is going to be in the new Captain America movie, presumably fighting on Cap's side. But, "Ant-Man", in my opinion, was a really fun and very entertaining movie. I had my doubts when I heard all the stuff about the movie. I didn't think Paul Rudd could pull off a superhero. I heard that they kept pushing the release back. I didn't think an action movie about a guy that can shrink to the size of an ant seemed that cool. And when Edgar Wright said he wasn't going to direct anymore, that was almost the last straw for me. I didn't see the movie in the theaters because I thought it was going to stink and I have two young kids. When it did come out, it got pretty good reviews, clocking in at right around 80% on Rotten Tomatoes. So, my interest became piqued again. Then, I had friends and relatives tell me that it was pretty good and they thought I'd enjoy it. I kept putting it off, even renting it from Netflix, but not watching it for almost three months, but man am I glad my wife and I watched it this past weekend. I really enjoyed the hell out of it. Like I said before, it was entertaining and completely action packed. I really loved that they got right down to the action. First scene of the movie is action packed and the rest is much of the same, with some slower moments sprinkled in.

But, let's look at all the things that kept me from watching it in the theaters.

First, the Paul Rudd thing. I didn't think he could pull it off, but he is really good in his role. The thing about Paul Rudd, he is just a really good actor. He can play goofy, like "Wet Hot", he can be charming, like "They Came Together", he can be an asshole, like "Knocked Up", he can be a teen heart throb, like "Clueless" and now he can add superhero action star with "Ant-Man". Paul Rudd is awesome and I will never question his acting ability again. Second, the push back of the release date. This usually happens to movies that the studio is afraid will not do so well, but in the case of "Ant-Man", I just think they had to push it to find a new director once Edgar Wright stepped down. I also heard something about having to recast Wasp, but I think the director thing was the biggest problem. But, this director did a great job with this movie. He portrayed a world of ants that was plausible and believable. He did a great job with the fight scenes too. This was a case of a good reason to push a release date. You want to get someone that will do the movie justice. Which leads me to reason three, Edgar Wright dropping out as director. I am a huge Edgar Wright fan. I love all the stuff he does with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. I saw "Shaun of the Dead", "Hot Fuzz" and "The World's End" all in the theaters and loved every single one. I heard they are doing another and I can't wait to see that as well. Wright is a phenomenal director, so when he dropped out, I instantly became worried. What I failed to recognize though, he stayed on as a writer and a producer. He still was involved, just not the way I thought he should be. But, after watching the movie, you can tell that he had his hand in on most of, if not all, the jokes. This made me happy that, at least, he stayed on as a writer. 

Now, my main original gripe prior to watching "Ant-Man", who in the hell would want to watch a movie about a guy that shrink to the size and control ants? Me, now, that's who. This movie pulled this off to perfection. I believed that a guy like Scott Lang(Paul Rudd), would take on a job like this so he could be with his daughter. He was a thief that just got out of jail and couldn't even keep a job at Baskin Robbins because of his past. Becoming Ant-Man was his last option in life. I also loved Michael Douglass as Dr. Henry Pym, the original Ant-Man. He was older, but wiser and still had an ass kicking attitude. Guys like Michael Douglas and Robert Redford should be thrilled when they get asked to be in superhero movies and these two are excellent in them. Evangeline Lilly, playing the new Wasp, was totally awesome. She was great as the bad guy's, Yellow Jacket, assistant that was spying on him for her father Dr. Pym and she was a total ass kicker too. The scene where she is training Lang and continues to brutally beat him is very funny. When she shows Lang how to control ants, another great scene. Lilly is great in this movie. Yellow Jacket is menacing and creepy and your typical over the top bad guy, but that is the beauty of playing bad guys in superhero movies, you're encouraged to chew scenery and this guy does it great. Then there's Lang's crew who are all very funny, especially Michael Pena.

"Ant-Man" was so good. I'd watch it again before I'd watch the second "Thor" movie, the second and third "Ironman" movies, any of the "Hulk" movies and any "Spiderman" movies, except for the first two. In fact, the only two, recent superhero movies I'd pick before "Ant-Man" would be "Avengers: Age of Ultron" and "Guardians of the Galaxy", but "Ant-Man" is a close third. If you are a fan of superhero and Marvel movies, and you haven't seen "Ant-Man" yet, check it out. It's super enjoyable and extremely entertaining.

Can't wait to see how they use him in the new Captain America movie. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man. He wonders if Marvel can make a good Ant Man movie, is Dazzler next? You must follow the tiny adventures of Ty on twitter @tykulik.