Guardians of the Galaxy 2

Hey,

On 9 September, I watched Guardians of the Galaxy with my family in 3-D. Warning! This post will include spoilers so if you have not yet watched it DO NOT read, you have been warned.

However, before I get into the analysis of the film I am first going to share some information with you regarding 'Guardians of the Galaxy'.

Guardians of the Galaxy was based on Marvel comics' superheroes written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanningand and was produced by Marvel Studios while Walt Disney distributed it. This film was directed by James Gunn who also directed the films: Tromeo and Juliet, Scooby-Doo 1 & 2, Dawn of the Dead and Slither.

At the beginning of the film the use of imagery from inside a creature was used to change the scenes. This was clever and a good use of media that integrates well into the movie as a connective. I like the scene where Groot is dancing to music while the beginning fight is happening yet nothing happened to him. I found that this scene was portrayed well and gave the audience humour and therefore lots of laughs. The scene following this one was of Drax jumping into the beast's mouth which was clever. Once Gamora killed the beast with her sword and explosion of colour was created that was like a rainbow shower which could create the connotation of celebration.

Later in the film Peter found his father and travelled with him to his planet, Ego's planet. The name of the planet has a psychological reference as this character is all about him and his purpose to make the galaxy all him. Ego's planet differs from all the other planets shown in this movie through its variety of bright and light colours. This suggests a peaceful planet and has connotations of heaven: a happy, joyful and peaceful place. However, from space the planet is dark red with a face which connotes hell and danger. These 2 contrasting connotations may create confusion in the audience, where they wouldn't know what to expect.

Through the use of bright and light colours as well as words such as celestial, a religious connotation of God is portrayed. Ego built his planet like how God built the earth and universe. Ego also needed to find life and meaning which he thought was to recreate the galaxy unlike God his will was to create, however the Christian God protects the world and the people that he created. Another connotation of God is where the high priestess called her creation of their new species of evolution, Adam who was believed by Christians to be the first man God made. This object also looks like a sarcophagus which connotes the Egyptian God. The colouring of this is a golden yellow which could suggest royalty that God is believed to be as he is worshipped.

The first fight scene at the beginning of this film was a good use of media as it felt like you were there. However, not only was the fight scene a good use of media but also the crash that followed because it looked realistic making you believe it actually happened. The lights used for the gun effect was also a nice form of media. The light effect was used to show the power that Ego and Peter shared that was used artistically and through this clever use of media it created connotations of God's power. I feel that a great use of media is the scene where Yondu, Rocket and Groot went through jumps to travel through different planet atmosphere's to get to Ego's world, and during this scene the characters faces distorted.

Yondu's arrow that was controlled by the Finn (worn on his head) was another clever use of media as the light travelled around the screen which was amazing and meant that you had to pay attention to be able to see where it went. This is also clever as the arrow moves in time with the music. During this sequence, slow motion was demonstrated which is a great media technique to use. The slow-motion effect was also used at the end of Yondu's life that coincided along with dramatic music, creating an emotional effect on the audience.

When most of the team went off to go to Ego's planet, music was played creating a dramatic feeling especially with a slow-motion effect alongside. During the first fight, the music quietened in areas so that the audience would not only see but also hear what Groot was paying attention to. This effect creates the feeling of seeing the scene from a different character’s view, in this case the character just so happens to be a twig as Yondu put it in the film. Dramatic music also played for Groot while trying to retrieve the Finn that controls Yondu's weapon. Using quiet music that later crescendos to dramatic loud music creates an expectation with the audience that when you hear quiet music something bad is about to happen. For example, there was a quiet scene with Gamora and then before you know it her sister, Nebula is trying to kill her. I think this is portrayed well as it keeps the audience on their toes, so to speak.

Throughout this film there has been developments of characters and their relationships with each other:

First there is Rocket who is part of the team but at the beginning of the film you see him push his friends away stealing batteries he didn't need, although they did end up being quite useful. However, by the end of the film he is standing together with the team and no longer arguing with them as a former pushing them away.

Next is Gamora and her sister, Nebula and their relationship with each other. At the beginning of the film, you hear Gamora say that "she doesn't care that she is her sister and that she is just going to take her in". This is later followed by Nebula trying to kill Gamora which ends in Nebula getting stuck in a ship that is about to explode that Gamora saves her from. However, this doesn't stop Nebula from trying to kill her. Later in the film Nebula saves Gamora from dying which obviously shows the development of their relationship as they went from trying to kill each other to saving one another. Nonetheless, I feel what showed these characters relationship development the best is that at the end of the film Gamora hugs Nebula and tells her "you will always be my sister".

Now let’s take a look at Ego whose character development isn't by far as emotional as the others. Ego starts off as being a father figure as he is revealed to be Peter's father, but when his true colours are realised he becomes an enemy. Ego is said to be a God and to him his purpose is to recreate the world like the story of Noah in the Christian Bible but more selfish and malice as he wants to destroy the world and make all the planets him.

The final character is Yondu who I believe has made the best and more emotional development through his sacrifice. From the start of the 'Guardians of the Galaxy' saga we know that Yondu kidnapped Peter until he managed to get free after years, so to the team he is an enemy. Still, this changes when he sacrifices his life to save Peter's who he viewed as a son.

 This film contains many emotional scenes. One of these scenes is when the team goes after Peter saying "We are family, we leave nobody behind". Another emotional scene is at the end with Peter listening to music given by Yondu (after his death) and Groot comes in and listens with him which is also cute. I found that many of the sad Groot scenes were cute and were portrayed well creating humour as well as many other emotions.

The movie used intertextual references which were Mary Poppins and Pac Man. When part of Ego's planet exploded, Yondu used his arrow to fly down to the ground that looks like Mary Poppins which Peter told him. When Peter went head to head with his father there was a scene where they both covered themselves with rocks to create a larger image and Peter's rock image was Pac Man.

This film had a beautiful and emotional ending. The funeral was portrayed wonderfully with loads of different and bright colours. For the funeral, Yondu was surrounded by many meaningful as well as colourful objects and was then set off into space through a tube that turned him to ash. Yondu was surrounded by colours from the rainbow through this process. Later the Guardian's ship was surrounded by Ravager ships that sent out lights that made every ship look like fireworks. This connotes celebrating someone's life and not being depressed that they have died.

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I hope you enjoyed it and thanks for reading

Amy x