Once all hell breaks loose, it’s Drax and Gamora’s time to shine. Granted, Rocket is still the scene-stealer throughout (if the two things you love most in the world are Marvel, and the 2nd amendment, there’s a moment that will make you fangasm like you’ve never fangasm-ed before), but everyone gets a chance to look their coolest here. That’s looking to be the Guardians of the Galaxy one-two punch: sarcastic one minute, badass the next. There are a couple direct references to The Maltese Falcon and Raiders of the Lost Ark (including a Wilhelm scream) to help point towards which particular ingredients have inspired Gunn’s cocktail.
Gamora’s the nimble martial artist of the group, while Drax is the eloquent bruiser that’s also responsible for the preview’s funniest line. The only Guardian kept out of the fun is Peter Quill, whose rise from screw-up to saviour will likely form the spine of the film’s story. He does get a moment or two to prove himself when the guns come out, but Pratt’s job here is mostly just to bring the funny. Oh, and the beef. The earlier processing scene includes whatever the cosmic-equivalent of a delousing spray-down is, during which it’s made abundantly clear that Pratt has been eating his vegetables.
The sequence climaxes in a tense standoff that counts down to the heroes being blown to smithereens in somewhat ludicrous fashion, but the payoff is a clever capper that lets the preview go out on a high-note. Still shy of the advertised 17-minutes, the sneak peek concluded with a new trailer that mostly reused previously released footage, but did end with an extended exchange between Rocket and Peter that suggests the two will be comically wrestling for the role of leader throughout the rest of the film (the bit also includes a funny meta-joke about the sneak peek itself for good measure).
Overall? Things are looking good for Guardians of the Galaxy, for the most part. The preview did include a couple minor details that stick out negatively. The prison itself, which could have been Marvel’s equivalent of the Star Wars cantina, is surprisingly low on alien life forms. Perhaps there’s an in-universe reason that The Kiln seems 90% populated by humans, but the impressive mix of practical and CG effects on the aliens that are present makes it more confusing as to why there aren’t more of them. More minor but still frustrating is a pretty mean-spirited amputee gag late in the escape that’s both lazy, and out-of-place. Then again, the mostly full audience for the screening responded well to the joke, so your mileage may vary.
Making such a large portion of the film available for select viewing was an unusual choice by Disney, and it wouldn’t surprise us if these 17ish minutes find their way to your computer sometime soon. Our advice? Skip spoiling yourself on the surprise, and enjoy it all fresh. The footage shown is so packed with detail that it’ll be fun to watch a second time along with the rest of the film, but if you like what you’ve seen of Guardians of the Galaxy already, then it looks like Gunn and company will be delivering on that, and then some.