Guardians brings to light Russian superheroes
I saw this movie in Russian. Something may have been lost in the translation.
Guardians (Zashchitniki in Russian) is a fun superhero film that surpasses any recent DC film not featuring Legos, but it isn’t as mind-blowingly awesome as many of the Marvel movies. There are some cheesy moments, and the actors make some questionable faces in response to what they are supposed to be doing, but overall Guardians is worth seeing for a couple of reasons.
Will it be the best superhero film you see this year? Probably not, but it also won’t be disappointing. It’ll just be some good fun to indulge in and to help create the space for more foreign filmmakers to make good films that the mainstream movie goer can enjoy, even with subtitles.
Spoiler Alert – read the rest after the ad if you want to know more about the film with possible spoilers included.
Guardians (Zashchitniki in Russian) is a fun superhero film that surpasses any recent DC film not featuring Legos, but it isn’t as mind-blowingly awesome as many of the Marvel movies. There are some cheesy moments, and the actors make some questionable faces in response to what they are supposed to be doing, but overall Guardians is worth seeing for a couple of reasons.
Will it be the best superhero film you see this year? Probably not, but it also won’t be disappointing. It’ll just be some good fun to indulge in and to help create the space for more foreign filmmakers to make good films that the mainstream movie goer can enjoy, even with subtitles.
Spoiler Alert – read the rest after the ad if you want to know more about the film with possible spoilers included.
Cold War from Russian POV
For someone who grew up during the Cold War, I didn’t give a lot of thought to the Evil Empire until I visited in 1989. However, even then, I didn’t think about the Soviet war machine. This movie presents a quick glance at the Soviet state of things and their answer to Reagan’s Star Wars program.
Russian Superheroes
More importantly, you get to look at a group of Russian superheroes that are unique in powers and artistic design. The Russian Bear makes sense. Khan uses two extremely curved swords and can put them together in an ‘S’ pattern to create a dangerous pole arm; he also has blink speed. Ler, a monk who can move rocks with the power of his mind, can also become a version the Thing. Kseniya, the invisible woman, who is invisible because she becomes clear water. Their origins lie in the Cold War program run by the Soviets and are explained through pictures within the few moments before the title placard is shown. They are the Guardians (or Defenders if you want a more literal translation that fits with the Russian holiday on which the movie was released).
Film Problems
The main villain looks like the Toxic Avenger or a baby head on a grossly overdeveloped male body. Or maybe Sloth from Goonies on a bad day. At any rate, he is so overpowered that he can strut through the film as if nothing can touch him. And nothing really can. This would be fine if he were facing the X-Men after their development, but as it stands, it feels like the Guardians are 4th level characters going up against a god.
The story also needs some work. Russia’s new super robots are a main catalyst at the beginning of the film revealing the power of the villain. They show up briefly 2 other times, once to get their butts kicked. Maybe the point is that these robots aren’t anywhere near as powerful as they seem to those who are not superheroes.
Other than the character aspect, many of the story beats are the same as other superhero team films. They just feel a little rushed at times because this movie only clocks in at 100 minutes. Just go, have a good time and immerse yourself in a little change from the average storytelling of superheroes and their teams.
For someone who grew up during the Cold War, I didn’t give a lot of thought to the Evil Empire until I visited in 1989. However, even then, I didn’t think about the Soviet war machine. This movie presents a quick glance at the Soviet state of things and their answer to Reagan’s Star Wars program.
Russian Superheroes
More importantly, you get to look at a group of Russian superheroes that are unique in powers and artistic design. The Russian Bear makes sense. Khan uses two extremely curved swords and can put them together in an ‘S’ pattern to create a dangerous pole arm; he also has blink speed. Ler, a monk who can move rocks with the power of his mind, can also become a version the Thing. Kseniya, the invisible woman, who is invisible because she becomes clear water. Their origins lie in the Cold War program run by the Soviets and are explained through pictures within the few moments before the title placard is shown. They are the Guardians (or Defenders if you want a more literal translation that fits with the Russian holiday on which the movie was released).
Film Problems
The main villain looks like the Toxic Avenger or a baby head on a grossly overdeveloped male body. Or maybe Sloth from Goonies on a bad day. At any rate, he is so overpowered that he can strut through the film as if nothing can touch him. And nothing really can. This would be fine if he were facing the X-Men after their development, but as it stands, it feels like the Guardians are 4th level characters going up against a god.
The story also needs some work. Russia’s new super robots are a main catalyst at the beginning of the film revealing the power of the villain. They show up briefly 2 other times, once to get their butts kicked. Maybe the point is that these robots aren’t anywhere near as powerful as they seem to those who are not superheroes.
Other than the character aspect, many of the story beats are the same as other superhero team films. They just feel a little rushed at times because this movie only clocks in at 100 minutes. Just go, have a good time and immerse yourself in a little change from the average storytelling of superheroes and their teams.