Superheroes, mutants and extraterrestrial robots have landed in our movie theatres this summer, bringing excitement and action onto the big screen. Starring Chris Pratt and Zoe Saldana, “Guardians of the Galaxy” accumulated approximately $280 million dollars in the box office.
Though maybe not as intense as “The Avengers,” Rolling Stone claims this “insanely, shamelessly silly film” holds a “wild-card energy and a throwaway charm.”
“I really enjoyed [Guardians of the Galaxy]. I didn’t go in expecting to like it. I enjoyed the other Marvel movies, so I ended up liking the action and I thought the raccoon and Groot were adorable,” Jackie Wilhelm, a junior, said.
Chris Pratt plays character Peter Quill, an intergalactic bounty hunter just looking to make some cash. Quill ends up stuck saving the galaxy from the evil Ronan with the help of Gamora (Saldana), a talking, mystical tree named Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel), a raccoon packing some intense heat named Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper) and a tatted-up revenge-seeking muscle man, Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista). Together they fight to save the galaxy and to reach the top of Summer 2014’s Best Movies.
Not far behind in revenue was “Transformers: Age of Extinction,” starring Mark Wahlberg and possible break-through actress Nicola Peltz. The action-packed robot classic, the fourth of the Transformers series, brought in approximately $244 million in revenue.
A single, over-protective father raises his teenage daughter to work together with friends and save Autobots that are being targeted by government officials. Monique Allen, junior, claims that “ ‘Transformers’ was filled with action and it didn’t drag. “I think they tried to start over with the movie trilogy and people were expecting great things. I think they should make another and try to avenge the ‘Transformers’ series.”
Though the movie made a great amount of money, it seems as though the brand brought in most of the viewers, considering critics and fans were not very pleased with the actual story line by the end of the film.
Bringing in $232 million was “X-Men Day’s of Future Past,” which seemed to get great approval overall by the movie critic community and X-Men fans alike. The movie stars Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellan and Hugh Jackman, along with others to create this sci-fi adventure.
In order to change the present, the X-Men characters have to go back into the past to work with their younger selves in order to complete a life-changing mission. The movie succeeded with keeping the audience engaged while keeping the story moving at a pace that was just right.
Honorable mentions go out to films that touched the hearts of many movie-goers such as “How to Train Your Dragon 2,” “The Amazing Spiderman 2” and “The Fault In Our Stars.” The story of an exciting but emotional journey between two teenagers who meet in a cancer support group, was wonderfully done by actress Shailene Woodley and actor Ansel Elgort. The movie’s soundtrack currently has a single at number 11 on Billboard’s Top 100, “Boom Clap” by Charli XCX.
This summer, there were not any films that really stood out or shook the box office. This is unlike summer 2013 where Iron Man brought in over $400 million with praise from Marvel fans around the globe. It seems once again, though making over $100 million less, Marvel came out at the top with “Guardians of the Galaxy.”
rblake@ramapo.edu
