how Guardians of the Galaxy’s music makes it stand out from the other Marvel movies
Image Courtesy: BagoGames
Guardians of the Galaxy is unlike any other Marvel movie. It doesn’t fit in with the average superhero-y feel. This is a little bit because the Guardians save the ENTIRE UNIVERSE, not just, you know, one planet. And the characters are also rougher, more anti-heroes, not always being led by the “right” motives. But one thing that distinguishes it the most is its music.
It’s been agreed by basically everyone that the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack is amazing. Even if the movie had supremely stunk (which it didn’t), the music would have pulled it through. As it is, adding the movie and music together is something like, let me do the math….. (100%)(∞)+(100%)(∞).
Anyways…
Music adds a different feeling that’s lacking from other Marvel movies
None of them have soundtracks that are as extensive and mood-setting, and none of them take advantage of music as well as the Guardians movies do. Both Volumes use music to either reflect the emotion of a scene, giving you a chance to learn more about how the characters are feeling, or oppositely reflect (deflect?)(I don’t know), making the songs be a stark contrast to how the characters feel.
Music also adds a different after-movie experience
Whenever I see movies with my family, we always talk about them afterward, and if we watch a movie on Friday night, you can bet that it’ll still be lingering in our minds Saturday morning. This is all well and good for a normal movie, but if it has an exceptional soundtrack, there’s a 95.9% chance that my dad will ask, “Now what was that song…?”, or that he’ll just start playing something from YouTube in the middle of a conversation. It’s the best.
So my point (in somewhat of a round-about way) is that with a great soundtrack comes great ability to enjoy and relive the movie without sitting down for two hours.
I also wanted to talk (or type, whatevs) about how music affects the characters and makes them stand out. While all the Avengers (except Thor, Cap, & Bucky, maybe) are very much living in the twenty-first century, it’s obvious that Peter Quill is stuck in the 70’s and 80’s. Time has passed, but he’s never moved too far from his childhood. This definitely influences the way he views the earth and how the other Guardians view it too, which creates a void of separation across the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
SPOILER ALERT: I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know. Music is a fantastic story-telling weapon for any movie to wield, and the only question I’m left with is why more movies aren’t using it. (Also, to no one in particular: this is why Disney movies are superior to all other animated movies. They understand the power of music.)
