Guardians of the Galaxy Movie and Lego Sets

jediami65

Watched Guardians of the Galaxy yesterday and was pleasantly surprised!! Actually purchased Lego set #76019 afterwards and plan to purchase the rest as TLG has done a very nice job with look and especially the sizing of the Milano.

The movie is projected to make $95 million over the weekend surprising most of the "experts. I think a lot of younger movie goers will like the movie and sets.

dannyrww

I loved the movie and have the two smaller sets....the Milano looks nice, a tad pricey (though worth it from the looks) but I'll be happy if I can just get Drax and Gamora somehow.

fenderbender336

Haven't seen the movie yet, but the Milano is worth every penny!

margot

Strangely, some of the sets were discounted at my Target last week. I picked up the Milano for 30% off.

graphite

I bought all 3 sets before seeing the movie, and saw it today. Great stuff. Looking forward to the sequel already.

monkey_roo

^ likewise, planning on buying them all before heading to the IMAX later today... Big smiles.

Geddes

Loved it, i saved building till after the movie :) love that they left space for rocket in the milano, not sure where to put groot though

Mandalorian_Builder

After watching and loving the movie, I will be buying the sets. It's to the point where I hope a movie sucks so I don't have to buy the Lego sets XD

fenderbender336

The star blaster showdown is a bit disappointing, the nowhere escape mission is great for the minifigs (rocket and groot!!!!), and the Milano is truly an awesome set.

Mathias

I just saw the movie last night. I usually only purchase Star Wars but the super hero stuff and the Milano have been appealing to me lately.

AdeelZubair

At least you can purchase multiples of 'Starblaster Showdown' for army building; sell off Star-Lord and get some your money back :)

jediami65

TLG needs to start giving us some army building sets for Themes other than Star Wars and the accessory packs for City, Chima and Ninjago.

Hoping Disney/Marvel keep up the great work on the Marvel movies beating DC/TW big time when it comes to movies, need DC to catch up!!! Could make for some great future sets, GL corp, Teen Titans, JLU, Wonder Woman and couple others all deserve same treatment as The Nolan Batman trilogy received.

bluemoose

Just finished building the Milano; a great ship & an enjoyable build. A bit small scale, compared to the ship in the movie ... won't be long until someone builds a 'proper' scaled version, I think ;-)

jediami65

Wonder if we will see any other GotG sets from this movie?

AdeelZubair

jediami65 said:

Wonder if we will see any other GotG sets from this movie?

@jediami65 Sets based on Iron Man 3, Man of Steel and Guardians of the Galaxy each have three sets; Lego generally release 3 sets from each movie and that's it.

jediami65

OK thanks @Adzbadboy I did not realize that, had not been paying close attention to the IM3 and MoS sets: so always three "there are never more never less" to borrow a Yoda phrase.

dannyrww

Too bad they didn't do three for Thor....that could have been some awesome sets. Guardians of the Galaxy all are good....at least parts of them....all the minifigures are great (except for maybe faceless goons). Having seen the movie I can think of others that would have been nice. I like the ships too. The Nova ship is a lot cooler after seeing the film and I love the little mining ship in the knowhere escape set. I like the Milano a lot but again, scrounging together money for a set that price can be tough.

monkey_roo

Well, loved the film and ripped open the boxes when I got home and spent the last few hours putting all three sets together.

I think maybe the Milano is one of the best Marvel lego vehicles yet. The. Nova ship is good but it really is the figures that rock, they are great. Loved the film, loved the sets and just read that Marvel plan to eventually bring GotG and Avengers into the same screen space... Comic book geek heaven :) and a guarantee of more GotG sets of some sort down the line.

Shib

^crossovers are what Marvel are doing so cleverly with their cinematic universe, which is great because it feels very organic to how comic book story lines tend to evolve, with characters often making a small appearance in an existing title to gauge audience response.
I really wish DC could get their act together and figure this formula out so we can see an equal expansion of lesser known DC heroes in the mainstream - and therefore in Lego sets.

monkey_roo

^ I don't think it is DC's issue really, in the comic world they are doing much the same as Marvel and for the most part it is working OK.

The problem is with Warner Bros, they just can't get their head around making interconnected films, they seem stuck in the old fashioned thought process and that is what is hurting them.

On the other side Disney has always taken risks, always pushed the boundaries with the films they make and with the Marvel films that is paying off big time.

Shib

I did mean purely cinematically, I could be wrong but I thought the establishment of the marvel film studio happened before Disney acquired marvel, although I haven't researched that at all.

I'm still holding out hope that Dawn of justice won't be a complete pile of rubbish and we might get a half decent DC cinematic universe. But I'm going with low expectations.

dannyrww

One odd thing I've noticed is I prefer Marvel Lego sets and minifigures to be based on the movies and DC ones to be based on the classic comics. The Man of Steel sets (and for that matter the minifigures) didn't really look right to me, while I've passed on the Marvel ones based on the cartoons (except to get a Spiderman and Nick Fury). Guardians of the Galaxy has been the best at giving us sets that represent the movie I think. Better than Iron Man 3 anyways.

RomanticWarrior

Saw the movie and loved it. Now I'm inspired to get at least the two larger sets! I hadn't seen any previews of the movie so everything I knew about it was based on seeing pics of the LEGO sets. :)

I'm a much bigger fan of DC, but DC/WB are just completely crapping up their movies right now. Their movies are too serious and completely joyless. They did that with the Batman trilogy. Fine; that works for Batman because of who he is. But, then they thought that they had to follow that formula for Superman as well. Dark, brooding, joyless Superman movie is what we got, and that's probably what we will continue to get in DoJ. I wish WB would take a clue from what Marvel is doing and make superhero movies that are exciting, entertaining, and fun.

Guardians delivered everything exactly how a superhero movie should.

Shib

^I think the big problem that WB/DC have is the shadow cast by the 60's Batman TV show. Which was right for the time but has become the modern standard for how to make a superhero story utterly ridiculous.
What's interesting is if you look at the other DC TV series like the Linda Carter Wonder Woman they are nowhere near as camp as Batman, still show their age, but also show how that gap was very easily bridged.
My vote for how DC/WB should proceed is to keep the gritty style for non-super powered heroes..it works really well for Batman, and Arrow proves it can be adapted for the likes of Green Arrow - who at times has been very light hearted in the comic books. But to look closer at how Marvel have handled teams. E.g the interactions in the avengers is great, because all the characters have a chip on their shoulders about something, and a lot of the interactions are about how they overcome all of that to find a way to work together. Ideal for super serious, brooding Batman, light hearted Superman and from a very different culture Wonder Woman to have a similar set up of all wanting the same thing, but having a very different view on how to achieve it.

dannyrww

^Very well put. The other problem I see is DC seems to be forcing their cinematic universe where Marvels seemed to flow together more naturally.

Shib

^Definitely, it's as if they've seen the Marvel success and gone 'maybe we should do that Justice League film we've been talking about for decades' rather than really looking at how Marvel achieved what they achieved and trying to replicate it cleverly.

monkey_roo

I think where WB/DC really went wrong was not pulling on the thread Chris Nolan left at the end of his trilogy. They were set up for a new cinema only batman or Nightwing and could have launched anywhere from there, retaining the excellent dark edgy tone that universe demands. They should have left superman alone until they were ready to weave in a justice league story. They might see that now and try do something more integrated but they had a chance and blew it, so everything from here is catch up.

I can't remember when the Disney/marvel deal was, but it was a while back, I think Hulk was made under marvels own steam but then Iron man was the first of the Disney/Marvel features and they went from there.

ArtfulDodger

Glad I was an early adopter for GotG sets. Got Milano for $30 + $10 shipping. Granted, all the bags were already opened, but all the pieces were there.

Shib

^I agree there was a lot of potential for how the story could have continued from the Dark Knight trilogy, but I'm glad they left that alone. They deliberately avoided any sort of super powers in the dark knight trilogy and it gave the universe a very unique feel. I think that adding superman etc could have worked, but it would have taken some of the edge out of that universe.
I think there is good logic to starting with a superman story, but Man of Steel just wasn't it, without there being something very clever to tie in Batman then DoJ is likely to flop and bring the attempt at a connected universe back to the ridiculous arguments that people throw around when they claim it can't ever work - the amount of people I've heard claim that is just unreal...it can work as the comics/animated films show.

jediami65

ArtfulDodger said:

Glad I was an early adopter for GotG sets. Got Milano for $30 + $10 shipping. Granted, all the bags were already opened, but all the pieces were there.

Nice deal: I have seen a lot more sets sold at local TRU/Target and Lego stores recently just basing it on what I see on shelves compared from previous visits, probably going to be on a lo of holidays lists.

ArtfulDodger

I got mine from ShopGoodwill a few weeks ago.

There is another one currently for sale there at $51.00.

Of course now that I've linked it, you may have some competition ;)

EDIT: Correction to the price I mentioned earlier. It was $47 total, including shipping.

monkey_roo

^ I was desperate for them to pickup the dark knight baton and run with it. Given marvel have cornered the lighter side of the comic world I understand why WB are sticking to the grittier side, they need to differentiate their brand from the other, and that being the case they should have built on what Nolan did, not dismiss it, I felt that was a real kick in the balls for big fans (like me). But maybe that's the problem, too many voices and no real leader. WB needs its own Feige/Whedon at the head.

I am both excited and worried for what DoJ will give us, if they tie the characters together and introduce one or two more it could work, and Zac Snyder knows what he is doing and the writing and acting talent is top draw. And hey you can almost guarantee a new lego Batmobile out of it :)

BrickDancer

^At first, I was disappointed to hear Bale wouldn't be expanding into the Universe role for Batman, thinking that he's an excellent fit as is. However over time, I think what they'll need to do for the JL Universe is include superpowers and other fantastical elements that would not mesh well at all with the realistic Nolan trilogy. So they needed to make a clean divide between the two universes to have more creative freedom in forming the JL. Not quite a dismissal of Nolan's work, as more a slight repositioning away from realism.

I think the Nolan bros. plus Snyder are capable hands at the DC wheel in carving out their own distinct version of the universe, completely different than what Marvel is going for in terms of style, depth and artistic tone. The Marvel ones have mostly been fun, exciting, humorous and colorfully fantastic with kinetic action. While the limited DC showings are grounded, gritty, serious, drab in color and tone, angst filled atmosphere with emotionally conflicted heroes. Which was all the reasons why MoS was so polarizing for the older aged audience & fans. As the general populace says that what works for Batman does not apply to Supes traditional feel. But alas WB believes that it not only works for Bats, but how the entire DC Universe should be in comparison to Marvel's fun-action approach just as you pointed out.

Shib

I'd really like it if WB took the risk of taking up one of the big cross character stories and adapted it into a series of films, trilogies are generally the standard so I suspect it would be three films. If they chose the right story and adapted it well they could introduce a couple of the lesser known DC heroes per film and then launch indivual character films from there.

There's lots of ways that WB could do something amazing with the DC universe, but I very much doubt it will happen. I was very unimpressed with Man of Steel, so I have low expectations for Dawn of Justice...which might serve me well.


Back on topic - I haven't yet seen Gaurdians of the Galaxy, I'm not a fan of going to the cinema so I'll watch it when it's out on DVD/Blu ray, but it does look good fun, and I definitely want the set with Groot and Rocket Racoon in.

BrickDancer

I thought GotG was a really good movie being fun, light hearted humor, decent action, visually appealing. The characters were all good, including Ronan and Nebula! But it did fall short of my high expectations I'm afraid. I expected more depth and substance, for which it mostly sacrificed to stay light and briskly paced. It didn't have the gravitas that Winter Soldier had, nor the kinetic and razor sharp action either. There were no background events happening, sudden twist or turns, angsty conflict was missing. It just felt different in a more wholesome and straightforward type of way compared to the other Disney/Marvel offerings. In a nutshell, GotG is 'too simple' for it's own good.

jediami65

I am hoping the news (http://enewsi.com/SDCC/261-26960.html) that a GotG animated series is in the works means more Lego sets and more of the Marvel Universe heroes and villains.

vwong19

I saw GOTG with my wife and kids and we all had a great time. Funny action flick for adults and young kids. The movie somehow made a talking raccoon and tree work. It was everything that the Green Lantern movie could have been but which I felt was pretty much unwatchable.

Shib

Green Lantern is a classic DC hero who needs the light hearted jokey style to work. They tried to make it that way a bit but it just didn't hit the mark right.

Bumblepants

Green Lantern fought a giant diarrhea cloud. Why they thought anyone would want to see that is beyond me. I really enjoyed Guardians. I think I will wait for the sets to go on sale on Amazon in the fall

eightbrick

The movie was great fun. Liked it better than the avengers honestly. The set selection is pretty good too.

NeilJam

Shib said:

^crossovers are what Marvel are doing so cleverly with their cinematic universe, which is great because it feels very organic to how comic book story lines tend to evolve, with characters often making a small appearance in an existing title to gauge audience response.
I really wish DC could get their act together and figure this formula out so we can see an equal expansion of lesser known DC heroes in the mainstream - and therefore in Lego sets.

Marvel has been doing crossovers in their comics for decades. This was get people to buy additional titles they may not normally collect, but would need to get it so they can continue a crossover story from one the do read regularly. It was also their way of exposing readers to other characters, hoping to garner new fans for a title.

With them applying this formula to the movies it sells more tickets because even though many are unfamiliar with the Guardians, they still want to see it. For some it is partly because it is the next chapter in the MCU storyline and could (not a spoiler, I haven't seen it yet) contain a part that progresses that and foreshadows a future movie.

I actually think Lego needs to get their act together and give us more Marvel sets with new characters. I think that even before the MCU started, they already had more characters that non readers would recognize than DC does today. However they seem to make as many DC sets (most with a Batman) as they do for Marvel with mostly different characters. We've also had a plethora of Spider-Man in sets, but not nearly as overused as Batman and, disappointingly, all the same instead of different outfits.

Shib

NeilJam said:

Marvel has been doing crossovers in their comics for decades. This was get people to buy additional titles they may not normally collect, but would need to get it so they can continue a crossover story from one the do read regularly. It was also their way of exposing readers to other characters, hoping to garner new fans for a title.

With them applying this formula to the movies it sells more tickets because even though many are unfamiliar with the Guardians, they still want to see it. For some it is partly because it is the next chapter in the MCU storyline and could (not a spoiler, I haven't seen it yet) contain a part that progresses that and foreshadows a future movie.

Same applies to DC comics story lines, unfortunately WB don't seem to have to foresight to really build a good cinematic universe as Marvel have. I think the key to the marvel cinematic universe success is the fact there is that Marvel have a dedicated film studio, if Warner Bros set up a DC movie studios branch I think that the results would more likely mirror the result of Marvel's.

RomanticWarrior

I know we're getting off topic, but DC/WB got it nearly right with Batman, Batman Returns, Superman, and Superman II. Unfortunately, they don't seem to be going back there. I tried watching Arrow and couldn't get into it. It just felt like it was nothing new and was just the Nolan Batman all over again.

There are plenty of realistic action dramas out there. I just like my superhero shows and movies with a little more fantasy and a not-so-serious edge.

Shib

I loved season 1 of Arrow, I thought it was a really refreshing take on Green Arrow, but I can see why you might find it a Nolan Batman clone. I think the great thing about arrow is that they set the running backstory really well, and planned it span several seasons, not just get to the end of the first season then have to cobble some other back story stuff together for season 2. I'm really looking forward to seeing how the Flash tv series interacts in this universe, because they can't use the same formula for Barry Allen, it just won't work. Everything I've heard about it has been positive, but I'm keeping expectations low.

I don't mind the seriousness on characters where it works, like Batman but I can see that it's quite a hard balance to get for a lot of characters. I thought that Marvel really got this right with Cpt America, there are a few light hearted bits that work because they feel genuine, but all the serious stuff relates really well to the characters. Shame that the first Cap film had that awful cg head pasting stuff for such a long section at the beginning, I find that really hard to watch.

richl

monkey_roo said:

I can't remember when the Disney/marvel deal was, but it was a while back, I think Hulk was made under marvels own steam but then Iron man was the first of the Disney/Marvel features and they went from there.

Marvel Studios self-financed the production of Iron Man and Incredible Hulk (the Ed Norton one, which is in the MU continuity; the previous Ang Lee/Eric Bana Hulk movie was a licensed movie, much like Spider-Man and X-Men movies are), but they were distributed by Paramount and Universal, respectively. Marvel already had deals and financing in place for IM2, Thor and Captain America when Disney acquired them. Under the preexisting deal, all those movies were distributed by Paramount.

The first movie fully distributed through Disney was Avengers - but my understanding is that Marvel's track record has meant that the production arm has largely been left alone.

jediami65

I was a a local TRU today and there were no GotG sets, I actually have yet to see any sets from the Movie at either of the TRUs I frequent, not sure if they are both out of stock but I don't even see a place for them or price tags on shelves where they would be.

RomanticWarrior

jediami65 said:

I was a a local TRU today and there were no GotG sets, I actually have yet to see any sets from the Movie at either of the TRUs I frequent, not sure if they are both out of stock but I don't even see a place for them or price tags on shelves where they would be.

That's odd. Did they have a special section up front for all of their GotG toys?

jediami65

@RomanticWarrior nope, no special section: their Hasbro section has the GotG figures which I really don't have interest in buying since Hasbro's has changed the quality...is is crap. I stopped buying SW figures for same reason.

margot

My TRU has 3 different sections with Lego. FYI, your store will order ship to home and not charge you shipping if the store is out of the product. OT but I do that to order polybags and avoid the shipping charge.

jediami65

Hey @Margot yeah 2 out of the 3 TRUs around me have 3 sections for Lego now. I did not know about the store order shipping to home..thanks.

BOBJACK_JACKBOB

My wife thinks this is the best MOC I've ever done -