In all my time of watching movies, I have never watched one so fun as Guardians of the Galaxy. The cast is amazing and the soundtrack behind all the action just makes the movie all that more entertaining. The movie is set in the distant future in the Marvel universe. The movie has a very comedic and energetic tone that is shown through the actors and their antics throughout the plot of the story. Like Peter Quill having a dance-off with the main antagonist to distract him from destroying the world. To be completely honest, the songs that were chosen for this movie and put into Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol. 1 are so essential to the movie that the director, James Gunn, stated to Rolling Stone, "The Walkman and the compilation tape inside of it is the heart of the film."
The music that James Gunn placed into this movie all came from the 60s to the 80s and portrays the many different genres that were popular in those times. These three decades were filled with upbeat, optimistic, slick, and charming lyrics and sounds. The music varies from soft to hard rock and from disco to funk. The soundtrack perfectly captures the essence of this period of music through its balance of the genres. It has songs like "O-O-H Child" filled with soul and then rock songs like "Hooked on a Feeling."
It definitely becomes the "heart of the film" within the first five minutes of the movie as one of the main protagonists, Peter Quill, dances across a room to "Come and Get Your Love" by Redbone. The music contrasts the setting of the scene and has me feeling hopeful even in the dark and desolate ruins. The song gives a great first impression of how the music will be with its oldies-like sounds and vocals that send me to a different time and place. It gets me in the mood for another interesting movie, story, and sets a basic tone for the movie as a whole in a record breaking 1 minute and 43 seconds.
Though this upbeat tone that "Come and Get Your Love" gives is just that, and nothing more, and as the movie progresses and songs like "Hooked on a Feeling" and "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)" are placed periodically we find that they only serve as comic relief from the intense story. I love the movie and its soundtrack, but the songs are all used as a type of comic relief. The songs are beautiful and each one is a piece of those three decades brought to the modern day, but in the context of the movie they are not used to pull me into the story and make the experience that much more amazing, or maybe they do.
Many reviews that I have read of this soundtrack have mentioned how they do not utilize the songs in the best manner, but from what I can tell after watching the movie and listening to the songs again, they should be judged for what they seem to be doing. They are used to bring nostalgia and contrast a dark story with an uplifting tone. So songs like "Hooked on a Feeling" are placed perfectly when seen as being placed to give the viewer the ability to smile and laugh as the main characters are beaten through a high security prison. Also with "O-O-H Child" as the main character distracts the main antagonist to this song, it distracts me from the fact that so many civilians are behind him waiting for the antagonist to destroy their planet and wipe them away. So looking at the songs from their original purpose and perspective truly shows how well this soundtrack does its actual job, though there are some songs that do get placed where traditional soundtracks would.
Such as midway through the movie, when Gamora and Peter are on the balcony and "Fooled Around and Fell in Love" comes on. The slick guitar pulls me right into the moment of the two characters dancing and makes sure that I understand the romantic tension between the two characters. The song is placed perfectly and shows really shows the full potential of the placement of the songs in this soundtrack. The songs romantic overtone and smooth lyrics fully complement the scene and the feeling it is supposed to evoke in the viewer.
Another song that shows this traditional placement and show how a song can have an impact on the movie is "Ain't No Mountain High Enough". The song is placed at the very end of the movie after the antagonist has been defeated and gives me the sense of finality that the end of a movie should give. As Marvin Gaye's voice comes into the speakers and begins with "Listen baby..." I could sense that the story was over and the resolution had begun. The protagonists had defeated the unstoppable antagonist and the music's final, determined tone makes me feel the protagonist's accomplishment as if it were my own.
To be honest with you the soundtrack is amazing and has very good music that portrays a common theme and gives a lot of life to the movie, but it fails when it comes to the placement of the songs within the movie. If the placement of the songs was executed in a better way the soundtrack would be near perfect, but nevertheless that is not the case. The soundtrack will appeal to many groups because of its variety, and not to mention the nostalgia. So on a final note, Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol. 1 is a great example of how good some soundtracks can be, but how poorly they can be executed and always remember when you next watch a movie, listen to the background music.
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