Great Character: Gamora (“Guardians of the Galaxy”)
The Great Character theme for the month: Action Heroines. Today: Gamora from the 2014 movie Guardians of the Galaxy, screenplay by James Gunn and Nicole Perlman, characters by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning.
Gamora may not be as iconic in super hero settings as The Amazing Spider-Man, The Mighty Thor or The Incredible Hulk, even though they share a similar grassy green skin tan. But Gamora is an official action heroine and a no games-playing groin kicker in Guardians of the Galaxy — the definitive 2014 summer blockbuster from Marvel Studios.
With an astounding $219,259,442 in the first week of theatrical release, a recent 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a current #34 ranking in the IMDB Top 250 films, Guardians of the Galaxy instantly proved that it didn’t need Captain America or the X-Men to captivate critics and capitalize at the box office.
Guardians of the Galaxy was able to not only co-exist but exceed the more mainstream crop of franchise films with nothing more than serious sci-fi, hilarious dialogue, an “amusement park in the dark” vibe and a wealth of well-written characters such as a Rambo raccoon, a walking tree, and Gamora, the lady of action, added to the already awesome adrenaline junky resume of actress Zoe Saldana (Avatar, Star Trek).
Guardians of the Galaxy IMDB:
Light years from Earth, 26 years after being abducted, Peter Quill finds himself the prime target of a manhunt after discovering an orb wanted by Ronan the Accuser.
Super heroes have been constantly stuck in the “guys with tights and capes” zone for a super long time. Immense muscles, accidental science experiments, and the ability to fly have been bestowed upon many gods of the comic book medium, with Wonder Woman, Storm and Black Widow being a few of the standout females of the higher power. But with the emergence of Gamora in the Marvel Comics motion picture adaptation of Guardians of the Galaxy by director and co-writer James Gunn, the adopted green daughter assassin of the vicious villain Thanos will make her mark, especially with a sequel already penciled in for summer 2017.
GAMORA: I’m a warrior, an assassin. I don’t dance.
Gamora is an engaging balance of brute combat ability, intense nobility and a troubling backstory of being a reluctant orphan, forced to fight the battles of not so nice beings. Now forced to find a powerful orb for super villain Ronan the Accuser, Gamora gets caught up in a temporary partnership with half human/half alien and full time flirter Peter Quill, or his preferred title: Star-Lord.
GAMORA: I know who you are, Peter Quill, and I will not be a victim of your pelvic sorcery!
Gamora also finds herself in the misfit company of a talking tree with a limited vocabulary known as Groot, the hyper bounty hunter raccoon called Rocket and Drax the Destroyer with the barbaric biceps from hell.
GAMORA: I am going to die surrounded by the biggest idiots in the galaxy.
With her aggressive proactive instincts, it is not quite Gamora’s style to take orders from others, especially if she deems them as imbeciles. Even though she may struggle to play well with others, Gamora is savvy enough to compromise for the greater good of her objectives.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLC93VhS-cw
Another stand-out quality that instills a distinctive presence to Gamora’s character within her ensemble crew is her motherly headstrong wisdom that is often required to pull down some much needed gravity to bring her collaborators back to reality when they drift towards the wayward side of ridiculous.
GAMORA: No one’s blowing up moons.
She also has no trouble cutting down her male counterparts to intergalactic shreds, not just physically but also verbally.
GAMORA: And by the way… Your ship is filthy.
But to bring this action heroine full circle, Gamora has not just a horrible adopted daddy to tangle with but also a reckless, playfully obnoxious love interest that definitely wants to mix business and pleasure in the most lustful way possible. The 1980s pop culture dance flick Footloose even gets morphed into an ornate myth to peak Gamora’s softer side.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrKr72_tAag
For her grandiose warrior status, her insanely righteous intentions and her self-reliant personality — Gamora is a grand green action machine.
Good analysis of a key character in this surprisingly successful movie.
Thank you, Jason, for this post. Please join us in comments to discuss Guardians of the Galaxy.
You may follow Jason on Twitter: @A2Jason.
Comment Archive