Guardians

The bear may not have Masha, but on the other hand, he has the biggest bazooka in all of Russia and plenty of space in the elevator up, up, and only up. He seems so likable to me that he can reliably push most negative impressions far beyond the entertainment high points he reaches. I almost feel sorry that Guardians is becoming the most bizarre spectacle far and wide because, aside from the incredibly murderous attempts at catchphrases, I truly didn't see any awful or never before seen viewer nightmare. Although the features of Eastern culture are an occasional joke in themselves, fortunately this was a completely painless and mild case all things considered. (07/08/2017)

This Russian attempt at a superhero movie from the Avengers barrel could have turned out all sorts of things. The Defenders, it's a rather cheap and overwrought flick with a nicely done intro and a couple of decently executed action scenes, but it's all marred by a silly script and, at times, overly sloppy visual effects (the Bear). Since the film is barely an hour and a half long, there’s no room for development and closer introduction to the characters and, in fact, not even to the villain, so in that respect it all feels very shallow. (08/22/2019)

This film was quite an experience. A negative experience, that is, but it’s still better than a kick in the teeth. At least I think so... The Russian filmmakers plunged into the project with great enthusiasm, but that's clearly not enough if it's not backed by invention and skill. The individual characters did have some enhancements, but you could tell that their creator went looking for inspiration in the Marvel universe. The story and the way it was handled occasionally made me feel wonder, which I would liken to cholesterol. It can be good or bad for you, and this was the bad kind. The digital effects were also far from convincing (poor Teddy suffered the most). But then again, I could at least have a good laugh thanks to all the creative errors. (04/09/2021)