‘Guardians Of The Galaxy’ Blu-ray Release – What’s On It? – Is It Worth It?

When Marvel announced Guardians of the Galaxy, the concept of throwing a ton of money at a project that few people outside of hardcore comic fans knew anything about. But, as we all now know, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige knew what he was doing. Guardians of the Galaxy turned out to be one of the biggest blockbusters of the entire year. It introduced us to characters that were rich, funny, interesting, heroic and an all-around pleasure to watch. In Guardians of the Galaxy, director James Gunn had put together not only just another Marvel film, but a tent-pole Marvel film from which the studio could stage its next phase of intergalactic comic book, cinematic features.

Oh, and the film made a superstar out of Chris Pratt to boot.

So, we know what an impact Guardians of the Galaxy had on audiences and on the concept of comic book films. But what’s the value of buying the Blu-ray edition of the film?

Happily, it seems, the value is quite high.

SuperHeroHype reports that the Guardians of the Galaxy Blu-ray edition is the best home theater presentation that Marvel has put out to date. In short, the Blu-ray edition of Guardians of the Galaxy includes two extensive featurettes on the making of the film, a gag reel, deleted scenes, a “pristine transfer” of the film, a commentary with director James Gunn and a sneak peek at the upcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron.

The deleted scenes from Guardians of the Galaxy were reportedly correctly deleted, as it becomes obvious upon viewing them that they didn’t quite work with the flow of the film.

The first featurette is called Guide to Guardians of the Galaxy with James Gunn. The 20 minute featurette walks fans through every facet of the making the film from inception to post-production.

The second featurette is about half as long, and features an in-depth examination of how Rocket Raccoon and Groot were created for Guardians of the Galaxy. (Yes, Peter Jackson’s extensive featurettes from Lord of the Rings spoiled us all when it comes to home theater extras, but the Guardians of the Galaxy extras are the best ones to date put out by Marvel.)

The commentary by James Gunn that accompanies the feature film is reportedly worth more than the cost of the Guardians of the Galaxy Blu-ray. Gunn’s commentary covers all the must-haves. He discusses how each scene was put together, adds some anecdotes from the set, explains the hardships of putting the film together and hints at what characters might and might not return for the Guardians of the Galaxy sequel.

The Avengers: Age of Ultron sneak peek shows us little more than we’ve already seen. Other than a few new quick snippets of Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, and some quick behind-the-scenes shots accompanied by some brief comments by director Joss Whedon, there’s not much new here.

More than anything else, the Guardians of the Galaxy Blu-ray offers a gorgeous transfer of the film that you can watch in your home. Guardians of the Galaxy was a visually stunning film in the theater, and the digital transfer matches the original with vibrant colors and detail.

In their 10 Words or Less review of the Blu-ray, DVD Talk said this about Guardians of the Galaxy:

“Further proof that Marvel is nigh-unstoppable.”

By most estimations, the Guardians of the Galaxy Blu-ray is definitely worth asking Santa for this holiday season.

[Image via Listal]