This was the first film I saw at the AMC Theater in the Monmouth Mall. At its surface, that is a rather innocuous distinction, but it is also the beginning of my career as a professor at Monmouth University. Guardians of the Galaxy is largely lauded for its humor, soundtrack, and gang of misfits mentality. However, whenever I think of this film, I think of Rocket Raccoon and Drax sitting together at the end. After another outrageous Marvel Cinematic Universe CG-Fest conclusion resulting in the demise of the adult Groot, Drax gently pets Rocket’s head. For some reason, that few seconds of screen time is profound for me.
It is interesting when the non-human characters provide the most human feelings, and maybe that is for a reason. Star Lord (Chris Pratt) serves as the garish, arrogant, and charismatic leader of the Guardians, but his bombastic nature, while humorous, is difficult to resolve in my mind. We get a decent amount of information on Star Lord’s background in the film as well, and his life is wrought with tragedy and loneliness. The opening scene of the film is heart-wrenching, and my colleague Sandy does a thoughtful and beautiful reflection on that scene. Rocket and Drax are more mysterious, though.
Throughout the film, there are not a lot of specifics about Rocket and Drax’s backgrounds. Drax is looking to avenge the death of his family at the hands of Ronan (Lee Pace), and recognizing that obsession leads Drax to accept and embrace that he has a new family in the form of the Guardians. Rocket, on the other hand, is very mysterious. From what I gathered in the film, the only backstory we get is that Rocket was the result of a genetic experiment gone wrong. Suppressing the horror of that experience seems to be what drives Rocket throughout the film because he has one mental breakdown where he shares, “I didn’t ask to get made! I didn’t ask to be torn apart and put back together over and over again and turned into some little monster!” Every other scene, aside from the aforementioned scene with Drax at the end, Rocket Raccoon is a cruel, brutal, and darkly humorous character.
This all makes the scene between Drax and Rocket profound. It is unclear how much each knows about the other, but I assume they do not know much. While Rocket holds the remains of his best friend Groot, Drax gently pets Rocket’s head. No dialogue is needed, and the silent language spoken between the two is understood. Both characters are broken and have extreme flaws, but they silently understand each other. The concept of loss is universal, and both Drax and Rocket understand it completely.
It is interesting when the non-human characters provide the most human feelings, and maybe that is for a reason. Star Lord (Chris Pratt) serves as the garish, arrogant, and charismatic leader of the Guardians, but his bombastic nature, while humorous, is difficult to resolve in my mind. We get a decent amount of information on Star Lord’s background in the film as well, and his life is wrought with tragedy and loneliness. The opening scene of the film is heart-wrenching, and my colleague Sandy does a thoughtful and beautiful reflection on that scene. Rocket and Drax are more mysterious, though.
Throughout the film, there are not a lot of specifics about Rocket and Drax’s backgrounds. Drax is looking to avenge the death of his family at the hands of Ronan (Lee Pace), and recognizing that obsession leads Drax to accept and embrace that he has a new family in the form of the Guardians. Rocket, on the other hand, is very mysterious. From what I gathered in the film, the only backstory we get is that Rocket was the result of a genetic experiment gone wrong. Suppressing the horror of that experience seems to be what drives Rocket throughout the film because he has one mental breakdown where he shares, “I didn’t ask to get made! I didn’t ask to be torn apart and put back together over and over again and turned into some little monster!” Every other scene, aside from the aforementioned scene with Drax at the end, Rocket Raccoon is a cruel, brutal, and darkly humorous character.
This all makes the scene between Drax and Rocket profound. It is unclear how much each knows about the other, but I assume they do not know much. While Rocket holds the remains of his best friend Groot, Drax gently pets Rocket’s head. No dialogue is needed, and the silent language spoken between the two is understood. Both characters are broken and have extreme flaws, but they silently understand each other. The concept of loss is universal, and both Drax and Rocket understand it completely.
Alex, I also appreciate the moments of humanity we get to see in Drax and Rocket, and as the movies progress we see some moments where Rocket struggles more than others with that. I also like seeing the relationship growth with Gomorrah and Nebula throughout the movies. But you're right that it is almost more profound when we see humanity in these non-human characters.
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