1. SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING AND DESIGN
THE DESIGN SCHOOL
FOUNDATION IN NATURAL BUILD ENVIRONMENT
NAME: PANG KAI YUN
STUDENT ID NO: 0319802
FILMS SELECTED: GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY & IRON MAN(SCIENCE-FICTION)
WORD COUNT: 905 WORDS
ENGLISH 2 (ELG 30605)
WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT 1: COMPARE – CONTRAST ESSAY
LECTURER: CASSANDRA WIJESURIA
SUBMISSIONDATE:APRIL 8TH
, 2015
2. Guardians of the Galaxy and Iron Man
Do you like to watch movies? What genre of movie do you like to watch? For me, I
like to watch science-fiction movie because I really admire superheroes that have super
power and defeat all the enemies to save the world. Science-fiction movie is a genre that
incorporates hypothetical, science-based themes into the plot of the film. Some of the famous
science fiction movies are Star Wars, Avatar, and The Maze Runner. From the entire science-
fiction movie, my favourite are Guardians of the Galaxy and Iron Man. Both of them are
from Marvel Comics, an American publisher of comic books that creates a lot of superheroes
such as Spiderman, Hulk, and Thor. Guardians of the Galaxy is released in the year 2014.
The director of this movie is James Gunn. Iron Man is released in the year 2008, a few years
before Guardians of the Galaxy. The director of this movie is Jon Favreau. Although both are
science-fiction movies, the plot, moral values, the main characters and the antagonist of the
movies are different.
First, the plot of Guardians of the Galaxy and Iron Man is different. Guardians of the
Galaxy is about a group of intergalactic criminals are forced to work together to stop a
fanatical warrior from taking control of the universe. After stealing a mysterious orb in the far
reaches of outer space, Star-Lord is now the main target of a manhunt led by the villain
known as Ronan the Accuser. (Hake, J., 2014) He forms a team known as the "Guardians of
the Galaxy" to fight Ronan and save the world. However, Iron Man is about an industrialist
creates a unique weapons suit of armor to fight against evil after being held captive in an
Afghan cave. Billionaire industrialist and genius inventor Tony Stark is kidnaped and forced
to build a devastating weapon. He builds a high-tech suit of armor and escapes captivity.
When he uncovers a nefarious plot with global implications, he dons his powerful armor and
vows to protect the world as Iron Man.
3. Another difference between the Guardians of the Galaxy and Iron Man is the main
character. The main character in Guardians of the Galaxy is made up of five members. The
members are Star-Lord, a half human, half Spartan intergalactic soldier, Gamora the assassin,
Drax the Destroyer, Rocket the enhanced raccoon and Groot the humanoid tree. Unlike
Guardians of the Galaxy, the main character in Iron Man is a soloist. The name of the main
character is Tony Stark. He is the son of Howard Stark, owners of Stark Industries. He has a
genius level intellect that allows him to invent a wide range of sophisticated devices,
specializing in advanced weapons and armor. He also possesses a keen business mind
because he inherited Stark Industries at the age of 21 when his parents were killed in a car
accident.
Furthermore, the antagonist in both movies has different character development. The
main villain in Guardians of the Galaxy is Ronan the Accuser. Ronan was a radical member
of the alien race the Kree. When he found out that the orb was stolen by Star-Lord, he leads
his army to hunt down Star-Lord and the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy. He betrayed
Thanos and choosing to take the Orb’s power for himself. In the end, he was defeated and
killed by the Guardians of the Galaxy. Meanwhile, the antagonist in Iron Man is Obadiah
Stane. He is a businessman who headed Stark Industries after the death of Tony's father and
became the firm's second-in-command when the younger Tony came of age. He had
cooperated with the Ten Rings terrorists in Afghanistan to kill Tony and take over Stark
Industries, due to his ambition and jealousy of Tony's position. He died in the end when he
was battling with Tony.
Lastly, both of the movies taught us different moral values. One of the lessons learned
in Guardians of the Galaxy is self-sacrifice for the greater good. At the end of the movie,
4. Groot sacrifices himself to save the group. He died during the battle with Ronan by creating a
cocoon out of his body to protect the Guardians of the Galaxy. (Bousquet, M., 2014) In
contrast, the moral value in Iron Man is we should not be greedy. Obadiah Stane’s greed and
the lust for power makes him betrayed Tony. (Varman, V., 2012) Obadiah wanted to regain
control of Stark Industries and wanted to freely sell to both the military and terrorists. He
knew Tony would never agree, so he tried to kill him. (Saito, G., 2013) Besides that, when
Tony decides to stop producing weapons at Stark Industries, Obadiah retaliates by building
his own iron suit. In the end, he died when he was battling with Tony.
In conclusion, the plot, moral values, the main characters and the antagonist of both
movies are different. Although there are differences between the two movies, both of the
movies have its interesting point to attract so many audiences. I think that different people
enjoy a different genre of movie, but science fiction movie will be a most people’s favourite
because it is suitable for everyone to watch and it is full of fantasy. Movies are really a great
entertainment that helps us to release stress. We need to appreciate the hard work of the
directors and actors to produce such amazing movie that brings us a lot of joy.
(905 words)
5. REFERENCE
1. The Script Lab. (2010, May). Science Fiction.
Retrieved from : http://thescriptlab.com/screenplay/genre/science-fiction
Accessed date : 24 Mar 2015
2. IMDb. (2014, August). Guardians of the Galaxy (2014).
Retrieved from : http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2015381/?ref_=ttpl_pl_tt
Accessed date : 26 Mar 2015
3. IMDb. (2008, May). Iron Man (2008).
Retrieved from : http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0371746/?ref_=ttpl_pl_tt
Accessed date : 26 Mar 2015
4. Figure Realm. (2014, August). Ronan the Accuser Movie Version Custom Action
Figure.
Retrieved from : http://www.figurerealm.com/viewcustomfigure.php?FID=64932
Accessed date : 30 Mar 2015
