We had caught up with Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, and the other Avengers in Phase Two, but it was important to see something new in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Marvel wisely chose
Guardians of the Galaxy, a film that would take audiences to other parts of the universe, which was a big gamble for the studio. Yes, the
Thor films do feature a few of the other Nine Realms, but Earth still plays a prominent role. This film would forego Earth almost completely in favoring of introducing us to a new team of characters on another side of the galaxy.
It’s James Gunn’s irreverent style, strange sense of humor, and a colorful band of heroes that make the film good. Unfortunately, it’s Marvel Studios’ tired tropes and clichés that keep it from being great.
1988, Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) is abducted from Earth after his mother succumbs to cancer. Years later, Peter has grown up to be a handsome, wise-cracking thief who treks the stars for a score (think Nathan Drake from
Uncharted in space). When he finds a mysterious orb of ancient power, he finds himself in the crosshairs of evil forces who want to use the orb’s power for destructive acts. He is soon thrown together with a ragtag group of misfits which include Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista), Groot (Vin Diesel), and Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper). Though initially teaming up for selfish reasons, they discover the orb’s true nature and must make a desperate last stand to save the galaxy and maybe even get a shot at redemption.
Aside from the opening scene,
Guardians spends the entirety of its runtime among the stars. While superhero movies do have their fun on Earth, it’s refreshing to see a summer blockbuster that is unwilling to remain grounded. The film is comfortable in space. So why force it back to Earth? In the months prior to the film’s release, the word I kept hearing the most to describe it was “risky.” It’s actually pretty sad that films like these, which used to be the norm for Hollywood decades ago, are now considered risks. Hollywood now considers it safer to make films based on board games than to allow audiences to follow a zany group of characters fly around in space (I know the film is based on a comic book, but that’s beside the point).
Guardians trusts its viewers to tag along for the ride, and the result is very rewarding.
To me personally, the production design in this film trumps any action sequence here. Gunn puts so much detail into every nook and cranny. It’s a perfect blend of realism and fantasy.
Guardians is like a live-action cartoon. That is not a knock against the film; it’s a compliment. There are so many beautifully rendered landscapes and all the alien species we encounter have very creative designs. This is the kind of film I could imagine the biggest film buff pausing constantly just to get a glimpse at every attention to detail.
But the film really works thanks to its wonderful cast of characters. The breakout performance here is obviously Chris Pratt. Prior to this, he was known as chubby, dim-witted goofball Andy Dwyer from
Parks and Recreation. But he succeeds in transforming himself into bonafide movie star as Peter Quill. Other than being good-looking, he crafts Peter with such cleverness, wit, and charm that it’s hard not to like him. He even manages to play the character’s more emotional scenes perfectly. The other Guardians are just as strong. The great thing about a group like this is that everybody has their favorite among the team. You can say you like Gamora or Groot and no one will ever think negatively.
Even though the film is not as twisted in its humor or as dark in its story as previous entries in James Gunn’s filmography, his mannerisms do stand out while not being so tonally-jarring that you could never believe it takes place in a universe where The Avengers are running around. I’m still surprised that a joke about the inside of Peter’s ship being covered in semen was permitted. Though Gunn tries his damndest, he can’t stop corporate mandate from keeping his film from reaching its maximum potential. There are several big tropes put into effect here by Marvel and all they do is make the action scenes they’re in feel repetitive and boring. Like I said, I was more impressed with the film’s production design than set pieces. They are infused with the played-out tropes like our heroes taking on a faceless army, an aerial battle, and an aerial craft crashing into a building or in this case a city. For a studio that prides itself on being called “The House of Ideas,” their ideas having been lacking in originality and cleverness lately.
Guardians of the Galaxy stumbles hardest when it comes to its villains, all of which vary in their level of awfulness. With this film I went from being annoyed to being frustrated with Marvel’s inability to craft great cinematic foes. Korath (Djimon Hounsou) is a useless henchman who could have been cut from the film altogether and nothing would have been lost. Nebula (Karen Gillan) is the only one who is mildly promising because of her sibling rivalry with Gamora (it doesn’t help that Thanos calls Gamora his favorite daughter in front of Nebula. Such lazy writing). Ronan is just another bland, emotionless, personality-free tyrant in Marvel’s long line of bland, emotionless, personality-free tyrants. His boring presence and lack of substance is just enough to bring this joyful, lively film down to his level whenever he’s on screen. This raises an important question: Does Marvel really believe they’re putting their best foot forward with these villains or do they know they’re underwritten but just don’t care? Whatever it is, if Marvel hopes to stay on top of the superhero movie genre they will have to make some changes to their formula before audiences start catching on.
Looking back at the last five films, there is no denying Marvel Studios helped revolutionize the landscape of comic book movies and franchises in general.
Guardians of the Galaxy is proof that audiences are open to any kind of hero no matter how obscure or bizarre they are. As long as they are handled with care, people will turn out for these films. Especially since people have now grown to trust the Marvel brand. There may be bumps in the road and their formula, while successful, has flaws, but all that matters in the end is if the movies are good. There has never been a better time to be a comic book fan, and it’s all thanks to Marvel.
Final Rating- 8 out of 10
Tomorrow- My review of
Avengers: Age of Ultron