Marvels Guardians of the Galaxy is an action-packed, epic space adventure, expanding the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the cosmos, where brash adventurer Peter Quill finds himself in an uneasy truce with a quartet of disparate misfits–Rocket, a gun-toting raccoon; Groot, a tree-like humanoid; the deadly and enigmatic Gamora; and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer, after he discovers the true power of a dangerous orb and the menace it poses to the cosmos, he must do his best to rally his ragtag rivals for a last, desperate stand–with the galaxy’s fate in the balance.
First things first. I watched the teaser trailer for this movie and THAT’S IT! This is following my strike on trailers and TV spots. They absolutely ruin everything. This fasting of trailers pays of EVERY TIME! now for the actual review
Lets just get this out of the way. I really loved this movie. With that being said it did take 2 viewings for me to come to that conclusion, not because it wasn’t good the first time, but because I just didn’t know how to feel about it just as yet. Let me explain. This movie is very VERY different from the other Marvel movies that really focus on super heroes who have special abilities. I mean the only one that comes close to that here is Groot (who is very awesome through out the movie.. More on that later). But when you go in, you kind of expect more of what Marvel does, and while that is partially present here, it’s just such a different experience that I’d almost have to put it outside of my Marvel favorites list and make a completely different list to put this on top of. When I walked out the first time I liked it, but not sure if I loved it or not, but upon the second viewing I saw things I missed the first time and heard the glorious score by Tyler Bates (Scores are huge for me in movies). I was humming that theme all the way home. The second viewing really brought it home and solidified this as one of my favorites.
Speaking of music, one of the most charming aspects of this film is the pure bravado brought on by the film, especially right at the beginning credits. It’s apparent that James Gunn made a film he’s proud of and revels in the pure joy of it. They made something different and weren’t ashamed of it, rather showcased it proudly. The licensed tracks for the film really resonate with you and you’ll definitely be on Spotify or any other music service looking them up to relive a piece of the Guardians experience.
James Gunn navigates this movie with grace, He is able to take an ensemble film like this and tell back story in some inventive ways that don’t rely solely on flashbacks or montages. You at the end of the movie are pretty much satisfied with everyone’s history as presented and left wanting more in the next movie, as it should be. The movie plays out like a rag tag team of people, all from different countries, coming together with clashes in sarcasm, culture, and language all playing a role to make it both endearing and humorous. This mostly has to do with the stellar cast and wonderful acting.
Chris Pratt shines in this role in the way RDJ did in the first Iron Man. He simply owns the role and is overtly comfortable with it. He also showcases his range here through out his journey in the film, but always makes time for a bit of humor or sarcasm. Now the film is quite funny, but it’s a very different animal from the type of funny utilized in the much derided ( only by me ) Iron Man 3. Their humor was well placed for the most part and made sense where they placed it, except for maybe one very questionable part. You’ll know it when you see it.
Zoe Saldana also does very well in her role, but she kills it in all her roles, no matter what color she is. She has the intensity of a warrior, while also maintaining her soft heart and vulnerability. When first seeing the images of her and the first teaser, the make up seemed lazy and not very good, however it translates just fine to film, nothing to worry about there.
Dave Bautista as Drax in many ways is one of the highlights of the film, he has many of the funny moments in the film but none of it is intentional. It’s more of a situational thing so it keeps the cheese factor down to a minimum. This guy is simply just raw muscle and brut strength. You’ll enjoy seeing him on screen.
ROCKET RACCOON!!! The fact that they brought a raccoon to life on screen in a space opera is amazing. Bradley Cooper kills it as the foul mouthed ‘coon. The animation is fantastic and the voice acting is phenomenal. I mean this character is about as risky as it gets in a live action summer tent pole and they pull this off effortlessly. Golf clap.
Groot Groot Groot. Any one who has seen the Iron Giant will immediately understand Groot. Vin Diesel while not saying very much, says quite a bit. Groot is the heart and soul of the movie in a special way. He even provides some sporadic funny moments. By the end of the movie everyone will be chanting “I am Groot”.
The humor while well placed, sometimes takes you out of a potentially serious moment. This doesn’t happen often but it may rub some the wrong way. The villain is very bland and one dimensional, with some questionable motivation. However it’s not enough to warrant a bad rating on the movie. It is basically a plot device, so no harm no foul. Just do it better the next time around. I didn’t much care for the fight between Nebula and Gamora. It wasn’t anything really ground breaking, and hopefully they can come up with something better in the future as well. It wasn’t terrible just nothing to brag about. There are also some standard Hollywood moments that stand out and kind of evoke an eye roll but other than those listed above, I don’t have much else in this category. Go see the film already!
THE VERDICT
What James Gunn has accomplished is an awesome feat for Marvel, While some may not like the film, many others will absolutely love it and really love the style and confidence of it. What we have here is a fantastic space opera that just might teach this new generation about what real music is. Man that makes me sound old but when you are talking about Dorks.. there is no age. Thank you for reading this Guardians of the Galaxy review and remember STAY DORKY!
You can see Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Lee Pace, Dave Bautista, and many more in Marvels highly anticipated space adventure Guardians of the Galaxy in theaters nation wide August 1, 2014. The film runs 122 minutes.
80%Story - 80%
96%Acting - 96%
90%Comedy - 90%
90%Geek Factor - 90%
90%CGI - 90%
80%Original Sound Track - 80%