With the huge success of
Marvel Studios, one had to think
"What's next for the juggernaut franchise?" Look no further than
Guardians of the Galaxy, now of course this is a group of unknown misfits, or a lack of a better term "A-holes". I was intrigued by seeing the teaser trailer alone, never reading except but one comic book that they're based on. The biggest risk was not just a talking Racoon and a giant tree, could the film sell to a modern audience? And let me tell you, for me it did!
Going into the story, I started to wonder how could these characters be introduced without being goofy and boring? And even though I would've liked to see a little more in depth info on them, I really didn't need too considering how well the characters are written from the start.
Peter Quill/ Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) is definitely reminiscent of
Han Solo, he even reminded me a little bit of Chris Pine as
Kirk. Smart-ass, and kind of a snub, who eventually grows into a likeable leader. Pratt is hilarious, nailing down the humor and references to his music he dances along and listens too, with a couple references to Kevin Bacon in
Footloose as well.
Gamora (Zoe Saldana) is sort of misunderstood at first, being labeled as the so called "killer", well she is a master assassin after all. Saldana was badass in the role, and seemed to be having a great time. Dave Bautista from
WWE fame was very convincing as
Drax, and also hilarious with his "Thesaurus" like intellect and his sworn on revenge feeling, kicking ass as well. Now the biggest draw for me wasn't just Chris Pratt as the lead, but
Rocket Racoon (Bradley Cooper) and
Groot (Vin Diesel), my word talk about scene stealers! The fact that Cooper was able to put in so much depth for his character, humor and sad emotional weight was truly mesmerizing, seeing the tears in his eyes felt like it was coming from a real bad mouthing, troubled talking Raccon, not a CGI creation. Same goes for Diesel as
Groot, the humanoid tree of three simple words
"I AM GROOT!" Is great to hear, considering that
Rocket completely understands him, and where he's coming from.
Now, onto the villains. Many people have claimed that the villains where sub-par, and simply underused. For me, that wasn't the case as I found
Ronan (Lee Pace),
Korath (Djimon Hounsou), and
Nebula (Karen Gillian) too be pretty intriguing. I guess because I didn't know that much about them, I didn't mind the direction they where heading. And how can I forget
Yondu (Michael Rooker), although not a villain, starts off as a nut then later coming to his senses, and
The Collector (Benicio Del Toro) who are both goofy and a tad senile yet fun in their roles. The score by Tyler Bates was very catchy, not to mention the amazing song selections from
"Hooked On A Feeling" by Blue Swede, to
"I Want You Back" by The Jackson 5. Truly great soundtrack, giving off pure nostalgia throughout. Stunning visuals and action scenes, especially in
IMAX 3D, a worthy conversion indeed.
Credit to James Gunn, Nicole Perlman and the very talented cast and crew for making an amazing film, I've really had a hell of a time at the theater. Kudos
Marvel Studios, you've done it yet again! After the success of
Captain America: The Winter Soldier, I think it's safe to say they've got another hit in their hands, cannot wait for the sequel!
Guardians of the Galaxy was tremendous! In closing,
"You're Welcome".
RATING: 5/5