Guardians of the Galaxy Review

Ever since the release of 2008's 'Iron Man', the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been in full swing. Not only is it the highest grossing movie franchise, but it's also been the new standard for what blockbusters should be. Year after year, 'Marvel Studios' has been producing blockbuster after blockbuster based on their 'Avengers' line up of characters. Now the studio takes its biggest gamble yet: 'Guardians of the Galaxy'. A cool idea of Han Solo style characters in a non-earth bound, non-super hero story. With a mostly unknown set of characters (unless you're a hardcore comic reader) , and new setting, does the studio have what it takes to pull this off. In a word: YES!

'Guardians of the Galaxy' is a sci fi opera written and directed by James Gunn (Writer of the 2004 'Dawn of the Dead' remake). Based on the comic reboot by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, this story follows a intergalactic treasure hunter by the name of Peter Quill, a.k.a Starlord (Chris Pratt). As a young boy in 1988 Quill was abducted by aliens and now lives among the stars. Early in the film, we see Starlord steal an orb of then unknown origin in an abandoned temple. This obviously harkens back to the opening sequence in 'Raiders of the Lost Ark'. He is captured after a long chase sequence and meets up with the rest of our rag tag team. Zoe Saldana as the deceptive Gamora, Dave Bautista as the self serious, Drax the Destroyer, Vin Diesel as the quiet tree giant, Groot, and Bradley Cooper as the gleefully dangerous, Rocket Raccoon.  They help each other escape from prison, and must now find out what's so important about the mysterious orb, and eventually (of course) try and save the galaxy.

The film is beautifully shot. James Gunn really shows off his directing chops in this movie. Unlike many big action films nowadays, the mayhem is somewhat contained and easy to follow. One of the best sequences is the early prison break. It's chaotic, funny, and over the top. Just the image of our heroic Raccoon hopping on the back of a giant, talking tree, while he screams and shoots a machine gun at robots hovering above is worth the price of admission alone. 

                                

Also, there are a lot of great sequences of spaceships dog fighting. It's a wonder to behold on an IMAX screen, and really got me excited for what I might see in the future 'Star Wars' films.

Another great thing this film has going for it is the cast. Usual funny man, Chris Pratt really shows his inner badass as Peter Quill. It's a trailblazing role, that could definitely earn him more heroic roles in the future. He's cocky, funny, but can really sell emotion when he needs to. He does a fine job, and I can't wait to see him take on the horrors of 'Jurassic Park' next summer. Zoe Saldana also gives a nice performance as bad alien gone good, Gamora. She isn't really the most entertaining of the characters, but she isn't really meant to be. She has a mission, and she won't take anyone goofing around. The film also carries a secret weapon with former WWE star Dave Bautista as Drax. He turns out to have expert timing for comedic sequences and sells quiet moments pretty well too. 

But the two members of the group people are sure to be talking about for a long time are Bradley Cooper as the voice of Rocket Raccoon and Vin Diesel as the voice of Groot. The whole movie kinda rides on these characters' shoulders. If done badly, they could've become the Jar Jar Binks and sucked out any redeeming value the film had. Luckily, that's far from the case. Both of them are beautifully augmented into their reality, and the details on each of their textures are incredible. Also, the voice acting is superb. Each of the actors could've just walked into the voiceover room, and just said the lines, collect a paycheck and leave (especially Diesel, who's only lines consist of "I AM GROOT"), but each actor really puts their all into it. If it hadn't been advertised, I probably wouldn't have guessed who the actors were behind the pixels.

The film is just a blast from start to finish. But it isn't just dumb fun, the writing is as clever as you'd expect from 'Marvel' at this point. Fun, dramatic, but with loads of heart. But with all that praise, there are a couple dents in the armor.

My main complaint has to do with the villains. They fall into the trap that other films of this franchise have: They aren't interesting. They're each designed great, but their motivations are limited to: "Well, I'm evil, so I'll take over the world". It wouldn't normally be a problem, it's just that the heroes are so interesting, and well developed, that a good villain should equal that, and sadly Lee Pace as Ronan the Accuser and Karen Gillan as Nebula (who still looks good, even in blue) just aren't that. They look cool and they sound cool, but they're pretty thin. 

I also found the final, mandatory, city leveling action sequence to be just about as overblown as the past hundred films that have done it before. As always, it starts out fun, but then becomes a little obnoxious. Luckily, it's a lot shorter than the ones in the new 'Captain America', 'Superman', 'Star Trek', or 'Transformers' movies. 

One nitpick I also had was the addition of Glenn Close. I mean, she was fine, but what's the point? She only had about three minutes of screen time, and didn't really forward the plot much. It just felt a bit odd. 

Overall though, 'Guardians' is the summer's most exciting movie. Great writing, directing, and cast mixed with wonderful visuals, cool stunt work, a rocking 70's soundtrack, and an unexpected character appearance make this one of 'Marvel's most admirable. 

Watch out 'Avengers', there's a new team in town.

Grade:B+

Oh wait! The 3D's pretty great too!

Adjusted grade for 3D:A-

Review by: Josh McCormack

Also: Public Service announcement: STOP LEAVING THE THEATER FOR THE CREDITS! We're ten movies into the 'Marvel' universe, and you still think it's okay to leave before the credits are over?!