We...Are...Groot

Rating: 8/10 (15 August 2014)

Believe all of the hype. Marvel's newest blockbuster outing, Guardians of the Galaxy, delivers all that you should expect from it, which is a loud, flashy, explosive science fiction action movie with a wacky sense of screwball humor that anyone with a heart should be able to appreciate.
After seeing James Gunn's darkly comedic superhero film Super, I had the bar set pretty high for Guardians of the Galaxy. Now that I've seen it I really have to commend Marvel for trusting the directors in whose hands they put these cherished stories. Nothing about this film suggests a compromised vision. It's as wacky as I expected from Gunn, and as visually tantalizing as I expected from Marvel Studios. It packs a sarcastic, crass, and explosive punch and I absolutely love that.
Chris Pratt stars as Peter Quill, or Star-Lord as he would like to be known amongst his peers. Quill is an outlaw, a space cowboy, just looking to cause trouble and make money by stealing and selling galactic trinkets. But when he gets his hands on one of the coveted Infinity Stones, which I guess is becoming a major plot point for Marvel's universe, Quill gets caught up in far more trouble than he bargained for. He lands himself in prison, and then subsequently escapes with the help of a band of misfits that include talking trees and sassy raccoons. I say that in jest, but really this whole band of individuals are more than the caricatures you initially expect them to be. They're a rag-tag gang of characters who each have their own great nuances, allowing you to fall in love with all of them in a different way.
Zoe Saldana plays Gamora, an orange haired, green skinned professional ass kicker who, even with that limey tint is still great to look at. Dave Bautista shines as Drax the Destroyer a menacing muscle head whose poor understanding of metaphors allows for some of Guardian's best laughs. Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel kill it in their own right as voice actors playing the parts of Rocket Raccoon and Groot, respectively. They are an unlikely duo whose on-screen loveability rivals that of duo's as classic as C-3PO and R2-D2. A bold claim, sure, but Groot is just too f***ing cool.
By the 30 minute mark we've met all of these great characters, and in less time than that I could already tell how much I was going to love these goofballs. And love them I did. For two hours I was given a non- stop barrage of action, humor, and heart; none of which came without a side of cheese, but to any film of this magnitude that can have me in visual awe, have me laughing genuinely most of the way through, and also allow me to give a damn about these characters and their stories, I'll forgive some sappy eye rolling moments and some uninspired on the nose dialogue.
I feel like Marvel gets a lot of backlash from the more- ahem- high brow crowd for being too silly or too cheesy or too light hearted. But to these naysayers I have to say get over yourselves. When your source material is the one introducing snappy talking raccoons and sentient trees with comically limited vocabulary, how can you possibly criticize this for being too silly? Wackiness is the heart and soul of these comics, and the film reflects that and lives up to that while having as much fun as possible. For me, the fun that must have been had creating this movie was translated and received by me with a wildly entertained heart. For others who think they are too good for the likes of Star-Lord and his team of weirdos, you're only missing out on all the fun I had with this wacky-ass space romp.