Very Solid Summer Blockbuster!

Rating: 7/10 (4 August 2014)

What has been said to be Marvel's biggest gamble ever, is looking to pay off massively; And well, for good reason. GOTG is a hell of a fun ride from start to finish. It knows exactly how new it is to a wide audience, never taking itself too serious but also never poking fun of its dedicated fan base. Not being a reader of the comics, I have no idea how loyal it is to the source material; But I do know that this a funny, adventurous Summer blockbuster loaded with good performances and gorgeous visual effects.
The film starts in the 1980's on Earth as we see a young Peter Quill (Pratt), who will later become 'Star Lord', go through a very traumatic event. Immediately after, he is abducted by a giant spacecraft. We shoot 26 years ahead and we now see 'Star Lord' on the hunt for a mysterious orb. Upon retrieving it, he is sought out by henchmen of the Kree radical Ronan (Pace). Ronan has struck a deal with Thanos (Josh Brolin) that if he retrieves this orb and delivers it to Thanos, Thanos will destroy the planet Xandar; Which Ronan has extreme distaste for.
So now Quill aka 'Star Lord' is the object of a manhunt by Ronan, and Gamora (Saldana) finds him, along with partners in crime Rocket (Cooper) and Groot (Diesel). They all have a big scuffle, and end up getting arrested and sent to a galactic prison. In the prison, they meet Drax the Destroyer (Bautista) who turns out to have a beef with Gamora and her family tree; specifically Ronan and Thanos. Gamora also has a hatred for what we learn is her adopted family, and has vowed to betray them at every turn, and make her escape from the galaxy away from them. The gang all teams up, make a plan to escape the prison, and sell the VERY valuable orb, and split the profits.
Of course the plot thickens when the group learns of the extreme power of the orb, and when they learn the reasons Ronan wishes to acquire the orb, they make new plans for it. So what about the film then? Why is it good? Well, it's because it draws much inspiration of successful adventure films before it. I've heard many comparisons to 'Star Wars'. From a visual sense, obviously yes. One HUGE difference between the two, George Lucas could never write dialogue this funny. I would say this film qualifies as Marvels first legitimate 'Action-Comedy'. Because it is actually very funny. Mostly due to Peter Quill, and the BRILLIANT Rocket voiced by Bradley Cooper.
The screen is packed with eye candy, tons of bright booming battle sequences, and honestly the CGI is pretty top notch. At times, I found myself bored a bit with the battles as they seem to drag a little too long. And my only other big complaint is probably the development of Ronan. I mean, when he's on screen he's an effective villain, just not a memorable one. a movie like this needs to have a bad guy you love to hate, and hate to love. But I didn't feel really any specific reaction to him. It's obvious this film is a starting point of something much bigger, but a better villain would have sufficed. On the other hand, every character is great. Chris Pratt has become an A-lister and this film will just catapult him even further. Zoe Saldana is sexy and kicks ass by the minute. Dave Bautista makes a solid big screen debut as Drax. But the stars of the show are Rocket and Groot. Their friendship is infectious and it resembles that of Han Solo and Chewbaca from the Star Wars franchise.
'Guardians of the Galaxy' once again will bring Marvel loads of money in box office, and this time it's well earned. Credit to James Gunn for hitting the nail on the head, and balancing the tone and atmosphere of this film all the way through between humor and heart. It's not a perfect film; Not for me at least. Some will find this to be one of a kind. To me it's one of many. But there's no resisting its charm. Not by anyone with a beating heart.