Fun, funny, fantastic. Marvel's best to date? Bring on the sequel!

Rating: 8/10 (5 August 2014)

I'm bored of superhero films. There are so many of them and so little that is original within them. I loved what Nolan did with his near-perfect Dark Knight reboot, I've thoroughly enjoyed the Iron Man series thus far, the third installment being a particular high, and Andrew Garfield succeeded in making The Amazing Spider-Man his own. Beyond that? I've almost stopped bothering. Ho hum.
And then came Guardians of the Galaxy.
I knew nothing about this series of comic books. I hadn't read them. I hadn't even heard of them. The trailer amused me, the concept intrigued me and last night James Gunn's third full feature as director added the sweetest cherry to a very fine cake of a day. Guardians of the Galaxy 2 can't come soon enough for me!
Guardians of the Galaxy opens with the young Peter Quill watching his mother die of cancer before escaping the morbid hospital scene only to be whisked into space by aliens. Fast-forward a few years and the adult Quill (Chris Pratt) aka Star Lord steals a mysterious orb much to the chagrin of Korath (Djimon Hounsou). Quill finds himself the subject of a manhunt and is thrown together with a tree (Groot - Vin Diesel), a green girl (Gamora – Zoe Saldana), an oaf who takes everything literally (Drax – Dave Bautista) and a Racoon (Rocket – Bradley Cooper). Together they form the Guardians of the Galaxy as they bid to evade Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace), stay alive and, oh, save the universe.
Guardians of the Galaxy is silly, funny, rapidly paced and an absolute ball. Gunn's writing and direction are filled with energy so that, whilst there is a formula to the proceedings, it is thoroughly enjoyable and demands a second trip to see it in the next week or so. I'll even forgive him for his segment in the execrable Movie 43.
There is little need for thought and no effort required for emotional attachment to the characters; they are so beautifully written that one engages with them from the off and delights in every second spent in their company. Guardians of the Galaxy is an exciting, enticing and very funny. The standing jokes are not over-egged and on the occasions where one can guess the outcome of a particular mishap, the result is entirely satisfying.
The costumes, production design and CGI meld seamlessly to make Guardians of the Galaxy as visually pleasing as it is exciting. Everywhere there is colour, shape and sparkle and when we reach the domain of The Collector (Benicio del Toro) it is such a visual feast of quirks, curios and filmic references that the lack of a pause button in the cinema is a frustration. As for Glenn Close's Nova Prime, she might easily have stepped out of The Hunger Games' District 1.
Fabulous! Fun, funny and fantastic. It's rare that I say this, but bring on the sequel!