A conscious revolt to straight-up Marvel movies. Entertaining!

Rating: 8/10 (27 November 2014)

This film is fairly divisive and I'm aware of the naysayers that find those "lame jokes trashy", "character development problematic" and "dialogue full of clichés". In defense of these three major complaints, I say well of course it's not the funniest film there is, but no less humorous than any other film in the superhero genre. Pretty damn entertaining on the overall and casting did a great job with Quill the Starlord.
What I find earnest about this film, is James Gunn's intentional treatment of the space western being a different beast entirely from conventional superhero flicks. Whether in conscious revolt to self- important straight-up Marvel movies, OR mere satisfaction of style and whim consistent with career trajectory as an indie writer- director of B movies (Dawn of the Dead, Slither) I can't say with certainty. Maybe a combination of both. With that in mind, is James Gunn officially an auteur? Yes. Does being one also make him an artist? Maybe, maybe not. Anyway, considering Kubrick's axiom that "a film is or should be, more like music than fiction." I'm inclined to agree with all final verdicts that declare "Guardians of the Galaxy being an unpretentious, fun and likable mess."
Too many cling to the naive belief that a movie rises and falls with character development — not necessarily. While it is okay to care about character development, over insistence is to place too much emphasis on just one element and overlook the rest.
What matters is the overall design works in favour of story material using suitable language. GotG is geared towards the edgy, cheeky and comical. Bunch of goofs and misfits become friends and save the galaxy.
It's a real shame that clichés in the film intentionally deployed before being voluntarily jettisoned by self-awareness midpoint (as a form of comic device) has completely escaped the naysayers.
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