Avengers... Step aside!

Rating: 10/10 (19 October 2015)

This film is just plain... FUN!!!
Guardians of the Galaxy is part of Marvel's unmatched MCU franchise, thankfully this particular entry could barley be described as a superhero film. Myself and a friend of mine agreed that the film deserves the much coveted title of: "The next Star Wars"!
Okay now that I've spent a whole paragraph over-praising this film, let's get to the technical stuff.
The film begins with a young Peter Quill running from a hospital room after witnessing his mother passing away from cancer. He is then kidnapped by freaking aliens! Flash ahead to 30 or so years later to find Mr. Quill working as a scavenger. This leads to one of the most well put together opening credit sequences I've even seen. Peter Quill begins dancing across an alien planet to "Come and get your love" by Redbone. Even going so far as to use an alien looking rodent as a fake microphone. This scene is hilarious and sets the entire tone for the film in a big way. The number one quality Guardians has going for it is the highly clever and fast paced humour. Not to say that the more dramatic moments are not well done, because the absolutely are. The comedic timing and writing however, makes even Joss Whedon's amazing humour in the Avenger's seem tame. Guardian's never takes itself to seriously and live completely in what it is, a fun, hilarious action movie!
As per the usual in the Marvel cannon, there are some impressive casting choices here. For starters, where did this Chris Pratt guy come from all of the sudden? Oh yeah... Parks and Recreation. Who would have guessed this man could carry a full fledged blockbuster in one of the highest grossing film franchises of all time? He rises to the occasion in a big way. His perfect comedic timing and clumsy demeanour is unusual for a film like this, but it fits with the tone of the film perfectly. Pratt's performance hearkens back to a cocky Han Solo type and give hope for comedy actors making there way into large scale studio film. Another surprisingly perfect cast member comes in the form of a former wrestler. Dave Bautista portrays Drax the Destroyer, he works as somewhat of a C3P0 type in this film, not quite understanding the complexities of his companions odd, quirky behaviour. Bautista's delivery is the perfect match up for Pratt, in that everything Drax hears is taken literally. This leads to many humorous moments with Drax, along with the best straight man routine since Leslie Nielsen in Airplane! The special effects are predictably astounding, but are taken to a whole new level with the inclusion of two fully CGI animated characters. Rocket Raccoon and Groot, played by Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel respectively. These two character exist as some of the most perfectly integrated and lovable CGI effects in history. They exist in the pantheon with Gollum, Caesar, the Hulk, and Draco as landmarks in visual effects and motion capture. Guardians is not without its issues however, most notably Ronan the accuser. Not to say the Lee Pace didn't do an admirable job in the role. The character is just not that interesting. The genre blending could be a bit jarring to some, the film jumps between fast paced comedy and high stakes drama very suddenly.
Overall this is a highly enjoyable film, as well as one of the best in the Marvel Cinematic Universe so far.