If you want a fun film to watch this summer, Guardians of the Galaxy is definitely the right choice!

Rating: 8/10 (11 August 2014)

First things first, I do think this is the Marvel (Studios) movie that focuses the most on the characters; on The Avengers you know that Thor and Hulk could solo the chitauri, but here you know how much they need each other both to fulfill missions and to support as friends. You buy how they grow from reluctant sort of mercenaries/bounty-hunters to really good friend, almost family. They all feel like they belong in the movie and they all get characters arcs (though Star-Lord's gets kinda lost in the plot until the very end), which are subtle, but (and especially referring to Rocket here) very Star Wars-y, particularly Han Solo's in Episode IV. This is fine by the way; Star Wars is one of my favorite movies of all time.
The story is surprisingly solid and the movie absolutely knows what it is since the beginning. It's a goofy, fun, action-packed, character- driven space adventure with some emotional moments here and there.
Characters:
-Peter Quill/Star-Lord: I thought he was good as a protagonist, he was relatable, clearly taking inspiration from legendary characters such as Indiana Jones, Han Solo (back to Star Wars), Marty McFly, etc. and at the same he feels very unique because of the 80's child inside of him. Some of the humor provided by him is a little forced and out of place, but when it works, it really works. Chris Pratt becomes Star-Lord effortlessly and with this movie will easily become the Harrison Ford/Arnold Schwarzenegger of this decade, with all kinds of movies wanting him as a lead in many movies.
-Gamora: My least favorite character to be honest; Gamora worked as a strong independent female at first but often had lines such as Captain America's fish-out-of-water humor in The Avengers that made her seem really stupid (as they did to Cap, in my opinion).
-Drax: Man, did Dave Bautista surprised me. I liked the character of Drax a lot more than I thought I would; he's not just the muscle, he's also big part of the heart and charm of the film. One of the funniest moments of the film to me was his ''Nothing goes over my head...'' line, which, among many others, was greatly delivered on this role that is sure to make this former wrestler as popular as the Rock (Dwayne Johnson).
-Rocket Raccoon: Alright, before watching the film, I thought he was going to be an annoying comedic relief with no use whatsoever in the plot and I wouldn't care about him (*cough* Darcy Lewis *cough*), but he ended up being possibly my favorite character in the film. The first time he shows up he is in fact very Han Solo-ish, a reluctant guy who just wants the money and has a friend with limited vocabulary. However, as the story moved forward, I realized he had a screen presence that I haven't seen in CGI characters his size (Caesar and Gollum may be exceptions, but other than that) and then he has an emotional moment that is also in a way expanding his origin, and in that moment I really felt sympathy for that guy. By far my favorite character, very reminiscent of why we like Han Solo so much.
-Groot: Rocket may have been my favorite character, but Groot was definitely the first one for whom I really cared about. Seeing Groot being torn apart by Gamora while he has such an innocent facial expression gave that moment a lot of relevance to me; Groot quickly shows he's the most noble of the group and possibly the most supportive. Going back to saying he was like Chewbacca, I do think this shows just how much you can make us care about a character that doesn't even talk that much. Second favorite of the team.
The action is really good; once again, reminds of Star Wars a lot. The visual effects are amazing; if the film doesn't get nominated for an Oscar for them, I will give up even more on them. I forgot Rocket and Groot were CG characters in some moments.
There is emotion and it works, yes, and again, there's surprising dimension to Rocket's character (but don't get preachy; that still doesn't mean you can compare this supporting, mostly comic relief-ish character to Wonder Woman).
My reservations:
-Comedy: Again, I like to have fun in movies and this one succeeds at that, but some times the movie feels a little needy when it comes to humor. The film wants you to laugh and cuts many dramatic/climactic moments for unnecessary humor. That's not to say there weren't funny moments; there WERE, but some that attempted to failed miserably.
-The villain: Once again, Marvel Studios shows how their weakest aspect is to write villains. No personality, back-story is pretty forgettable, and he just feels really out of place being all serious in the middle of this goofy world.
By Marvel Cinematic Universe standards, it's around 8.5-9/10. By superhero movie standards, it's around 7.5-8. Overall, I will give it an 8/10
Overall, I think the strongest part of the film is the character interactions and they make the film, at least to me, more re-watchable than every other film I've seen this year, even X-Men and Apes, which I thought were better movies.
If you want a fun film to watch this summer, Marvel's action-packed adventure space opera Guardians of the Galaxy is definitely the right choice.
8/10