We're in good hands. I think.

Rating: 10/10 (1 August 2014)

Peter(Pratt, playing it like a mix between Han Solo and Marty McFly, likable from the get-go) steals a coveted orb, and intends to nab the reward, until he eventually realizes that it's too powerful, and has to be kept out of the hands of religious fanatic Ronan(Pace, terrifying, psychotic, driven), or he will commit genocide.
Our unlikely and reluctant hero meets others like him(they fight at their first encounter), and these scoundrels(there weren't enough of those in the franchise) form an uneasy alliance, gradually connecting with each other and becoming selfless and heroic. Bounty hunters Rocket(Cooper, angry, bitter, smart), a cyborg raccoon(!) and Groot(Vincent eh, or: Diesel, putting a lot of emotion into three words, naïve, enthusiastic, a big lug with a huge heart), a giant, sentient tree(did I mention this came out of the Silver Age? It's a Saturday Morning Cartoon every step of the way, and gloriously so). Assassin Gamora(Saldana, sultry, deadly, moral) trying to break away from adoptive father Thanos(Brolin, with all the gravitas that requires with only a short appearance, he's not the main villain see above he makes a real impression), and "sister" Nebula(Gillan, sadistic because of her intense jealousy borne from their sibling rivalry), who hunts her down. And Drax(Bautista, who does remarkably well for little experience everyone, character and actor, is solid), essentially Conan(the barbarian, not the O'Brien) of space, who wants revenge on the bad guy for his murdered family... or possibly aforementioned, since she worked with him
There are too many elements in this(groups, people, allegiances, motivations), and the scope and abilities of some of them is a little difficult to get a proper grasp on, but once you let it sit, probably after the end credits(which you must stay through!), it does all come together. Somehow it splits the focus and time fairly equally between them, if it only hints at, and doesn't explore. This is amazing from start to finish. Everyone has something to bring to it, in action, drama, humor, etc. This is a stand-alone that takes place in the same universe as the Avengers films, and you can go into this with no knowledge of those, or the comics it emulates and is based on. This takes inspiration from Star Wars and Indiana Jones, and lives up to the standards set by those classics.
There is some violence(it doesn't push the PG-13 as much as other recent entries in the genre) and a little strong language in this. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys big, fun Summer blockbusters. 10/10