The Summer Blockbuster We've Been Waiting For

Rating: 8/10 (2 August 2014)

Upfront I admit I am a huge Marvel fan. I was really looking forward to this movie, and it exceeded my expectations.
Guardians of the Galaxy was visually fantastic with Gunn at the helm. He had a clear direction with the film and executed it precisely. The film is also very good at delivering laughs. Almost every joke hit, with each of the Guardians contributing.
Speaking of the Guardians themselves, they were all very deep characters that you actually care about. Whether its their back stories, or particular motivations, you really get behind them individually and as a group.
Just to speak on a few individually, Batista as Drax was very surprising with how great his comedic timing was. I thought Bradley Cooper as Rocket's voice would be distracting, but you can barely even tell its him. Cooper did a great job, and you can tell he had a great time with the role.
The action was also great in the film mixing CGI and practical effects. The Soundtrack was fantastic with many catchy songs from the 70s and 80s.
The few gripes I had with the film were there were some cheesy dialogue moments that were near cringe worthy. The villains Ronan and Nebula were just not as interesting as the heros themselves which kind of took away from the film. Also, like I alluded to it above, most jokes hit, but there are those few that do not.
Overall, it was a great film that is one of my favorite action films of the year and is definitely a must-see in the theater.