A pretty good outing with a less known Marvel property.

Rating: 8/10 (1 August 2014)

Short Version: Peter Quill AKA Star Lord, played by Chris Pratt, recovers an engraved metal orb from a barren planet. Said orb contains an infinity stone and Ronan, a renegade Kree, is after it so that he can wreak havoc on the galaxy. Quill hooks up with Gamora, Rocket and Groot, and Drax while they are in prison after a scuffle for the orb. The patchwork team works at first to sell the stone, but then later they try to keep Ronan from destroying the planet Xandar using the stone's power.
The film has great visuals and plenty of action, but the acting and dialog flag in the first half. That's not to say the movie is awful, but there are some cringe-inducing lines sprinkled about. Zoe Saldana and Dave Bautista are the major culprits with acting that gets pretty bad in spots, but they pick it up in the second half of the show.
On a more positive note, the film plot is solid and there are snappy scenes with dialog that is spot on. Bautista's acting and lines are awful in some bits(see above), but in other scenes he gets Drax's literal interpretation of language and the comedy that results just right. Rocket and Groot are another source of laughs, with Rocket's sourpuss snarkiness holding up well as he translates Groot's three word vocabulary. Chris Pratt delivers a good performance with dialog that edges on cheese, but the joke is that the character knows it and lays it on thick.
The film also contains comic book action, so extra suspension of disbelief is needed in some scenes. Pratt goes outside in space in a couple shots and only suffers a minor chill. Saldana is blown up in a spacecraft and floats in open space as well with no ill consequences. Science purists will likely grouse, but the film is about superheroes doing super deeds in a fantastic universe.
Verdict: The writing is intelligent with just a few rough acting patches, and the action is great. And there are high quality gems in the dialog between the characters. Although Bautista's Drax has some of the poorer line deliveries in spots, he drops genius dialog in other scenes. Overall, the film is well worth buying a ticket to see.