Irreverent, absurd... and fantastic. The best film of the summer - Marvel's best yet!

Rating: 9/10 (22 August 2014)

It was like a sudden, absurd romantic fling. I can pinpoint the exact moment where I realised that this Tuesday night tryst to the nearby London Angel Vue Cinema was well worth the absurd £8 I dropped on tickets. In typical science fiction fashion, we - the audience - were greeted by the traditional alien landscape - dramatic, mysterious and dusty. Our masked hero (because who else could it be) trumps past wreckage and debris, as though propelled forward by the dramatic, ambient score. He walks with near valiant hesitance into the strange, monstrous edifice before him, and gazes into the echoing, damp gloom of the room beyond.
And then he puts in his headphones, a song from my childhood comes on, Starlord starts bobbing his head and magic happens.
I'm in love with Guardians of the Galaxy. I'm absolutely, madly in love with this film.
It didn't take long for this reviewer to fall head over heels with this modern take on the Marvel comics of the same name (which span across a strange, complicated history from 1969 to the present day). And this isn't the first indication of the company's genius - from over nine, interweaving and interrelated films to an ABC T.V. series, Marvel has proved itself as a powerhouse. But this film steps away from that carefully crafted "cineverse" into completely uncharted territory - the "final frontier," if you will (for any Trekkies out there). The Guardians that audiences around the world are familiar with only made themselves apparent in 2008 - a mere six years ago. In contrast to the well-worn faces of Captain America, Iron Man, Thor and the Hulk, the Guardians were total noobs.
But that certainly didn't stop James Gunn's hilarious, jaw-dropping, entertaining and irreverent leap into Marvel's cineverse from becoming one of the best films of the entire year. And this isn't drawn back to one aspect, but all - the casting, to the characters, to the plot, to the script and action everything about Guardians of the Galaxy screamed success.
And that brings us back to the film's first scene - our first introduction to the Guardian-verse, and our first glimpse at our offbeat, eccentric hero, Peter Quill, wonderfully portrayed by Maui- bum-turned-Hollywood-sensation, Chris Pratt. After his first burst of "pelvic sorcery," it was obvious to anyone that Pratt had become a movie star - not just that funny dude from Parks and Recreation, but Starlord. And that's not all; take a look at the Guardian team - green-skinned assassin, Gamora (played by space badass Zoe Saldana), tattooed and literal brute, Drax the Destroyer (in David Bautista's role of a lifetime), pyromaniac raccoon, Rocket (voiced by an almost unrecognisable Bradley Cooper), and adorable - terrifying - tree man, Groot (Vin Diesel, who practically reprised his role from The Iron Giant). Yes, you heard that right - a green person, a space Hulk, a trigger happy racoon and a talking tree.
That's what we're handling here, people. A team with a tree.
And yet, that's what makes Guardians of the Galaxy so fantastic. Notwithstanding the fantastically filmed action sequences, incredible graphics and tightly knit script and plot, the absolute irreverence and absurdity of the film are what makes it so endearing. The film masterfully leaps from heavy action and dastardly, villainous evil to uproarious, nonsensical one-liners like nobody's business. It's a perfect formula, tried and tested by Marvel in the past and similar franchises (and I'm making another nod to J.J. Abram's Star Trek reboots). And not only that - Guardians of the Galaxy practically laughs at itself with every Footloose reference, and asks the audience to join along with them. It's not nearly as dark, complex and intense as Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy, nor does it have the jaw-dropping (again, dark) destruction of DC Comic's Man of Steel (and upcoming Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice). but that's what Marvel's all about - superhero action-y stuff, but with the fun and with the human.
But notice one thing so far - what about the plot? Isn't that what makes the movie so good - a great plot? Well, in truth, there's not really a lot to get into; it's your typical superhero plot scheme. A group of miscreants - led by the hunky, endearing "bad boy" human - band together to stop evil - led by extremist Ronan (masterfully played by a reviewer favourite, Lee Pace) and his companion turned half-robotic sidekick, Nebula (the wonderful Karen Gillan) from completely destroying the galaxy. But the thing is, Guardians of the Galaxy didn't need to make itself any more unique than it already is - it didn't need to create a new, original plot (nigh impossible nowadays - curses, Hitchcock!). The plot is used and worn, been there and done that. The difference, then - and the reason why I would gladly drop another ridiculous £8 on a ticket again - is, as according to The Huffington Post - "all in the execution."
Guardians of the Galaxy, in all of its cheek, quirkiness and downright daring, has quickly found its way into the hearts of fanboys and fangirls worldwide. It was Marvel's biggest risk yet and it was a risk that absolutely paid off (and not just in the big bucks). There's no limit to the amount of magic that Marvel is able to create - and there's no limit to where Guardians of the Galaxy can head in the future!
Surrender, earthlings, and step aside Avengers - the Guardians are here, and they're here to stay.