"Guardians of the Galaxy" is a testament to how far the film industry has gone since the days of model building and rudimentary special FX

Rating: 10/10 (8 August 2014)

What a rush...!!! Is the best way to describe the new Marvel visual extravaganza titled "Guardians of the Galaxy"! My senses are still tingling and It took me a while to be able to unplugged from the theater of the make believe but the satisfaction I feel right now makes me confident that I saw something very special. In fact I just might have seen "STAR WARS" like experience of this generation.
I was asked once by the outsider to the film industry, why only Hollywood studios are capable of bringing the big CGI supported action Blockbusters? Why Europa is incapable of making this type of movies? What does that depend on? Don't we have the talent to create similar type big and to some extant epic movies? The answer is very simple and the best example to prove my point we can go no further then "Cloud Atlas" which back in 2012 was made for 102 million dollars by few German based production companies. Despite of the fact that I thought "Cloud Atlas" was a very well made movie (minus not always believable make up) and carried a depth that is often missing from their American counterparts. It failed miserably at the box office bringing total of 27 million dollars. The fact that it was treated as a art-house film and was shown in small screening rooms did not help in it's all around success.
It is not that European companies are incapable of making big blockbusters (a lot of big American movies are often shot at the European studios like Pinewood in UK, for example) it is just very risky to do so. One flop can mean the end of that studio, where in Hollywood exists more of a factory type mechanism were big movies are being planed years in advance and if some movie ends up not making as much money for the studio, month or two later there is a next blockbuster premier that hopefully make up the financial difference.
This brings us to this summers awesome representation of what we love in Hollywood movies "Guardians of the Galaxy". Based on the Marvel comic book released back in 70's, with considerably less known characters comparing with Iron Man, Batman or Spiderman, among others.
The premise is straight forward.
After stealing a mysterious orb in the far reaches of outer space, human Peter Quill (bulked up Chris Pratt) is now the main target of a manhunt led by the villain known as Ronan the Accuser (charismatic Lee Pace). To help fight Ronan and his team and SAVE the galaxy from his power, Quill creates a team known as the 'Guardians of the Galaxy' to save the world.
This team consist of: Sexy female assassin Gamora (hot Zoe Saldana) Overgrown muscle man trying to avenge his families death, Drax (surpassingly emotionally deep performance by the WWE wrestler Dave Bautista) and two CGI creations: Groot (Vin Diesel) and Bradley Cooper as Rocket.
Together they create "Guardians of the Galaxy". Group of misfits, losers, and very unlikely heroes that are put in the position, were they have to extend themselves beyond what they normally are capable off.
Most audiences as a rule often like to share their support with the underdog and trust me there are no bigger underdogs then this bunch and perhaps this is were the strength of the movie lies. We want them to succeed. Mostly they are motivated by pain and loss of a loved one. As an example Chris Pratt's character as a child looses mother to cancer and after being abducted from Earth by cosmic bounty hunters, his feelings intensifies of wanting to make something out of himself to become a legend, a self-proclaimed Star-Lord. Chris Pratt natural comedic taming and bravado fits perfectly with this character, who uses humor as a form of protection from dark thoughts which pollute his psyche.
The balance between comedy and action is handled superbly by director James Gunn who is also co-writter of the script. Plenty of smart remarks made by characters create very enjoyable roller coaster of vocabulary choices which often bring loud laughter from the audience. My favorite was an exchange between Gamora and Peter Quill.
Gamora: And by the way... Your ship is filthy. Peter Quill: Filthy? She has no idea. If we had a blacklight, it would look like a Jackson Pollock painting.
The production design, but specially costume and make up design is so detailed and perfect in its construct, that all of the art design helps creating a Universe that we loose ourselves in, completely. It is truly Oscar worthy work, no doubt about it.
The action scenes are breathtaking kinetically and auditory wise and I almost guaranty that you will want to see "Guardians of the Galaxy" again to make sure that you had an opportunity to catch all the details that often overwhelm our senses during the first viewing. There is so much to experience here.
This film is a testament to how far the film industry has gone since the days of model building and rudimentary special FX that started with Fritz Lang's "Metropolis"(1927), long before "2001: Space Odyssey" (1968) and continued through "STAR WARS" franchise till this day. I take my hat off to the Hollywood filmmakers who created this arguably the most visually interesting movie of the decade and bunch of interesting and sometimes silly and other times cocky characters unseen on the Silver screen since the days of Han Solo and Luke Skywalker. I loved "Guardians of the Galaxy" and I am pretty sure that you and your family will too. Go and check this one out, specially in 3D if you can.
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