A light and breezy outer space romp

Rating: 7/10 (18 May 2017)

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY is a fun and light-hearted superhero romp from Marvel. The setting is outer space and the film is a sensory overload at first, featuring an unknown cast of colourful alien beings interacting in a standard storyline involving the possession of a magical, world-destroying device. The first thing you notice is the quality of the CGI effects, which as in the recent DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, are quite remarkable and photo-realistic for the main part.
The hero of the piece is Chris Pratt, nowadays hot property but an actor I can take or leave. He does his usual cocky routine, but the supporting cast are much more interesting: Zoe Saldana takes a similar role to her one in AVATAR but has a lot more fun, while Dave Bautista is hilarious and even Bradley Cooper's raccoon character is lovable. Groot isn't quite on the same level as Treebeard but is still amusing, and you have to love others like Michael Rooker's larger-than-life space pirate. The plot is derivative and predictable, and the spaceship action scenes are still copying STAR WARS some thirty-plus years later, but the camaraderie is good-natured and, more importantly, funny. The result is a light and breezy movie that never loses momentum, and leaves you happily looking forward to the sequel.