2 Part Synopsis and Review

Rating: 9/10 (1 October 2014)

Marvel's latest summer superhero blockbuster The Guardians of the Galaxy takes us away from the world of The Avengers and out into the cosmos. This movie contains action akin to the previous Marvel movies, as the fate of countless people are dependent on the success of the protagonists, in addition to a hefty amount of humor that creates a fun and exciting adventure for mostly mature audiences. The movie starts in 1988 with a young Quill (Wyatt Oleff) at his mother's death bed in a hospital. Shortly after, Quill is abducted by aliens with nothing but his clothes and a Walkman with a 1980s music mix tape. Flash forward to 2014, or present day, and the much older, now interstellar thief Peter Quill aka Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) is off exploring some distant, uninhabited planet. One traveling montage later, Quill reaches an orb that is sought after by several powerful groups of people, including a powerful warlord named Ronan (Lee Pace), for reasons unknown to Peter. After escaping Ronan's forces and attempting to sell the orb on another planet, Peter is attacked and he and three others are thrown into a maximum security prison. It is in this prison where the "bunch of a-holes" (Guardians) first meet. In order to escape this prison, Quill must team up with the assassin Gamora (Zoe Salanda), the psychopath Drax (Dave Bautista), the genetically engineered raccoon Rocket (voice of Bradley Cooper), and the tree Groot (voice of Vin Diesel). Once they escape, they once again attempt to sell the mysterious orb, only to fail and have it stolen. Because of this, the group is forced to attempt to save the galaxy from ultimate destruction at the hands of Ronan, thus becoming The Guardians of the Galaxy. The movies belong to the geeks during the summer. Ever since Iron Man in 2008 Marvel superhero movies have been on the rise in popularity at the box office. Following with movies from The Avengers to Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Marvel has experienced huge amounts of success with comic book hero movie adaptations. Marvel's latest release continues this trend while moving the story away from Earth. The Guardians of the Galaxy are not actually heroes, and are, instead, a group of criminals who get tossed into the role of heroes. The movie quickly became one of the most popular superhero movies to ever hit the screen, and is often described as "the most fun I've ever had at the movies in a while" (Crawford). Unlike other superhero movies, humor is at the forefront of the entertainment value along with the action, rather than being just an added bit during the less exciting parts of the movie. The movie still contains copious amounts of action and explosions, however the humor adds goofiness to the whole experience, allowing the movie to stand out. The humor in The Guardians of the Galaxy is made effective by the situations in which it is used and how it is executed by the actors, which in turn makes the movie ridiculous and exciting causing the movie to stand out among all other previous superhero movies.
Chris Pratt's acting style as Peter Quill aka Star-Lord creates a goofy side to a movie that has a serious plot and tone for most of the film, causing a memorable contrast that stands out from other movies of the genre. In most cases of exploring a desolate planet in search of rare and potentially dangerous treasure a 1980s music traveling montage complete with dancing and lip syncing is one of the last ways normal treasure hunters or thieves would proceed. In the case of Quill however, this is just how he works. The casting of Pratt, a known comedic actor, for the role as this strange galactic thief is the perfect fit for this movie. Pratt's interpretation of the main action hero is humor in itself, as "Most of these guys are bad-asses who have occasional moments of goofball good humor. Pratt, though, plays Quill as a goof ball with occasional moments of bad-assery" (Alter). Pratt's sarcastic and carefree attitude along with his occasionally skewed motives, such as risking life and limb for a Walkman, contrast that of the rest of the group who focus on surviving and getting paid. Thus, the interactions between these differing characters create even more humor as they bicker with each other when the entire police force on a maximum security prison is shooting at them. However, Pratt is not the only actor whose interpretation of the character. Dave Bautista as Drax creates his own humor because he takes every statement literally. From gestures to metaphors, his small comments when the others use literary wit come as small chuckle moments, while Zoe Salanda as Gamora creates more laughable moments when interacting with Quill. The romantic moments that occasionally occur go south for Quill once she threatens to kill him for his "pelvic sorcery" (Guardians). And not to forget the all-stars of bizarre in the film, Rocket the raccoon and Groot the tree, voiced by Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel respectively. Rocket's obsession with blowing stuff up and the fact that he is a talking raccoon, and Groot's limited vocabulary cause people to laugh in most serious situations. The criminal backgrounds of the characters the actors play also cause problems, usually involving law enforcement. However, the contrasting styles of the actors and their memorable and ridiculous interactions with their environment and co-stars makes The Guardians of the Galaxy a movie worth watching. Twice.