An Awesome, Fun Space Adventure from Marvel Studios

Rating: 9/10 (25 July 2015)

Marvel Studios got smart with their Phase II films. The first phase was fun but I worried that I would reach a point of over-saturation where I might grow tired of their formula. Then they proved they had more tricks up their sleeve when they introduced the concept of incorporating other genres into the world of comic book films. THE WINTER SOLDIER was a political thriller and now GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY is a space adventure in the vein of the Star Wars films. When Marvel announced their Phase II series, I was the only one in my group of friends who got more excited for this film than the continuing adventures of Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America. No, I'd never heard of the Guardians before and that was probably what was most intriguing. It was something different. I immediately jumped on Wikipedia to get some idea as to what to expect and was quickly overwhelmed with the bizarre details of the characters and their cosmic adventures. I couldn't wait to see how it was handled on film. With the announcement of James Gunn as director, it solidified itself as my most anticipated film of 2014. In GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, we're introduced to Peter Quill (Christ Pratt). Quill was abducted from Earth as a child and has since led the life of an interstellar outlaw, referring to himself as Star-Lord. His most recent acquisition is a mysterious orb of unknown power that draws the attention of an infamous Kree fanatic, Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace). Ronan has been tasked with retrieving the orb and presenting it to Thanos, the major villain Marvel has been teasing since the end of THE AVENGERS in 2012. Quill's adventures lands him in an unstable alliance with fellow outcasts in an effort to keep the orb from Ronan's hands: Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista), Groot (Vin Diesel), and Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper).
I almost feel as if GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY is Marvel Studios' means of giving the finger to DC/Warner Bros. As much trouble as Warner has had in bringing DC comics successfully to the big screen, Marvel wanted to flaunt it's skills by making a movie featuring an anthropomorphic tree and talking raccoon as two of it's main characters. Regardless of their reasons, it worked and GUARDIANS skyrocketed to the top of my favorite Marvel movies to join the ranks of IRON MAN, IRON MAN 3 (yes, I liked it), and THE AVENGERS. James Gunn was an inspired choice for the job of directing the film and I knew from the time he was announced that this was a film to keep an eye on (I loved his 2010 film, SUPER). He brings an oddball humor to a film that needs it, where we're immersed in colorful aliens, strange new worlds, andI repeata talking raccoon. In the end, it was the characters that really made this movie as fun and effective as it is. The casting was top notch and every member of the cast understands the vibe of the movie and plays into it perfectly. Chris Pratt was the perfect choice for the role of Quill and his comedic timing really set the tone from the very start as Quill is dancing his way through some ancient ruins to the tune of Redbone's "Come and Get Your Love". Groot and Rocket were, of course, audience favorites because they were the oddest of an already out-there cast. Groot, a humanoid plant, acts as the muscle for Rocket in their bounty-hunting duo but, despite his size and strength, is a softie at heart. Rocket is the resident wise-cracker with an attitude more than large enough to compensate for his size. Zoe Saldana is her usual strong presence as Gamora, former assassin under the employment of Thanos and Ronan, but the real surprise for me was Bautista as Drax. I'll admit some of his dialogue comes across a little clunky but he had some great moments and was surprisingly good at giving his character some depth. With the exception of the Rock, I'm generally against pro-wrestlers turning mainstream actor but Bautista might be a new exception to the rule.
The characters are certainly the strongest point in GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY but they don't all get the chance for full development. Marvel has been notorious with an issue of under-developing its villains and Ronan is no different. He's got the look and he's got the attitude and Lee Pace gives a rage-fueled performance, but we don't learn much about him other than he's a Kree with a never-ending hatred for a race know as Xanderians. We get no further information as to why the Kree and Xanderians are at odds or why Ronan refuses to let go of his blood vendetta even after the two species agreed to a cease-fire. Ronan had the potential to be one of the coolest villains in the MCU but he's left one-dimensional. The same can be said for Korath the Pursuer (Djimon Hounsou). Hounsou is a phenomenal actor but he's pretty much wasted in his minor role as Ronan's enforcer. Nebula (Karen Gillan) is done slightly better. At least we get hints at her history (genetically and cybernetically modified by Thanos to be a killing machine) and her motivations (anger/revenge against Thanos and Gamora). Then there's the complaint of the pretty basic story. GUARDIANS relies on it's eccentric characters to keep the movie fun (which it does) and sacrifices plot, giving us the most basic of story lines we've come to expect from Marvel. The villain is trying to get an item, it can provide ultimate power, the heroes need to stop him. It's an unfortunate side-effect for any of these movies tying into the whole "Infinity Gauntlet" plot line running through the franchise. They're limited to repeating the same steps. Regardless of these flaws though, GUARDIANS is the some of the most fun I've had in a Marvel film and easily recommended.