I am Groot

Rating: 9/10 (21 March 2015)

I am Groot... That means i love this film.
Guardians of the Galaxy is Marvel latest film in its cinematic universe which is currently in Phase 2, this film is the next Marvel film since Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which was great and i'm happy to say this film is even better.
When Guardians of the Galaxy was announced a few years, i was one of the many that had no idea who these characters were and i was very surprised at Marvel for taking such a gamble on a film, but it definitely payed off. Image and video hosting by TinyPic The film is about Peter Quill (A.K.A Starlord) a human who is a child when he gets abducted by a spaceship, the film then cuts to 26 years later and Quill grows up into a egotistical, playboy, outlaw, who is only in it for himself and would betray anyone for a certain price. Quill founds an orb after a great first scene of Quill dancing around listening to his Walkman (which is a highlight of the film), Quill realizes everyone wants this orb he has required and tries to use it for his own self. On his journey he meets his eventual teammates; Gamora, a famous assassin and daughter to one of the deadliest people in the universe, Drax the Destroyer, a warrior who is set on vengeance to the one who killed his family, Rocket Raccoon, a loud mouthed Raccoon who is also a bounty hunter and his friend Groot, a humanoid tree, who can only say the words "I Am Groot" The explanation of these characters sounds ridiculous and they are, i think that's why they work so great as a team of screen, they are all rejects put together make a strong team.
Guardians of the Galaxy is interesting because its tone is everywhere, but it works, from one laugh out loud moment to a quiet sincere moment and it all works which is a real testament to the actors on screen and the director, James Gunn.
James Gunn does a great job at establishing these brand new worlds we have never been to before, from the wasteland planets to the beautiful Xandar.
The film has a interesting story, full of galactic conquests, betrayal and villains, but James Gunn chose to focus on The Guardians in this first film and i think that was the right idea, i was worried going in that all 5 Guardians wouldn't be full developed by the end of the film, but i was wrong all 5 come out at the end of the film as fully fledged characters thankfully that's with help of course from the actors portraying the characters; Chris Pratt plays Peter Quill and plays the cocky playboy very well, and was very well cast, Pratt being a comedic actor worked perfectly because this film is really funny and he is a big reason why. Gamora is played by Zoe Saldana, who seems to always played primary colored characters! She plays the sexy assassins very well, having to act serious and dead- eyed for a lot of the film but can also be cute when least expected. Rocket Raccoon is voiced by Bradley Cooper and when cast i thought that was a strange pairing but it worked well in the film, Cooper played the Raccoon very cocky and funny and in interviews so he was trying to do a homage to Joe Pesci, which is apparent when seeing the film. Vin Diesel voices the humanoid Tree, Groot, and was the perfect casting, Groot can only say three words yet can put so much emotion in those three words that you always know what he is really saying when he says the words, they must of thought of Vin Diesel because of the film The Iron Giant in which he does the same kind of performance. Rounding out the main characters is, Drax the Destroyer, who is played by Dave Bautista, i was worried that he was going be the weak link in the cast but i was totally wrong, Bautista plays Drax very well, acting deadpan and having great comedic delivery which i really didn't expect.
Because the film was so focused they didn't spend too much time with the villains of the piece which i think worked in their favor, Ronan the Accusor played by Lee Pace, is a very cool and meanacing looking character but he is very deep as well as his sidekick Nebula played by Karen Gillan, Ronan wants to get revenge, that is all, but that is all that is needed, for the film to have a baddie that the Guardians can defeat and i think it worked very well. The supporting cast also did their thing featuring such actors as Glenn Close, Michael Rooker and John C. Reilly but the standout to me was Benicio del Toro, who plays the Collector, a Liberace type character who as his name says collects interesting things.
Another interesting film about the film is that it hardly is connected to the other Marvel films except for two small things, the infinity gems and Thanos and they are not big parts of the film, it is really focusing on the Guardians and the universe and doesn't feel like a sequel to The Avengers and doesn't feel like an advert for the second Avengers film.
The soundtrack for the film is one of the best soundtracks i have heard in film, through the plot device of Quill's Walkman it allows the film to have 80's songs playing all throughout this futuristic film which is such a juxtaposition and shouldn't fit the film yet it does perfectly.
But the reason i think the film really excels is because of James Gunn, the film still has Gunn's eccentrics that are in all his films and this is his best film yet.