The Best Marvel Movie Since "The Avengers", Bar None, and Easily Among the Most Loved Sci-Fi Bonanzas Ever, Period

Rating: 10/10 (14 September 2014)

Reviewed by: Dare Devil Kid (DDK)
Rating: 4.9/5 stars
Guardians of the Galaxy is just as irreverent as fans of the frequently zany Marvel comic would expect - as well as funny, thrilling, full of heart, visually splendid, and packed with witty one-liners. Chris Pratt, overflowing with charisma, plays Peter Quill a.k.a "Star Lord", the leader of the pack of endearing misfits, and his blissed-out space cowboy (with a love for 70s and 80s music) is so full of good will that he buoys the film and its requisite whizbang special effects. Zoe Saldana is smoking hot as Gamora, and brings a sense of visceral sensuality and deadly dynamism to her role. For the first time Dave Bautista is well-cast in a role that actually exploits his physical prowess along with his unexpectedly bang-on deadpan humor. Bradley Cooper renders one of the best voice-overs ever for a computer-generated, cinematic character, and his "Rocket Racoon" along with the imposing, muscular, tree figure, "Groot", literally steal more than a few scenes with their physical humor and witty dialogues.
Director and co-writer James Gunn, brings a giddy, wondrous, endless sense of satisfaction to proceedings, which is possibly, dare I say it, reminiscent of the grand sci-fi space saga of your - the "Star Wars" trilogy. Gunn appears to remember the high of certain kinds of movie-going experiences, where when the credits are over, all you want to do is get back in line and enjoy the whole damn thing again. The plot is bonkers, but to Gunn's immense credit, the core little group of disparate characters manage to latch themselves to you, and you're in for the whole ride. Gunn has helped take a relatively unknown property and made a film that will surely help blast these incredible characters to a level of fame that will spread across the galaxy.
Guardians of the Galaxy" has wit, energy and zaniness to spare. It's overstuffed with effects and incidents, but it looks great, it feels fresh and is sometimes laugh-out-loud funny. It will pop your corn and leave you hungry for more. If blockbusters are the cinematic equivalent of junk food, then 2014 has been a goddamn ice-cream sundae, and this movie in particular is the bright, sickly sweet cherry sitting on top. "Guardians of the Galaxy" isn't just a fun- filled, adrenaline- pumping, visually dashing, humor-laden, ripping space sci-fi adventure; it's one of the best, most crowd-pleasing blockbusters in years.