A great movie for those who don't like superhero movies

Rating: 8/10 (23 August 2014)

If you DO you like superhero movies, then you might really like this movie. I am, however, generally not a fan of the superhero concept and have been turned off by at least some aspects of many recent Marvel movies, but I really liked Guardians of the Galaxy. Aside from the superhero thing, I found the movie overall to be an entertaining and funny sci-fi action movie; nothing too spectacular but definitely enjoyable and worth the price of admission. I saw this reluctantly with my kids and being a Marvel movie, I expected that I would not like it. I've seen pretty much all recent superhero movies (for my kids) and I just don't get into antagonists who are too unrealistically pious and impossibly good, with absurdly evil protagonists. I also can't stand seeing characters who are essentially privileged, spoiled individuals who are also lucky enough to be vastly superior to the entire human race, and yet they still have petty issues to whine and brood about.
This movie was very different, as the characters were not only genuinely tragic (not billionaires or luckily endowed with powers), but also surprisingly ambiguous in their attitudes and moral choices. This superhero gang consists of: a thief, a couple of bounty hunters, an assassin, and a convict. With the exception of the main character, they all start off as potentially bad guys in the story. The overall feelings you get towards them is more of pity and rooting for their success, as opposed to the almost holy reverence you are expected to feel for the over-powerful X-Men and other assorted demigods in other Marvel movies. *SPOILER ALERT* Of course there is the standard clear moment when they make the decision to do the selfless and righteous thing to save the galaxy, as in all superhero movies, but overall this is a minor point in the entire movie.
As others have pointed out, this movie has a lot more comedy element than other Marvel movies, as well as a stronger sci-fi and alien setting. If you happen to like 70's music – did I mention the music? - then you will LOVE this. I wouldn't think many people under 50 (I'm under 45) would even get that at all, but I was floored at the inclusion of The Runaways "Cherry Bomb" in the movie. It's not Oscar material and definitely not beyond criticizing for various weaknesses. However, If you are expecting the typical superhero movie, this isn't quite that. More importantly, if you tend to not like the typical superhero movie, you might be pleasantly surprised by this one.