A fun, solid effort - but not without its flaws.

Rating: 7/10 (4 August 2014)

So, with trepidation, I went to see Guardians of the Galaxy on Saturday night. It actually turned out pretty well. I thought the humor was going to be overdone, and indeed by the end of the film several jokes were falling flat. On the plus side, the pace was very fast, the soundtrack was "ahem" awesome, the FX were top notch and it featured the best filthy Jackson Pollock joke ever.
Chris Pratt as Star-Lord is OK with the humorous scenes, but when that wore thin there wasn't much left to expect from him. He's just not a very good actor when you're looking for depth.
The Drax character was performed very well by Dave Bautista (better known as Batista from the WWE). The writing could have been better though, as the dialogue sometimes felt forced in an attempt to define his race's particular mode of expression. It reminded me at times of the Star Trek: TNG episode "Darmok." But again, Bautista did a fine job.
Gamora was the biggest disappointment. Her character was ruined by non- committal, lazy writing. She's one of the biggest bad-asses in the Galaxy, and yet she is often portrayed as a damsel in distress – then suddenly an unstoppable fighter, then a damaged girl with daddy issues, then a victim, then a poor waif who must resist Star-Lord's advances – when in fact (if we were being faithful to the character) she would have screwed his brains out, injuring him in the process. You DO NOT F%$K with Gamora!
Rocket was great. They didn't over-think it, and just let Rocket be Rocket. Bradley Cooper did a great voice-over job.
Groot is Groot. Like Rocket, they just went with it. Thankfully they didn't overdo the "I am Groot" shtick. It was just enough to balance the annoying with the funny.
Ronan the Accuser was done well. He's even more severe than he is in the book, playing him up like a religious zealot.
There are plenty of Easter eggs to look for, especially in The Collector's base of operations. There's an absolutely fantastic appearance by Thanos, and as usual make sure you stay through the credits for a surprise cameo from an obscure and subversive Marvel character!
Even with its faults, GOTG is a fun ride and I am relieved to be able to recommend it wholeheartedly!