An Intergalactic Adventure

Rating: 9/10 (25 August 2014)

When I first saw the trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy, I didn't know what I was watching. As you can tell, I'm not a comic book geek, so I didn't know who the Guardians of the Galaxy were. When Guardians of the Galaxy's reviews were first posted online, I was shocked. I thought that it could be Marvel's first flop. But was I wrong. I convinced my father and a good friend (who wanted to see Hercules) to see it with me. It's hard to say what genre to classify Guardians of the Galaxy, because like it's other Marvel counterparts, it has great action, yet, it has a great sense of wit and humor. Guardians of the Galaxy blends action, adventure, and humor into a great movie. From the beginning, Guardians of the Galaxy has you hooked. Though it's story is cliché, it's characters make up for that. Each of them have their own personality. They're each so different, that they go together perfectly, and the part I see that not many seem to notice, is that they contradict each other. Drax (Dave Bautista), a huge warrior out for vengeance against the main antagonist, contradicts Gamora (Zoe Saldana), a deadly assassin who is was raised by the antagonist. Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper), a "shoot first ask questions later" mercenary bounty hunter raccoon, is truly the star of the show, and he contradicts Groot (Vin Diesel), a peaceful humanoid-like tree. And then there's Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), the leader of the group, who is depicted as (at least according to him) a legendary outlaw, out seek treasure. The beginning of the movie sports a very Raiders of the Lost Ark feeling, with Peter Quill (Star-Lord) landing on the abandoned, rocky planet of Morag, to seek out his share of treasure. Little does he know it will lead him on an inter-galactic adventure across the galaxy. What I really enjoyed was it's connection to Star Wars. It felt similar, yet unique. Star-Lord is reminiscent of the personality of Han Solo yet the role of Luke Skywalker. Rocket Raccoon is a funny, radical Han Solo, and his partner-in-crime, Groot, is a peaceful yet powerful being, who only speaks one line. Sounds like Chewbacca, right? Even it's antagonist, Ronan, reminds you of and overly evil Darth Vader, who serves his master. I'll leave that part for you to find out. It probably won't be the next Star Wars (My favorite movies of all time), but it is a fresh, new, take on the sci-fi genre. It also features tons of '70's and '80's pop culture references, due to that being the time Star-Lord grew up on Earth, such as it's catchy theme song, "Put Down the Feeling". In conclusion, if you were to summarize Guardians of the Galaxy in three words, you could say it's like the Avengers in Space, but it topples the 2012 Blockbuster hit due to its humor, action, and the creation of this magnificent, jaw-dropping galaxy. I would say, that without a doubt, Guardians of the Galaxy has the greatest CGI and computer effects I have ever seen in a film. I thoroughly enjoyed Guardians of the Galaxy, and I can say without a doubt that it is the best Marvel movie that I have seen, and definitely the riskiest, but it all paid off. Guardians of the Galaxy is a great movie, and I recommend everyone who wants a light-hearted space film to go see it. James Gunn (Director) has made it funny and witty, and it doesn't bore you, like a lot of action movies being released now a days *cough* Transformers *cough*.